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He stepped back. “The one we thought was the fourth message, must have been an earlier one. I think after he dropped off the message, he keyed DEAD MAN CHOOSES into Dom’s car.”
Abe came up out of his seat. “Lover is struck through on the third one then,” he whispered.
Shane stood and put his hand on Abe’s arm, squeezing his elbow. “Dad, that’s a threat against you.”
The panic that shot through Abe curled his stomach. “He met the fucker who left these messages because they threatened to kill me.” It wasn’t a question. He was trying to swallow down the fact that Dom was possibly in danger, trying to protect him. “I wouldn’t want him to do that.”
“And he probably knew that,” Quinn said, his voice low. “I’m sure that’s why he didn’t tell you what was going on.”
“This is bad.” Understatement, but he was having trouble accepting this.
“What’s bad?” Rowe asked as he strode fast into the room. “Gidget said I was needed in here.” He walked to the whiteboard and stared at the writing. His lips tightened more and more as he read. “Someone needs to fill me in and do it fast.”
“It’s Dom.” Surprisingly, Shane spoke up. He went on to tell Rowe everything, paying particular attention to the message that was on Abe’s garage—DEAD MAN DATES—and the one they now believed was the last. DEAD MAN CHOOSES
That was the one that was tearing Abe’s heart to shreds. “We have no idea who is writing these messages—” Abe started to say.
“I do.” Rowe’s hands curled into fists. “And yeah, this is bad. Really fucking bad. Dom took me into his confidence when I hired him, but if he’s gone to meet who I think he has, we have to move now.” He jogged toward the door, throwing over his shoulder, “Quinn, figure out where this Joint is. Use the GPS on Dom’s phone if you have to.”
“Wait!” Abe’s bellow bounced off every wall in the room. “If he’s in danger, I want to know. Especially because it looks like this is my fault.”
Rowe, who had stopped at the yell, turned. He eyed Abe. “Does Dom mean something important to you?”
“Yes. Very.” He didn’t even hesitate. Didn’t have to think about it. “Who did he go to meet?”
Rowe looked around the room, his frown so fierce, his eyes were mere slits. He seemed to make some kind of internal decision because he nodded. “Dom has an identical twin brother and he’s a psychopath. A psychopath who thought Dom was dead.” He pointed to the words on the wall.
All of it made sense then. He walks, he dates…he chooses. Meet the brother or Dom’s lover dies.
“If Dom kept that noon meeting today,” Rowe said, his tone heavy with worry, “we’ll be lucky if he’s still alive.”Chapter TwelveAbe climbed out of Rowe’s SUV, ignoring the other man’s warning glares. He felt lucky the security company owner hadn’t duct taped him to a chair and left him back at the office. It certainly sounded like it was his preference. But after seeing Rowe’s reaction to the news of Dom’s brother being in town, there was no way in hell Abe was going to be left behind when it came to tracking down Dom.
Of course, they very nearly taped Shane down when Rowe wouldn’t allow him to tag along. Rowe complained about too many civilians getting in his damn way. He simply promised that Abe would be safe with his people, and Shane stepped back. Clearly not happy, but Quinn explained that he’d be supporting the mission and Shane could follow along from the office.
Dom and Abe had parted ways shortly before noon, and it was already after six. That was six hours too many that he’d potentially been in the hands of his brother. Panic flowed through Abe’s veins. He needed to see Dom, to put his hands on him and know that he was safe. And then he’d be happy to shake some sense into the man. Why didn’t Dom trust him with this information? How were they supposed to try to build something if Dom was holding back?
Swallowing a groan, Abe wanted to shake himself. This was not where his thoughts should be. He glanced around at the neighborhood and cringed. The broken-down buildings and boarded up windows didn’t exactly scream safety and warmth. Trash clogged the gutters and the street was rutted and pock-marked with holes. Despite it being the middle of the day, no one was out and about. Around them rose up the sound of rushing cars and commerce, but in this little slice of the world, the people and buildings were forgotten.
“So, you and Dom, huh?” Rowe drawled.
Abe jerked around to find Rowe leaning against the hood of the SUV, his thick arms folded across his chest. His expression was anything but welcoming, which was a little surprising. Both Quinn and Shane had spoken of Rowe Ward on more than one occasion, and it was always as this teasing, practical joker with a mischievous streak a mile wide. He’d not expected to be faced with a menacing version of Rowe.
