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“And you’re not going back there alone,” Lucas declared.
“You’re right.” Lucas deflated before their eyes and Rowe couldn’t stop his snicker. Lucas had puffed up, ready for a fight and Andrei stole it away. “I’ll grab one or two of the guys from work next time I need to stop by for something.” Andrei lifted his eyebrows at Lucas and grinned. “I’m not an idiot.”
“No! Of course not! I…just…”
Hollis’s cackle echoed through the penthouse, cutting off Lucas’s stammer.
“What else, cop?” Lucas demanded, getting his footing again.
“We’ve enlisted about a dozen Covington cops and they’re going door to door here in the Ascent right now to make sure he hasn’t found a way into this building.” Hollis turned his attention to Ian. “There’s still an undercover cop outside your place and at Rialto.”
“Thanks,” Ian mumbled, paling slightly at his words.
“What about Snow’s and Jude’s?” Andrei inquired.
“We checked around Jude’s address as well as at his mother’s. Nothing.” Hollis took a drink of his coffee and then stopped, looking around the penthouse. “Where is the doc?”
Lucas, still frowning, leaned back in his chair. “On his way.”
“We’re checking out his neighbors. There’s one we haven’t been able to catch. It looks like they’ve been coming and going, but they keep weird hours.”
Lucas’s brow furrowed and something in Rowe’s stomach clenched. “Which ones?”
“The ones on the left.”
Lucas’s hands clenched into fists. “They’re gone. No one is there.”
“What?”
“They’re snowbirds. They’ve got a place down in West Palm and left just before Thanksgiving like they do every year. Snow usually checks the place every week or so until they come back, which won’t be until Easter.”
“Shit,” Hollis hissed, jumping to his feet. “That must be where he’s been staying since we found all the other hideouts.”
Rowe stood. They’d found him. If the cops were closing in on Gratton and he knew it was only a matter of time before he was caught, he’d feel the need to go after one last target. He’d go for the one man that nearly killed him. Snow.
Lucas grabbed his phone and started to punch in numbers then stopped, obviously reading a text.
“Oh fuck!” Lucas ground out between clenched teeth. “Snow got his house back today. He’s heading over there with Jude now before coming here.”
“Call him!” Hollis shouted, starting to backpedal toward the front door. “Call him and tell him to come straight here. Don’t let him go in there!”
Rowe grabbed a handful of Hollis’s coat, pulling the taller man to a sharp halt. He leaned in close so that Hollis couldn’t look anywhere but into his face. “I’m going with you.”
“No! I…No!” he stammered, trying to push Rowe off of him but Rowe wouldn’t budge.
“This isn’t a debate. You take me with you or I knock you out and leave you here.” Rowe’s voice was deceptively calm, but his hands were shaking as they twisted in the worn leather.
“Ward—”
“He killed my wife, Banner. My fucking wife. He nearly killed Ian. He’s trying to kill Snow. I’m going with you.”
Hollis stared at him for a second, though it felt like much longer, his dark eyes reading something that Rowe wasn’t sure he wanted this man to see. But it didn’t matter. He didn’t care what the cop saw so long as it got him closer to Gratton.
A long, heavy sigh slipped from Hollis and his shoulders slumped. “We’re going to pick up Snow and Jude for breakfast,” Hollis said in a low voice. “Now you repeat it.”
His brow wrinkled as he looked at Hollis like he’d lost his mind, but he repeated it as instructed.
“Might as well work on our story now,” Hollis muttered and then added under his breath, “I’m so going to get my ass handed to me for this.”
Rowe wanted to feel bad for the cop as he followed him out of Lucas’s, but he couldn’t. He was finally going to get his hands on the man who killed Mel, who was bent on destroying his family. It wouldn’t fill the gaping hole in his chest, but maybe this would help him sleep at night.Chapter 24“I was thinking.”
Snow glanced at Jude, who sat mostly facing him in the passenger seat of his car. He started to crack a joke, but Jude’s drawn brows and tight lips let him know whatever he was about to say was serious. He didn’t speak right away, so Snow kept his mouth shut and waited, keeping his eyes on the road. The sun couldn’t make a dent in this blustery day and he wished that neither he nor Jude had to work later. That they could crawl back into Jude’s warm bed and watch movies while Cincinnati was hit with another snow storm. Luckily, Jude’s heater was working again and though having two of them in the tiny studio was cramped, it had been cozy, too. And fucking hot.
