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Sadie’s lips curled into a satisfied, almost amused grin, as she turned to me to deliver the news.
“Who was it? Did Jasper get any information before?”
Sadie’s lips pulled into another grin.
“It wasn’t Jasper.” I sighed at Sadie’s cryptic words because I refused to play this game. Sitting up was still painful, breathing and talking even more so.
“Take a look for yourself.”
She handed me the phone, and I snuck a glance at Vanessa who focused her gaze on the scenery just outside the window.
“What is this?” I asked as I scanned the screen.
“Look.” Sadie nodded at the video she’d queued up.
“Who hired you?” That voice, undoubtedly, belonged to the man who held my heart but didn’t want it.
“No one, I just wanted to shoot some dumb bitch.”
“Bullshit,” Terry growled. “You told her to mind her business. Who hired you?” The man shook his head with a cheeky grin that quickly vanished when Terry slid a knife into his abdomen, slowly, as if he wanted to savor the sound of his tortured screams. “Answer the fucking question.”
“Fine,” the guy panted, and I knew it was him, knew that slightly squeaky voice because it haunted my sleeping hours for the past five days.
“Some old guy, think he’s a preacher or something.”
“You think or you know?” Terry held the knife, the tip pressed less than a centimeter at the center of the man’s chest.
He panted, close to panicking in anticipation of the next second.
“Miller. He said his name was Miller.”
“I don’t believe you,” Terry said and tapped the handle of the blade, sending it deeper into the thug’s skin as one line of blood spilled out.
“Mueller. The guy is some fucking bigwig in the church out here. I’ve done work for his brother in the Midwest and his cousin on the east coast. He’s a fat fuck with gray hair and a black and gray beard. Some MILF- type bitch paid me when the job was done. That’s it. I swear.”
Terry sighed. “Thanks for that.” The video stopped abruptly and I swiped, hoping for more but there was no more.
“That’s it?”
Sadie nodded and took the phone from my hand, tapping the screen half a dozen times before she turned a photo to me.
“No, this is it.” The same man was face up in a dumpster surrounded by spaghetti, black bags, used needles, and condoms, plus a few bible pages. His throat was slashed, his skin pale and eyes open in a kind of resigned terror.
Dead. He was dead. “Am I supposed to swoon over this, Ma?” I snorted.
“How you react is up to you, Kat. I’m just the messenger.” Her tone was even, but that little quirk of her lips told me different.
“I’m glad the guy is dead, but Terry made his feelings clear and his distinct absence from the hospital doubled down on the message.”
Vanessa gasped.
“What? No. Terry came to see you. More than once.” I shook my head because it couldn’t be true. “The first night he came about an hour after your surgery to make sure you were …alive,” she stammered. “He came every night other than last night. He’s been there. He’s the one who brought me your favorite lip balm and lotion.”
My eyes slammed shut at the thoughtful gestures. They didn’t matter, those deeds done out of guilt hardly meant a damn thing. His presence was what I wanted in my life.
“He feels guilty, that’s all. What about Ravager?” I needed to focus on the business, because honestly? The Ashby business was all I had. And that had to fuel me from here on out.
“He confirmed that Brendan Rhymer gave him double the purse if he won the fight so it was an easy deal to take since he wanted to win anyway. He didn’t like my story arc for him and decided to make the money now.”
Sadie snorted a laugh and shook her head. “Good thing he did, because he won’t be fighting for a long time.”
I shook my head, trying to make sense of things. “Why would Brendan do that, knowing his old man would lose big at the unexpected outcome? Screwing with us is one thing, but Ronan?”
“According to Jasper, Brendan has gone rogue. Thinks Ronan is never gonna hand over power to him. He’s been causing a lot of fucking trouble since his return from the grave.”
Sadie’s annoyance came through clearly and I couldn’t help but wonder what this meant for the rest of us. “He knows how things work and figured fucking over the old man and the Ashby’s was a double win situation.”
Thankfully, the car came to a stop at Ashby Manor, and I was free to make my escape, though progress was a slow and only with the help of Vanessa.
“Don’t go too fast,” she warned. “The doctor said to take it easy with those stitches and staples for another week.”
