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"Fuck," he growls. "Fine, but I may let you go to prison for lying to me."
"Might not have a choice," I admit.
Dimitri falls silent. "Jesus Christ, Constantine. I'll be there in two."
I disconnect, and then shove the phone into my pocket. The wind whips around me as I lean back against the side of the SUV with my eyes closed. If this were any other day, I'd be burning my clothes and scrubbing out the SUV to destroy any evidence I may have tracked home with me. But that ship sailed.
What was it Carmona said? He left a parting gift, a final fuck you for Dante. He fucking knew exactly what finding her meant for us. Either kill her or return her home. The first isn't even an option. We don't kill women for any reason, let alone innocent victims. And the latter means explaining to every law enforcement agency in the state why I left a trail of bodies behind.
Headlights sweep across the driveway, blinding even with my eyes closed. I want until Dante kills the engine to open them. Dimitri jogs over from his place in nothing but a pair of sweats as Dante and Bruno climb from Dante's SUV.
I push away from the SUV to meet the three of them.
"What the fuck happened?" Dante demands.
"The Kings won't be an issue anymore," I say. "And the mayor's daughter is asleep in my bed."
Dante rocks back on his heels, genuine shock crossing his face.
"Jesus fucking Christ," Dimitri growls.
"The mayor's daughter is in your bed?" Bruno says as if making sure he heard me correctly. "Clearly I missed the first act of this play."
"He found the Kings two days ago. I sent him in to handle it." Dante scrubs a hand through his silver hair. "Didn't know they had the fucking mayor's daughter."
Dimitri scowls at him.
"Don't look at me like that, nephew. You've got a pregnant wife to worry about now."
"I'll be extra worried from fucking prison," Dimitri growls. "We can't scrub the fucking scene if we're turning her over. As soon as Dillon goes in, he's going to start counting murder charges."
"There's another issue."
"Jesus Christ." Bruno throws his hands up. "I'm too fucking old for this shit."
"You're not that goddamn old," Dante says. "Suck it up."
"She's not going to the cops until she sees her dad." I cross my arms and plant my feet, prepared to fight this one out if need be. These three have been my family for a decade, but she's my priority now. "She's convinced someone set up her abduction, and someone stole the ransom money before Carmona could get to it. She isn't sure who, but she doesn't trust anyone in her father's circle."
Dante reads between the lines. "Meaning Dillon."
"Him or anyone else," I agree with a nod.
Everyone is silent for a moment, processing this news. And then Dimitri sighs heavily.
"So what's the play? We just keep her here until her dad gets back to town, then hope for the best?" He scowls, shaking his head. "That's not going to work. The longer we wait to tell anyone she's here and alert them to the bodies, the bigger the risk."
"Can the scene be staged?" Bruno asks.
"Unlikely. Most of them were in bed."
"Then we lie." The three of us look at Dante, who shrugs. "This is Texas, and she was kidnapped out of her bed and held hostage for two months. If you can convince her to say she saw you driving by and shouted for help, I doubt anyone will give a flying fuck if they died in bed or not. You're one man against a houseful of assholes holding a young girl hostage. You'll be a fucking hero as far as most people around here are concerned."
"That's never going to work," Dimitri mutters.
"Do you have a better plan?" When Dimitri doesn't say anything, Dante turns back to me. "Do you think you can convince her to help us?"
I hesitate. Can I convince her? Probably. Is it the right thing to do? I'm not so sure. She's been through enough already. Involving her with this to cover my own ass doesn't sit well with me. If it were just me at risk here, I wouldn't even consider it. I did the crime. I'll do the time. But it's not just me. It's Dante, Dimitri, and Bruno too. If I go down, I'll be dragging them down with me. They've got wives. Dante has a baby. Snow is pregnant. Ariel probably won't be far behind.
"Yeah," I sigh. "I can convince her."
Chapter Four
Aurora
I come awake with a start, though I'm not sure why. I think maybe I was dreaming again. I don't remember the details, only the feeling of…hopelessness. That's the dangerous part of being a victim, the insidiousness of feeling hopeless. It creeps up on you. Before you know it, you're in a pit of despair, unsure how to climb back out again.
