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Brett lay sprawled on the floor, his skin white and stiff looking, his eyes staring vacantly ahead. One blood-crusted bullet hole ate up the center of his forehead and a knife was stabbed through his hand, anchoring the extremity to the floor.
“What the fuck?” Toth wheezed.
Questions buzzed around in his mind as he stared at the dead man he hadn’t had the opportunity to kill. A rush of anger hit him. The motherfucker had tried to kill Savannah and had almost killed him in the process. He’d wanted vengeance. He’d wanted to make Brett pay, to carry out the act on Savannah’s behalf, but the bastard was already dead.
“The knife.” Cole pointed. “That’s a Sinners Cartel calling card.”
Toth’s stomach knotted. “Danny.”
“Right.” Cole took his phone from his pocket and snapped some photos of the corpse.
“This doesn’t make any fucking sense.” Toth backed out of the bathroom and tugged on his shirt collar. “The girl at the desk confronted Brett yesterday, and by the looks of things, his death isn’t too recent. He must’ve been murdered last night.”
“So why the hell hasn’t Danny called you?”
The muscles in Toth’s face tightened. “I don’t fucking know.”
But he’d damn well find out.
***
“What?” Savannah blinkedas she stared at Toth.
He and Cole had returned much quicker than anticipated, and although she was glad he hadn’t been involved in a shoot-out, the news of Brett’s murder sat like lead in her stomach.
“Yup.” Toth peeled his gun from his waistband and set it on the dinette table then took a seat. “Was dead when we got there.”
Sophia looked worried. Dare maintained a blank expression, his eyes on his brothers.
“Hold on,” Sophia began. “This is a good thing. If he’s dead, then there’s no one out to kill Savannah—”
“We don’t know that for sure,” Toth interrupted.
“But it’s promising. I know you wanted to pull the trigger, but maybe this is for the best.”
“Except for one thing,” Cole said, his voice rough. He took out his phone and approached Savannah, holding the screen so she could see.
Brett’s body was slumped against a light-green bathtub. She closed her eyes and looked away. “That’s him.”
“Look at his hand,” Cole commanded.
“Leave her be.” Toth smacked Cole’s arm down.
“No, it’s okay,” she said, grabbing Toth’s bicep as if it were a lifeline. “Let me see.”
Cole studied her then shot Toth an annoyed glare and handed Savannah the device. Fighting to keep her focus off Brett’s lifeless face, she stared at his right hand. The handle of a knife protruded from it.
A ball of nausea grew in her stomach, puffing out like a balloon until the pressure hit her esophagus. “Oh my god.” The implications swirled around her, pulling her into a vortex she didn’t want to enter.
Toth’s arms circled her waist, pinning her to his chest. His palm covered the back of her head and she sucked in one ragged breath after another until his musky scent settled her.
“I take it that looks familiar,” Cole said dryly.
She nodded.
“Do you think your dad had that done?” Toth asked.
She’d witnessed her father’s ruthlessness. Had observed his wrath on more than one occasion. And she was well aware of Sinners Cartel’s ways: a knife through the hand prior to a bullet between the eyes.
