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I knew Valentino DeMarco. He was a big-time dealer with a heavy grip on shipping in Seattle and had a reputation for being ruthless. I knew he was someone Gabriel had been in business with before his death, so it made sense. Valentino also worked closely with the Godwin family as well as their sister company Poseidon Enterprises. I needed to know there was no connection.
As if reading my mind, Braken said, “It wasn’t tied to the Godwins. I made sure.”
I balled up the piece of paper in my fist and threw it across the room. “I want him dead,” I growled.
Braken hesitated for a moment before he said, “He already is. Dead.” He took a deep breath. “Someone got to him before we could.”
My heart sank at the news. I had been looking forward to taking justice into my own hands, to feel the satisfaction of pulling the trigger and knowing that I had avenged Gabriel’s death. But now that chance was snatched away from me.
I stood up from my chair and walked over to the window, staring out at the harbor below. “Who?” Men like Valentino had a lot of enemies and a short life span. But I still wanted to know who had rid the world of Gabriel’s killer.
“No answers there. But I can keep digging if you want. I will say this though…” Braken cleared the distance between us and stood next to me, his hands in his pockets. “We know Storee is safe now. For sure. We always assumed she was, but now we know.”
“You know for a fact he acted alone? Wasn’t ordered to kill by anyone?”
“I’m sure,” Braken said. “Gabriel fucked him over. Valentino didn’t keep the kill secret.”
I closed my eyes, trying to quiet the storm of emotions inside me. The ache in my gut had turned into a searing pain, and the only thing that would quell it was Storee.
But just like my chance of seeking revenge, I had lost her too.
“Find out who did it,” I said, turning back to Braken. “I want to know who killed him.”
Braken nodded, his expression unreadable. “I’ll start asking around.”
I walked back to my desk, pouring myself another glass of scotch. The burn of the alcohol felt good, helping to numb the pain in my chest. I couldn’t stop thinking about Storee, about how much I had screwed things up with her.
“You want to talk about it?” Braken asked, sitting in the chair across from me, reaching for the scotch and pouring himself his own drink.
“About what?”
“Storee. It’s no secret something happened between the two of you. You’ve been sulking for a week, we haven’t seen her around you, and… dude, I know you. What happened?”
“I fucked up. I pushed her away when I should have held on tight.”
“I’m sorry, man,” Braken said quietly. “That sucks.”
“Yeah,” I replied, staring down at my glass. “It does. She found out about The Hunt. About me being the one that hunted her. She found the mask, confronted me, and I just stood there like a god damn idiot. I didn’t mean for her to find out like that, but she did. And now she’s gone.”
Braken studied me for a moment before he spoke. “Fix it.”
I shook my head and shrugged. “She deserves better anyway. I was stupid to think that there could ever be something between us.”
There was a long silence, the only sound the soft clinking of ice in our glasses as we took sips of scotch. I tried not to think about Storee, about how much I missed her, about how desperately I wanted to be outside her cottage watching her. Making sure that no one could hurt her.
But as hard as it was, I stayed away.
I was the motherfucker who hurt her.
“I’ll look into who killed Valentino,” Braken said, standing up from his chair. “I’ll also keep an eye on Storee if that helps.” He paused with his hand on the doorknob, looking back at me with a small smile. “Although you’ve never been a man to give up. When you want something, you get it. If you want my advice—”
I looked up at him and made eye contact, silently warning him to shut up.
He didn’t listen. “I think you should dig deep and find that man again,” he said, always being the man to call me out on my shit. “Crawl back from that shame you cast on yourself and climb back to her.”
Chapter 32
Storee
