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"We don't fight alone in this brotherhood," Cash says. "What one of us endures, we all endure. You're under our protection now, Bella."
Of course. They're family.
"Talk to me, baby," Cormac says. "Tell me what happened."
I expel a breath. "There isn't a lot to tell. Bellamy was working late like always. I had some things to finish up, so I stayed over. When I was done, he asked if I could do him a favor before I left and run something down to the studio, so they'd have it in the morning," I say. "He went to the parking garage, and I went to drop off the flash drive. The studio is only one floor from the garage, so I decided to take the stairs."
Cormac runs soothing hands up and down my arms.
"I heard arguing when I made it to the garage. Two men had Bellamy pinned to the ground, demanding money from him. They kept saying he owed them." I shiver at the memory. Bellamy kept shouting that he'd get them whatever they wanted, but they didn't want to hear it.
They were so violent.
"I just…froze. I didn't know Bellamy had a panic button on his keyfob. Neither did they. One of them stomped on his hand, and he let go of his keys. That's when they realized he'd been pressing the button. Um, they got mad." I flinch, cowering into Cormac.
"The younger of the two kicked him in the stomach. The older one pulled out a gun and shot him twice." I cower deeper into Cormac, grateful when Samara reaches for my hand, gripping it tightly. "I screamed."
"Jesus," Cash whispers.
Cormac growls, a low, menacing sound.
"I didn't mean to do it."
"I'm so damn sorry, Bella," Cash says, his expression rife with remorse. "You never should have had to see that."
"They heard me," I whisper, licking my lips. "The youngest started coming toward me. I turned and ran back inside the building. Um, you have to have the code to get in, and they didn't have the code. A few minutes later, they peeled out of the parking deck in a black Charger." I exhale a shaky breath. "I waited for a minute to make sure they were gone, and then I tried to help Bellamy until the police got there."
He was already beyond help, but I tried anyway. I couldn't just leave him. The whole time, I was terrified they were going to come back and kill me too. But Bellamy was a friend. He took a chance on me when no one else would. I couldn't leave him to die alone.
"They must have gotten a good look at me," I mumble. "Two days later, someone set my car on fire. The next day, they broke into my apartment and trashed it."
"Do the police have any leads?"
"The Dixie Mafia."
"Motherfucker," Cormac curses, tension radiating from him.
Cash and Andreas look shell-shocked. Fifth just looks worried.
"Um, they think Bellamy owed them drug money. I don't think it was Bellamy though. I think it's his son, Brantley. Um, the musician." I meet Fifth's gaze. "I had access to Bellamy's bank account. Drug addicts aren't as careful with money as he was."
Fifth gives me a barely perceptible nod.
"Brantley looks like he has it all together, but he doesn't. I heard him and Bellamy arguing about something Bellamy was worried people were going to find out about. If he owed drug money, they'd go after Bellamy."
"She's not wrong," Bender says. "If you can't squeeze blood from a turnip, you move to the thing you can squeeze it from."
No one disagrees with him. They can't. Criminals target family members all the time. There is no honor amongst thieves and monsters. If there were, I wouldn't be here now. Bellamy wouldn't be dead now.
"The Dixie Mafia," Andreas muses out loud.
"They aren't getting their fucking hands on her," Cormac swears, steely resolve in his voice. "I don't care if we have to kill every single one of the motherfuckers to get that point across. Bella is off-limits."
"Agreed," Andreas says.
"Agreed," the rest of the brothers echo.
Chapter Five
