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“He’s dead,” Daniel said in a grim voice and eyed the pool of blood staining my goddamn floors.
“That’s JockfuckingHendrix,” I spat. “What the fuck is going on? Did someone kill him?”
“Maybe Hendrix sent guys here, and they fell out over who got to bring home the big prize,” Daniel said. “I don’t know, though. I’m guessing…”
I lost track of what my cousin was saying because I’d looked up. Horror racked my body, causing the painful breathing thing to act up again.
My bedroom door was wide open, a dark blot against the top landing.
Even though I’d heard Daniel say that he’d seen my bedroom window, I’d still hoped against hope that it had been Lia who opened it. But with Jock lying here dead and Joe Ugly tied up, even though it made no sense, it meant some bad shit had gone down.
And I knew better than to look for a silver lining.
She’s gone.A shaking hand shoved through my hair, and for a second, I thought I was going to black out from the rage and terror ripping through me.This is all my fault.
“I’m going to kill every last one of them,” I said between clenched teeth. “Call in backup. We’re going after Hendrix. Tonight.”
“Don’t be an idiot,” Daniel said in a sharp voice and I spun on my heel, grabbing him by the front of his shirt. Daniel didn’t even flinch. “You’re no use to Lia if you’re dead, Ty.”
“Do you know what that fucked up bastard will do to her?” I asked. I felt pressure building in my throat and I could barely get the next words out. “He sent Jock to retrieve her.Jock.That means he plans on letting those animals use her and—” My eyes closed, and I let go of Daniel. “Christ, this is all my fault. I didn’t vet the restaurant. I should’ve kept a guard on Lia. I should’ve?”
“Let’s figure out what the hell went down and make a plan,” Daniel said.
“Okay, you’re right. I’ll go check the security cameras,” I said. “You check on the guys.”
He nodded and we parted ways, me skirting Jock’s body and fighting the urge to kick his corpse in the balls while Daniel went back to the office.
The walk to the security room seemed to take forever. Located in the far back corner of the house, it had its own small kitchenette and a bunk room for the guards. When I got there, I saw the door had been kicked open and both of the guards had been shot. Rage pumped through my chest as I let out a hiss of breath.Both were gone. These two had been well on their way up in the organization and now they were dead in their prime.
Hendrix would pay for this.
It took me a few moments to collect myself and I grabbed one of the laptops, but not before whispering a rough “thanks” to my fallen men.It was all I could do at the moment. Because, right now,I didn't know if it was a blessing that they'd been unconscious when they'd been killed, whether it would bring any cold comfort to their families.
But fucking hell, if Jock Hendrix wasn’t lying dead in my foyer, I would have known immediately who iced my guys. It could only be that absolute demon, with his penchant for headshots and dirty tricks.
With nowhere else to go, I went to the kitchen, the effect of the drug making me jump at shadows as cold sweat poured down my back. As the laptop booted back up, I went to the fridge and poured myself a glass of water, gulping it down. Then I grabbed the jar of homemade Italian anisette cookies that Flora made and proceeded to wolf down half of them.
The water and the sugar helped as the laptop finally turned on and I logged in. Breathing hard through my nose, I navigated to the encrypted drive and pulled up the backup cameras. The generator kept them running, even when it appeared they were off.
Flicking through the different cameras, I went back a few hours until I found one of Lia leaving my bedroom. Usually, I didn’t give a shit about my bedroom having a camera but now I wished that it did. It would be something to think about in the future.
Following Lia as she went down the stairs, I noted the tense alertness in her posture and the way she froze when the power got cut. I also noted the way she seemed to be listening, even as she all but ran straight into my office.
A throb went through my chest, and I pulled up the office camera. Since they were all state-of-the-art, switching to night mode when the sun went down, I was able to see everything.
Lia ran straight to me, trying to wake me up and gazing around in confusion.
“Lia,” I whispered, feeling even more unmoored by what I was seeing than any of the drug that was fucking up my internal chemistry.I can’t believe you ran to me.
She'd been hesitating, glancing at me, then the window, and then back to me. My breath stilled in my chest.
Run, Lia,I urged in my head.Get the fuck out. I don’t care; I’ll find you.
But Lia didn’t run.
She just looked at me for far too long, then jumped into action.
“Holy shit,” I breathed as I watched Lia go after those fuckers. She got the better of Joe, then Sarksi.
