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Candace shoots to the edge of her seat. “I can call him. I can—”
“Not yet,” Blake says, eyeing me but before he can speak, Candace pushes him.
“We need to take down Gabriel quickly,” Candace argues. “We have to get him arrested and—”
Blake interrupts. “We don’t have that problem anymore.”
There’s a finality to his words that I know well. Candace does not. She blinks and I can feel her attention slide between me and Blake but I’m looking at Blake. “Ding Dong, Pencil Dick is dead,” I say before he can speak. “Alejandro killed him.”
“He’s dead?!” Candace asks, sounding confused and alarmed. “I thought—I thought I was the target?”
“You are,” I say tightly. “Tag paid Alejandro to kill you. He also made arrangements to ensure Alejandro still gets paid for completing the job, despite his death. Gabriel dying first was a message to me. I didn’t do the job, so Tag had to pay Alejandro to it, and now I have to pay the price.”
“Which is what?” Candace asks, swiveling around to face me.
I catch her hand, meet her stare. “You know what, baby.”
Her delicate little throat bobs. “You have to watch me die.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Blake assures her.
I turn her to face me, my hands firmly on her shoulders. “That’s not going to happen.”
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Savage
Candace is shaken. I see it in the paleness of her face, hear it in the crack of her voice. And I get it. The man hunting to kill her, just proved what I already knew—he’s an assassin. An unpredictable one who killed a man she almost married. It doesn’t matter that that shit never made sense. It happened. He was alive and close to her and now he’s dead.
That shit would rattle even a bad person.
I need to get her to her new apartment where I can give her a level of security, but for now, I hang onto her hand and focus on finding out the facts from Blake. “What else?”
“The police want to talk to both of you,” he says, handing me a piece of paper. “That’s the detective on the case, but we need to talk about what I told him.”
I glance at the name which rings no bells and then eye Blake. “What did you tell him?”
“The truth with some omissions,” he says. “Obviously I couldn’t tell him that you killed Tag or that Tag was involved at all, not without dragging you into the mud. We don’t drag our own into the mud.” It’s a message of brotherhood, one I’ve been slowly learning with Walker, but I’m getting there, really damn fast.
He glances at Candace. “I’m going to preface everything else I say going forward by asking you to keep in mind that we’re highly respected with law enforcement. We earn that every day and our name goes a long way. You’re stronger with us which is exactly why Savage brought you here.”
I squeeze her hand. “Only one of the many reasons.” I give her a wink.
She attempts a smile. “I know,” she whispers and then glances at Blake. “I’m listening.”
He gives a little nod and continues, “I told the detective that you’ve been afraid for your life and that of your father. I told him that we stepped in to protect you and had intel that Alejandro was a hitman. We were concerned about your safety at the party.”
“What intel?” she asks.
“Just say you don’t know,” I say. “I’ll handle it.”
“I told them we asked around and it wasn’t hard to discover,” Blake replies. “Adrian and Smith gave statements about helping you escape tonight, Candace.” He glances at me. “I told them the same of you but they want to hear it from you.”
I arch a brow. “Are they sure Alejandro killed Gabriel or are they going to look at me?”
“Oh no,” Candace says quickly, grabbing my arm. “Please tell me you aren’t going to be blamed.”
“No,” Blake replies. “Alejandro walked up to Gabriel in the driveway at the mansion and shot him. It’s on film. I’m trying to figure out how he thinks he gets out of this.”
“This can’t be real,” Candace murmurs. “No hired killer would be that stupid, would he? Has Alejandro lost his mind?”
“I’m guessing there was a big enough payday and a ride overseas,” I say, “to equal retirement.”
“Does that mean it’s over?” she asks. “Was Gabriel the real target?”
“No, baby. Tag doesn’t bluff. If he said Alejandro is coming for you, then he’s coming for you.” I eye Blake. “What did you tell them that tipped Candace off to the threat to her and her father’s lives?”
“The text message she found threatening her father which I handed over. And,” he adds, “since I’ve been made aware of the complications Pocher represents, we took the audio of him and Gabriel talking about killing Candace and manipulated Pocher’s voice. We’ve handed that over and told the police.”
