AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Tam nodded and dragged Jayden out. We had to get out of here. There must only be minutes left before the cops showed up.
I used that time wisely, emptying the rest of the fuel over as much of the delivery as I could, hoping to destroy the evidence. I threw the cannister away. We’d all worn gloves this whole time, so I didn’t need to worry about prints being on it.
Coughing, my hand raised to cover my mouth, I turned and ran for the open doorway. The bloodied driver was slamming the doors shut of the lorry, desperate to make an escape. Tam was already waiting outside in his car.
“I had to let Jayden go,” Tam said. “He needed to drive his father’s vehicle out of here.”
“Shit. Do you think he’ll be all right?”
“Who the fuck knows, but we need to leave. I need to tell Hallie.”
I didn’t envy him that job.
The rise and fall of sirens sounded. The emergency services were on their way.
“Go,” I said. “We’ll reconvene later.”
I jumped into my car, drove away from the direction the sirens appeared to be coming from, though I expected the emergency services would be pulling in whoever was free from right across London when they realised what had happened. This was a big fucking deal. I was thankful the number plates on the vehicles were all fake. If we were caught on CCTV, the vehicles wouldn’t immediately be linked back to us.
We also needed to break what had happened to our father. He wasn’t going to be happy to hear yet another delivery had been destroyed. How would he react to Marlon Wynter’s death, though? That was going to change things. I hoped it wouldn’t make life difficult for Tam. I didn’t like the idea of Jayden Wynter being left to his own devices in the state he was in. I knew from my own experience of grief that people made stupid decisions when they were caught up in it. Had he made the connection between the bombing and the Gilligans yet? If he hadn’t, he was bound to soon.
My ears were still ringing from the explosion, and I hoped I hadn’t suffered any permanent hearing loss.
I drove as fast as I dared, without breaking the speed limit. I didn’t want to be pulled over now, not covered in blood and debris from the explosion. I was betting that any available response vehicles would be radioed in to attend to the scene and wouldn’t have time to worry about giving someone a speeding ticket, but even so, I didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention to myself.
I drove into the underground car park of my building and allowed myself to breathe. I needed to keep my cool. It was a disaster that we’d lost the consignment, but the loss of Marlon Wynter was worse. What kind of shock waves was that going to send through London? How vulnerable was that going to leave his patch? What would happen to our alliance? It had been made between our father and Marlon, but if Jayden decided the union was over, we couldn’t stop him. He’d be a fool to decide that, considering his family would be even more vulnerable now. The Wynters needed us, whether Jayden liked it or not. The only one who might be able to talk some sense into him was Hallie, but she would be grieving, too.
Dammit. This was the last thing we needed right now.
I parked the car in my usual spot and climbed out. I kept my head down, aware that I was covered in blood and concrete dust. There was the risk of being caught on CCTV looking like this, and I didn’t want to have to explain it to the police.
Kaja couldn’t be my alibi either. It wouldn’t take long for the police to figure out that she was here illegally, even if she did use the fake ID and name I’d got her.
What a fucking mess.
Walking with my hand cupped over my face, I caught the lift to the top floor. I used my key to let myself in and shut the door again quickly.
“Kaja?” I called out, just in case Hallie had brought her back here.
No answer came. I didn’t know why I thought she might be here. She didn’t even have a key to get in, and neither did Hallie. I suddenly found myself more worried about Kaja’s location than what had happened over the past hour. What if she was in trouble?
I took out my phone—which I’d been sensible enough to leave in my car instead of taking into the warehouse—and called Hallie’s number.
She answered within the first ring. “She’s with me. Don’t panic.”
“Thank fuck for that. Is Tam back yet?”
“No, why? Do I need to be worried?”
“What about Jayden? Have you heard from your brother?”
“No. Seriously, Leo, what’s going on? You’re frightening me.”
It wasn’t my place to break such tragic news to her. “Tam will be with you shortly. I’m going to get changed and clean up a little, and then I’ll come to you.”
“Okay, Leo. I’ll see you soon.”
I ended the call.
