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“Hid where? Where the hell are you?”
Sophie gasps and coughs. “I’m-I’m-I’m in that old building that used to be a motel on Pearl Street and I ran here but it belongs to Talon now so they’ll look for me here sooner or later.”
I know the place she’s talking about. I can be there in five minutes.
“P-p-please Haven.” Cough. Hiccup. “I’m s-s-so scared.”
Pearl Street is only a few blocks away. If there’s any chance that Sophie really is in danger then I can’t just abandon her here. Once I get her to safety, her father can send his whole mafia army here to deal with Jared and Talon. That might solve everything.
“Wait there,” I say. “Don’t go outside. Don’t call anyone else. I’ll be right over to get you.”
“Thank you thank you thank you.” She hiccups again. “It’s so dirty in here and I just saw a rat so please hurry.”
“Breathe. I’m on my way.”
Before pocketing my phone, I dash off a text to Conner. It’s impossible to sum up current events at the moment. I’ll save that lengthy explanation for later. For now the best I can do is tell him I’ll be home soon.
Then I flick my lighter and bend down to touch the flame to the trail of flammable liquid. By the time I’m in my car with the engine started, the fire has reached the threshold and crawled inside. Once the doorway is glowing orange as the flames lick the club’s interior, I drive away.
Chapter35
Conner
For the tenth time I try to get through to Haven as chaos reigns all around me.
After a series of rings, a robotic voice invites me to leave a message. It won’t hurt to add another urgent voicemail to the ones I’ve already left.
“Baby, call me as soon as you get this.”
I stare at the phone in my hand and try to turn it into a portal that would send me straight to Haven. Switching over to the Here I Am app, I hiss out a curse when I see it’s still stuck and not updating. Fucking piece of shit. The app shows Haven’s last location as the club. But there’s no answer when I call there either.
Lita’s hopeful expression fades when I shake my head. Beside her sits a very traumatized Robert. Vito, who refused to allow an ambulance to be called, growling that he’s been shot six times before and doesn’t intend to die now, is being shepherded to the hospital by a trusted member of Gage’s security team while Gage consults with a couple of other armed guards. Got to give my cousin credit; those guys sure did speed over here in a hurry when he snapped his fingers.
I’ve been distracted by my attempts to contact Haven. Micah edges over to stand at my side and quietly fill me in on the details I missed.
While Robert was playing a morning soccer game, Vito received word of Aric Marchenko’s death. Vito decided to take no chances and ushered Robert and his mother off the field. It wasn’t soon enough. They were ambushed by a masked gunman in the parking lot. Vito used his own body to block the bullets meant for Haven’s younger brother but he couldn’t save Robert’s mother when she was grazed in the neck, hitting an artery. She died within a minute.
Never a guy to trust law enforcement, Vito refused to wait around. Even with two bullets lodged in his gut, Vito’s only thought was to get Robert to safety.
Naturally, hearing this only escalates my dread.
Haven’s family is under attack.
She’s not answering her phone.
And I can’t sit here for one more fucking minute.
“I have to find her,” I announce loudly.
Gage pauses in the middle of a conversation with his men.
“Can I borrow that?” I point to his holstered gun.
He crosses his arms. “Do you even know how to shoot?”
“Sure. You just aim it and pull the trigger. Seen it a million times on television. Now hand the thing over.”
Gage glances at Micah and the two of them have a short, silent conversation with each other.
