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“Hospital, Marcio!” How I sounded so calm, I didn’t know, but I focused on the woman gasping below me. Blood sprayed out at her cough and I tried my hardest to think of something more to do. Aside from trying to stop the bleeding, I was helpless.
“Brace, Terrance has been shot. I’m guessing about four blocks from the building. Find him, get him help, and get your ass to the hospital now. We have a few wounded and I want you here.” Slade hung up and moved further toward the front where Charlie lay. “Jesus,” my brother groaned, “he’s dead.”
Chapter 44
Zain
The buzzing of voices went on and on, coming in and out as I tried to focus on the numbers. No matter how hard I tried to block them out completely, it just wasn’t happening today. All I could think about was my slave and how I kept telling her I’d be there for her, when in truth, I kept getting pushed further away. I couldn’t stand it.
I pushed back from the desk and spun to the other side, grabbing my bottled water. As I began unscrewing the cap, I paused, taking in what the hell everyone was going on about.
“No, I just heard about ten minutes ago. Pete, from downstairs, said Mr. Robert’s guard tore out of here in a rush. Said he heard something about a shooting.”
I jerked to face the cubicle, but didn’t get as far as letting it come into focus before I was already standing.
“Who said that?” I broke around the wall, scanning the surrounding cubbies. “What happened with Mr. Roberts’s guards?” Silence had my heart racing even faster. “You,” I growled, “who said that?”
The man who sat directly across from me pointed to the side of him.
“You,” I stormed toward the heavyset man in his mid-fifties, “what happened?”
His mouth opened and closed in shock and what looked to be fear. “The guards. They raced out of here. Something about Mr. Roberts’s limo getting shot up. Pete said he heard a call come in over the scanner about a few people being injured. Even dead. It fit the description of the rumors floating around.”
My skin turned cold as I raced for the elevator. The longer it took, the more I slammed my palm against the button. I reached in my pocket, grabbing my phone and hitting Lily’s number. It went immediately to voicemail.
“God dammit!” I took a step back, charging forward the moment the doors opened. The ride down was the slowest in my life. When I broke into the lobby, Brace, Marcio, and Terrance were nowhere to be seen. I headed for the entrance, dialing Slade. Before I could finish, my phone rang.
“Hello? Hello?” My greeting came rushed and panicked. I jogged through until I broke to the entrance of the parking garage. I hit a dead sprint to the car as I waited for someone to talk. “Hello?”
“Lily is fine. She’s talking to the police now. She wanted me to call you in case you’d heard anything.”
My legs almost gave out at the sound of Slade’s voice.
“Fuck. What the hell happened? Some guy in the cubicle across from mine broke the news.”
Slade took a deep breath and I could hear his shoes against some type of flooring. “Terrance is dead. Vanessa and Charlie, two of my team leaders, are also dead. Another was shot in the arm. Marcio says it was white SUV that hit us from behind. When he stopped and they both got out to check the damage, three men exited the vehicle and began firing. The accent they had would have this pointing toward you.” The blame was clear as he ground out the words. “What have you discovered on your uncle, Zain? I thought you had this taken care of.”
I pulled open the door and froze. I had locked that door, now it was unlocked. The realization had me slowly lowering down to look under the dash and the underbelly of the car. I left the door open, reaching under the seat where I had my gun and knife hidden under the flooring. Once I pushed them into the waistband of my slacks, I turned to head out of the garage. “I suspected he might be here, but he’s staying under the radar. We’re not, though. Call the bomb squad and get them to remove that bomb strapped to Lily’s car. You might want to have your building evacuated too. Fuck,” I breathed out, stopping at the ground level entrance. “You have to leave. Take Lily and Mary and head to your estate. San Francisco isn’t safe.”
Slade’s voice sounded distant as he told Brace to call his building, then the volume increased as he came back to me. “You know Lily won’t leave without you.”
My free hand fisted. “She doesn’t have a choice. You tell her I said to. End of story. Now, I have to go. I’m ending this once and for all.”
“How are you going to do that?” There was a slight edge to Slade’s voice that had me questioning my sanity. My slave’s brother was too close of a connection to her. He represented what I could so easily lose. My brain told me to me to get home. To face the men who were waiting and finally get my revenge. My heart told me to think smart and call the only backup I trusted.
“Let’s just say Saul may be stealthy, but he’s a lot like my father. He’s a creature of habit. I know his next move and I plan to turn the tables on him. He might think he has me where he wants. He may even suspect that I know what it is. What he fails to see is that I think outside of the box. I cover every possibility and I calculate the best outcome. I know what I have to do.”
The footsteps returned and I assumed Slade began pacing again. “Just make sure you wear the damn vest. I swear, you should just leave it on with the rate you’re going.”
“You don’t know Saul. He’s not going to be aiming for the chest, brother. He’s going for the head if he or his men take a shot. It’s the kill factor. They don’t chance survivors. If they’re pulling the trigger, they want you dead.”
“Wear the damn vest anyway,” Slade snapped.
Cars thickened as I stared at the traffic. Was one of Saul’s men out here waiting for me? Or did they assume I had been in the limo? It was hard to say when I didn’t know whether they’d witnessed the group crowding to get inside. If I knew one thing, it was that Saul was already in my home, waiting to see if I came back. He’d know my new residence. I was betting my life on it.
“I have to go. Tell Lily I love her.”
“You should get your ass here and just tell her yourself. I can’t stand her always being in the middle of this. You should let Blake or Gaige take care of it.”
