Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 102833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
She pulls back and looks at Lorenzo for several seconds before her sad eyes meet mine. And my stomach sinks. I’m afraid she’s going to tell us that she wants to leave—but not because she’ll be leaving me … but because the thought of living without her is unfathomable. If she says she wants to leave, I’ll go with her.
“No.” She shakes her head, coming over to my side and sliding her arms around my waist. “I don’t want to go anywhere. Everyone I care about is right here.”
“C’mon,” Peyton says to her. “Let’s get you cleaned up. The guys have stuff to take care of, so I think a girls’ night is in order.”
Dani glances up at me, silently asking me if it’s okay for her to go, and I nod once before I capture her mouth with mine for a quick kiss, needing to taste her.
When the girls are gone, Lorenzo drops onto the couch and sighs. “This whole thing is fucked.”
“Yeah,” I agree, still standing because I have too much aggression built up to sit.
Not only did I not fight tonight, but there’s a piece of shit waiting for me to grill and torture at the warehouse.
“You’re going to stay here with the girls?” I confirm.
Dominick had to go back to The Underground to deal with the police after dropping Peyton and Bri off at home and making sure Bri’s new boyfriend got home safely.
Since Dominick owns the warehouse, he’s responsible for everything that went down tonight. Thankfully, the cameras show the gunmen coming in and going off, so we won’t be held responsible for what happened, but it still doesn’t look good. The spectators came to The Underground to have a good time, expecting to be protected while under our roof, and instead, many of them were injured or lost their lives. We need to figure out who the fuck is gunning for us—and soon.
“Yeah,” Lorenzo says. “I know the guards are here, but …”
“I appreciate it,” I tell him. “And I’m sure it will make Dani feel better to know you’re here as well.”
I’m about to head out when Dominick walks through the door, looking exhausted.
“How bad was it?” I ask.
“Surprisingly, not bad,” he says. “Most of the deaths were the gunmen. It’s almost as if they didn’t want to kill anyone.”
“The same way they kept Dani alive.” I nod thoughtfully. “They wanted to send a message.”
Dominick looks at me in confusion, and I tell him and Lorenzo about the call and warning.
“This shit is personal,” Dominick says with a tic of his jaw.
“Dani thinks it’s a woman,” I tell them.
Dominick whips his head around to look at me in shock. “A fucking woman?”
“Dani said the way she held herself, it felt like she was a woman. But she was under duress, so who knows?”
“Fuck,” Dominick hisses. “At this point, we can’t rule anyone out.”
“What about Hillary?” Lorenzo asks.
“Nah.” I shake my head. “She’s not smart enough to pull all this off.”
“We should still look into it,” Lorenzo insists. “She’s conniving enough, and she has it out for you guys.”
I nod in agreement, but don’t mention that I’ve had my guy check on Hillary to ensure she stays the fuck away from my best friend. She’s living in Georgia, working part-time as a waitress at some shitty breakfast joint while working her slutty body at night, trying to find her next sugar daddy.
“I think we should question the mayor again,” I tell Dominick. “He’s been linked to Anthony and Enrique.”
“You think he’s capable of all this?” Dominick questions.
“No,” I say honestly. “But if whoever did all this was working with Enrique and Anthony, there’s a chance that they’re also working with the mayor, and since he’s the only one alive, it can’t hurt to question him.”
“Where are the girls?” Dominick asks.
“Upstairs, having a girls’ night,” Lorenzo tells him.
“And Daniella?” he asks, looking at me.
“She’s okay.”
He nods. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah.”
While Dominick drives us to the warehouse, Eddy’s on the phone, catching us up on what he found out regarding the guy we were able to catch. The ones who died at The Underground will eventually be made public, and then Eddy can find out about them, but until then, this guy is our only link to the person who’s gunning for us.
When we walk into the warehouse, sitting in the metal chair, the same way Dani was, is one of the men who helped take Dani from The Underground.
According to Eddy, his name is Ross Ryker. He’s in his early twenties, and he has a girlfriend and baby at home. He resides in South Harbor Point and has been through a dozen jobs—he can’t seem to keep one because he’s a drug addict who refuses to get clean.
“Look,” he says the second he sees us walk in, his eyes wide with fear, telling me he knows exactly who we are. “I didn’t know what the assignment was. A friend of mine had told me that a job became available. It was supposed to be quick, easy cash. Get the girl and bring her to the port. If I had known it was your girl—”