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"That's enough." A deep baritone barked out. "Razor, finish it."

Az tensed behind me, and his hand pressed harder against my mouth. The one called Razor stepped into view, grabbing Noah's hair and jerking his head back. Silent sobs ripped through me as I watched him lean down and whisper something in Noah's ear before leaning away with a sadistic grin. Az's other arm looped around my waist, and he squeezed me tightly against him as the mobster drew his blade along Noah's throat.

Tears tracked down my face, my body trembling in Az's hold while we watched the blood pour from the wound. His breaths gurgled and grew erratic as the minutes dragged on. The scene before me seemed to play out over an eternity before a voice broke through the harrowing sounds of my friend dying.

"Put a bullet in his head and get the picture for the boss. This is taking too fucking long and I've got a date to get my dick sucked."

My body jerked as the shot rang out, Noah's body finally going still as someone stepped forward to drop a red spidery lily on his chest and snap a photo.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Az

I gripped Victoria's violently trembling body tightly to my chest. Tears pooled above my hand before spilling over where I covered her mouth to keep her from screaming and giving us away. The other guys would arrive soon, but until they did, I couldn't risk us being found by the Jackals outside the dumpster where we hid. There were too many of them for me to risk taking them on alone.

Time seemed to stand still as we waited. Our enemies' voices slowly faded into the distance as my mind replayed everything we'd seen and heard. As much as I disliked Noah Mercer, I'd never wished the end he'd met on him. I'd never thought his last words would be to praise me, but here we were.

After some time, a bang on the dumpster caused us both to jump. My hand was already moving from around Victoria to the waistband of my pants for my gun when I heard Rich's voice.

"You two in there?" Rich called.

"Thank fuck," I breathed, releasing Victoria completely so I could lean around her and slide open the metal access doors the rest of the way. "We're here!"

When I wrenched the access fully open, Joey was standing just outside. He reached in toward Victoria to help her climb out of the dumpster.

"Come here, Sweetheart, I got you. You're okay now."

Once she was free of the access doors, I followed her out. Leighton had taken Joey's place and offered his hand with a grin.

"Your assistance, my good sir," He cackled.

"Shut it, L." I replied, straining my neck to look around him where Noah's body should have been.

Blood stained the concrete, but there was no sign of Noah Mercer. The Jackals had moved the body in the time it took the guys to arrive. I turned to Rich, giving him a pointed look.

"Az, Joey, get the Princess home." He said with a frown. "The rest of you start looking for any evidence you can find to prove the Jackals violated neutrality. This lot is center property now. It's neutral, but if we're going to pursue the violation, we need evidence it was them."

Joey tucked Victoria under his arm and guided her toward the center parking lot. I waited until they were out of sight to give Rich a quick rundown of what happened between the time I texted the guys and their arrival. I gave them the quick and dirty version while Craig was taking a video of what evidence was there.

"Alright, we'll take it over from here. Get home and check on the Princess. You're fidgeting and you won't feel better until you do," Rich said, putting his hand on my shoulder, motioning with his head toward where I parked the car.

I was nearly vaulting out of the car by the time I got it in park and rushing toward the house. I made my way inside and made a beeline for Victoria's rooms. I heard the water running in the bathroom and took a deep breath. I knew that Joey wouldn't let anything happen to her. Still, it wasn't until I heard him speaking to her in soft tones that the anxious energy from the drive home started to drain from me.

I leaned against the bathroom door and watched them for a moment. Victoria's gaze caught me, causing Joey to whirl around.

"Relax there, Sweetheart, I'm gonna talk to Az for a minute. We'll be right out here if you need anything, okay?" Joey said, running his hand over her hair, waiting until she acknowledged before he stood from the tub's edge. He motioned for me to step out and led me to her bedroom.

"I checked the cut on her thigh. It's not deep enough for stitches, but we'll need to keep an eye on it. Also, I gave her a sleeping pill to help calm her and to get her to rest when she gets out of the bath. She'll probably be a little groggy, so you'll probably have to help her dry off and dress."

I raised an eyebrow in question as he gave me the rundown of what he'd done since they got home. "Are you not staying? I'd assumed–"

"Rich texted me shortly before you got here. I can stay long enough for you to get changed, but they need me back." He sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his neck. "I want to stay, but you can take it from here. Just… take care of her, man."

"Of course," I said, nodding slightly.

"No, man, I mean it. She's not going to respond well to tough love right now. Be gentle with her," he said, giving me a surprisingly protective look.

"I know. I'll make sure she's taken care of."