Page 5

My phone lit up with a call. Fuck, it was Johnny—no doubt wondering if I was on my way back with Leah. I hadn’t even thought about how I was going to break it to Tahlia that her friend was dead. Maybe this was for the best.
“Johnny,” I answered, my voice low so I didn’t wake up my girl.
“Please tell me you’re on your way back.”
My gaze flicked to the rearview mirror again. “I am.”
“And you have her?”
“No.”
I bit back the anger and regret, forcing myself to stay calm. If I lost it now, all that would do is scare the shit out of my girl.
“Jason, what the fuck is wrong with you? You had one job to do and you?—”
“She’s dead,” I cut him off.
Dead air filled the line for a solid minute before he spoke. “How?”
“Murdered. I walked in and…I missed her by at least six hours.” It took everything in me to keep my voice level as I spoke. “It was a message.”
“For who?”
“OPS. To back off.”
“Jason—”
“Cash was there with Knight. And probably Shadow. He said he couldn’t get to her in time.”
“How the fuck did he even know she was a target?”
I scrubbed a hand over my face, trying to avoid the questions that would only make this harder as I drove home. “I can’t think about that right now.”
“Why not? Jason, did you even take care of the body? What the fuck are you?—”
“She has a little girl. My little girl,” I told him. This time, there was nothing strained in my voice. I knew the moment I called her mine that my life was changing forever. She really was mine. It didn’t matter what happened from here on out. I didn’t give a fuck about revenge or Rafe or anything else. I had a girl who was counting on me, and I was all she had.
“Jesus,” he hissed. “She never told you?”
“No.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Well, I made it pretty damn clear that I never wanted to see her again. I thought I was doing the right thing. So…I guess she took that to heart.”
“She must be…”
“Four? Closer to five?” I guessed. “I don’t even know her name. I have a lockbox that I’m hoping has her information in it.”
“Shit,” he cursed again. I could already hear him moving around the house. It was late at night, but he was getting up to get things moving. “What do you have with you?”
“Some clothes, blankets, dolls…not too much else.”
“Alright. I’ll get on it. You have a preference which room she sleeps in?”
“Right the fuck next to me.”
“In the room beside yours?”