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“She said she saw me in the limo.”
He doesn’t flinch, simply swallowing the amber-tinted liquid in a fast-enough gulp that has my thirst quenched. “Hmmm, I do recall her saying your name in the car.”
“Why?” I snap, my upper lip curling. “And just so we understand each other.” I lean forward to rest my elbows on my thighs. “I’m not in the mood to play games. Not when it comes to her, not ever.”
“Brantley.” Hector places his now empty glass onto the coffee table in front of him while keeping his eyes trained on me. “What makes you think I know what she saw? I was simply as shocked as the next person.”
“Which was?” I ask, my patience wearing so fucking thin I’m pretty sure I could floss my teeth with it. “Who was in the car with you?”
“Just myself. I was planning to take her to Perdita to keep her safe.”
“We had a plan, and that was to allow Veronica to take her, and besides that, you hate Perdita.”
He challenges me. “I wanted her safe more.”
I exhale a deep breath. It was a conversation we both knew we had to have.
Blood slid down my arms in a rain of horror. Screams and gunshots rang out, but all I wanted to see was Saint. She was shot. Even though I knew instantly it was a flesh wound, I was well aware she was slowly slipping into shock. I moved across the room, kicking the body of the hooded boy on the floor and making my way back to where she lay when I last saw her.
It was empty. I found Bishop behind me, his eyes wild and filled with rage. He swung between me and the empty spot on the ground then back to me, before turning to the exit and pointing. “Go! I will handle this!”
I did. I ran to the exit and out into the alley where Eli had the Bugatti idling on the spot. He pushed open the passenger door and I threw myself inside. “Go!” Eli zipped out onto the road and flew through the lines of cars. We were all good drivers, but Eli was better than all of us. “Did you see where he took her?”
“I’m taking wild guesses right now, but I don’t know. Something tells me out of town, so we’ll go that way.” My anger bubbled beneath my skin, but my rage? Oh, my rage was like gunpowder, waiting to ignite.
“Find that car, Eli. Fuck.”
“We will, bro. We’ll get her back.”
“Are you thinking about that night?” Hector interrupts my thoughts, and I instantly snap up to him.
“Oh, you mean the night I killed you?”
He laughs, flicking the ash off his newly lit Cuban cigar. “Hmmm, I have felt more like a ghost since that night.” His index finger and thumb rub together. “Am I dead?”
The corner of my mouth tilts up, flashing a smug grin. “I don’t know, Papa Hayes, what did I say would happen if you fucked with my girl?”
“There!” Eli floored it forward and I shot back into my seat. Everything but that black city car blurred out of focus. As we neared closer and closer on the highway, my pulse quickened. Beads of sweat slid down the bridge of my nose, and that rage was slowly being tipped onto the burning fire of my anger. “How are we going to stop it?”
“Hit him,” I said, teeth clenched while reaching for my gat.
“Bro, Saint is in there.”
“Fuck!” I slammed my fist into the dash of the car. “Drive beside it. He’ll see he’s been found and will pull over.”
“Then what?” Eli asked, doing as I said and dropping it into third gear to shift up to the side of the car.
“Then I kill him.”
I ignore the ringing of my phone as I stand off with one of the most powerful men I have ever known, ever will know.
“Are you going to answer that?” Hector asks with genuine intrigue. A clock ticks down the hallway, the sun setting in the sky. Orange hues bounce off building tops, falling behind the Brooklyn Bridge.
I ignore the call. This conversation needs to happen and he knows it.
“Have you told Bishop what my plans were?” Hector asks, unbuttoning the top of his shirt. “I’m guessing no since he hasn’t got a gun pointed at my head.”
It took one minute for the town car to pull off onto the shoulder of the highway. I flew out, ignoring cars zooming past me and headed straight for the back door. Hector was already climbing out of the other side, but this side was locked. Motherfucker.
“Son…”
I strolled straight to him, clenching my fist before it was flying into his face.
“Don’t fucking son me!” Blood sprayed everywhere. Hector stood back up, fixing his suit while swiping the blood from his lip. “Where is she?”