Page 145 of All That Glitters

She covers my mouth with her fingers. “He would. He doesn’t hide his crazy because he needs you all ready for the day he steps over the line that he can’t come back from. Can you honestly sit there and tell me that if something happened to Lola or his kids, he wouldn’t burn the world to ash, us included, to get his vengeance?”

I sigh because she knows I can’t. If Del really was Snake’s tether, then Lola is Hannibal’s.

Sensing my capitulation, she lowers her hand. “All I’m saying is, perhaps Snake loved Del in his own twisted way. And she loved him. She still does, even after everything he did, and she loathes herself for it. Because, just like with you, there were no warning signs, no red flags. She just woke up one day next to the man she loved, not knowing he would blow up her whole world before she went to sleep that night.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, my breathing turning ragged. That can’t be true, because if it is, then we failed her, too.

I pull out my cell phone to dial Kruger, who answers right away. “Shit, fuck Midas, we got a problem.”

I ease Legs off my lap and stand. “What’s going on?”

“Delphi’s in the hospital.”

I tense my jaw so hard I hear it click. “Explain.”

“I went around to do the recon I needed to hand the info to G and found the place on fire. I won’t lie, I thought she might have done it herself to cover her tracks, but something made me check. I found her unconscious on her living room floor, beat to fuck.”

“Shit!” I yell, gripping my hair as realization dawns on me. I turn to look at Legs with wild eyes. “This is my fault. Someone must have followed me right to her. I outed her tie to us.”

Legs gets to her feet, her hand covering her mouth.

“It’s not your fault, Midas. You don’t know that they didn’t make their move because of Delphi’s tie to Legs. You calling me in could just as easily be the thing that saved her life. Because if I wasn’t here, she’d have burned with the building,” Kruger tells me. It must sink in a little because I manage to get my shit together enough to tug Legs against my chest.

“Which hospital are you at?”

I look at Legs as he gives me the details and wonder if this will be one more thing she has to forgive, or if it will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

“Alright, we’ll meet you there.”

“Gotta tell you, Midas, she woke up briefly and doesn’t want any Ravens there.”

“I don’t blame her. But she’ll want to see Legs.”

He blows out a breath, sounding as exhausted as I am, before hanging up.

“How much did you hear?”

“All of it.”

“Get your shoes on, and we’ll head to the hospital. If you have any questions, you can fire them at me while we’re on our way, but we need to be a united front at the hospital, okay?”

“Okay,” she whispers.

“I’m just going to text Havoc and give him a heads up because I don’t know if Kruger’s had a chance to yet.”

She nods, stepping back to give me a second. She snags her phone from where she left it on the sofa before slipping her shoes on. I text Havoc, explaining what I can and telling him I’ll fill him in on the rest later.

His one-word response of “okay” is more than enough to tell me he’s pissed, but I know he’ll keep a handle on it until I can check in.

I take Legs’s hand and lead her back out to the truck. I get her in and settled before starting the motor and heading out.

“Why was Kruger there?” This is her first question and one I expected.

“I spoke to him after I found out who Del really was. I was pissed and told him to burn it down.”

She looks at me, horrified.

“It’s not what you’re thinking. It’s a phrase we use when we want to burn bridges. We find out everything we can and, first of all, see if there are any ties to our club. We burn those first. Then we look to see where else we can stir shit. If a husband is cheating, we send proof to his wife. If a guy is doing dirty at work, we send his bosses an anonymous tip. That kind of thing. We make it so they’re completely isolated, and then strike while they have nobody to fall back on, or watch them run away with their tail between their legs. We did not burn her business down. No matter how pissed we are at Del, we wouldn’t risk others getting caught in the crossfire.”