Page 12 of Endurance

Stefan was standing behind the couch—his attention also on the TV. We both went to stand next to him. With a quick glance I saw that the news was covering some building on fire. Then I heard ‘Whiskey Bandit’ and ‘four explosions.’ I became sucked into the news like the rest of them.

The news listed off all the locations of the explosions and it clicked. They all belonged to the Aryans. “Holy shit,” I gaped.

The ringing of a phone broke the hold the TV had on all of us. Stefan pulled his phone from his pocket. His eyes narrowed as he read the number on the phone just before answering it. “Hello?” His posture straightened as if on alert. “Maura,” he said and put the phone on speaker.

Her sultry voice poured out of the phone. “I’ve called to tell you that I’ll be making some noise in the city. In fact, I’ve already started.” She sounded good. Stronger...but there was a detachment in her words.

Stefan sighed and glanced at the TV. “The explosions, I take it that was you?”

There was a pause before she responded. “I should be done with my vacation in two weeks. After that, I’ll come home.”

“Running away isn’t a vacation, Maura,” Stefan snapped.

“You know why I left,” she snapped back.

I squeezed my fists as I listened to Stefan voice what Jameson and I both wanted to say. “We were trying to protect you.”

“You weren’t protecting me. You shut me out and tried to send me away.”

“Enough,” Stefan bit out before he took the phone off speaker and walked away. “I just want you to come home,” I heard him say before he disappeared into his en suite.

I released a heavy sigh and turned to Jameson. He was leaning against the back of the couch with his arms folded across his chest. He held a pensive look in his eyes as he tried to bore a hole in the floor.

Brody had twisted around to look at us. He studied Jameson first before his gaze moved to me. “I hope you two know that you will be helping Stefan clean this mess up. None of this better fall back on her.”

We knew that and we’d make sure of it.

We found her.

Over the past two days, bodies of Aryans had been popping up. Seven had been killed in the explosions. Four had been found hanging from a bridge with fucking shamrocks drawn on their chests. And today two more had been gunned down outside a bakery in Hartford. Stefan, Louie, and I had been going nonstop cleaning up the carnage and covering up Maura’s tracks. Stefan had called in a lot of favors and given out a lot of bribes. In the few instances neither of those had worked, Louie and I had stepped in to take care of whoever hadn't been on board with the story we'd wanted told. An inspector who had been assigned to the explosions had needed to be replaced and we'd had to physically convince a reporter who was too smart for his own good to stop running his mouth.

It was pure luck that we received a call today that a woman matching Maura’s description was staying at a hotel in New Haven. Stefan took on the task of covering up the shooting in Hartford while Louie and I were sent out to make sure the tip we'd received was legit.

It was just after nine at night when we arrived at the hotel. The lobby was busy. Probably due to the nightclub located somewhere inside.

The concierge who had called in the tip was waiting for us toward the back of the lobby by the elevators. Once we approached him, he held out a room key and a folded-up piece of paper. I took them and handed the key card over to Louie.

“Room 327,” the concierge said as I unfolded the piece of paper. It was a scan of a driver’s license. All the info was of a fake alias, but the picture was of Maura. I handed the paper over to Louie to look at and reached into my jacket pocket. Any legit tips were to be rewarded with ten grand in cash. Had the guy delivered Maura to me, I would have been handing over a shit ton more money. I pulled an envelope filled with the cash and gave it to the concierge. He snatched it and quickly scurried off.

“Want to go check out the room and I’ll wait down here?” I suggested.

Louie answered by pushing the button to call the elevator. There was a ding before the doors slid open. A small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he stepped inside. It was the most upbeat I’d seen him be in months.

I went to stand in an alcove near the front desk. There, I was kind of hidden, but it gave me a view of the whole lobby. Not even a minute later, the elevators dinged again, followed by the sound of heels echoing off the tile floor. My gaze shot in that direction and there she was.

Maura.

My breath hitched as I took her in, from her green high heels, her long creamy legs, the black dinner napkin of a dress she was wearing, to her red hair. She had cut it. Before it had used to remind me of a silky river of blood. Now, the waves she styled her hair in barely kissed her shoulders. She had gained her weight back and her muscles were a little more defined. She looked good but still exuded pain. I could see it in her face and despite her strong exterior, I noticed it in the way she carried herself as well.

Brenna was walking beside her, her hair equally as short. Dean, Asher, and Finn surrounded them in a protective formation. Asher took the lead, Dean walked at Maura’s other side, and Finn took the rear. By how the girls were dressed and the direction they were walking in, I assumed they were going to the hotel’s club. I followed from a distance and watched them disappear, as I'd suspected, into the club.

I called Louie. He was already in her hotel room. We agreed that he’d stay up there while I watched from afar down here. After I hung up, I went into the club. It was dark and crowded. Lights flashed and glided over the dance floor. Off to the right was a large oval shaped bar. High top tables were scattered around it. Leather booths lined the walls and there were a few roped off seating areas on the opposite end of the club. I spotted Maura at the bar with Brenna. Her security stood around them, their eyes scanning the rest of the club. I kept to the shadows, making my way to a dark booth.

A cocktail waitress approached. Her eyes roamed all over me, openly checking me out. I could tell she liked what she saw. “What can I get for you?” she asked, leaning close and giving me a direct view down her top.

“I’ll take a beer,” I said. “I don’t care what kind.”

She nodded. “Are you here alone?”