Page 44 of Ignite

“Sir? I just got an important call.”

I pivot, catching Gwen’s down-turned expression. The only time she speaks in that tone is when something’s gone terribly wrong.

I stride over to her desk. “What’s going on? Who is it?”

Mentally, I sift through employee names and their assigned operations. Thank God Rev was distracted with the little thief today and not out in the field like the last couple of days. And my brothers hardly ever leave the building. I rarely have to be concerned about their safety.

But Henry’s almost always out. Same with Salem—my victims expert. Rorik, too.

“Maybe it should wait until tomorrow,” she says, picking up her stress rock painted like a smiley face.

“Tell me the name.”

“It’s Lenny. He’s… he was murdered, Cain,” she says, failing to hold back the quiver in her voice.

Her words trickle through my brain, ice cold. “What. That has to be a mistake. Ezra and I just had lunch at his place.”

She shakes her head, eyes filling with tears.

Gwen and Lenny were two of my first hires. Lenny had just retired four years ago to open his shop. Every week since, I’d made sure to check in on him and drop a tip on his table. Lenny was happy running his business. Happier than when he was working for me.

I understood. This job isn’t for everyone. The ones that hang around are often veterans that are denied jobs elsewhere because of their military experience. They’re judged and labeled a liability.

Guilt crushes my lungs. The emotion is quickly replaced with uncontrollable, roiling fury. Lenny would have lived to an old age if not for his ties to my company.

“What information do we have?” I ask through clenched teeth.

“Clean shot to his temple. Cameras caught one of the masked guys. No serial number on the gun or identifiable features.”

“God dammit.” I fight the urge to smash my fist through a wall or rip her entire desk from the floor. All the guns we’d confiscated from Gabriel’s dock operation were ghost guns, missing serial numbers.

This crime lord was turning out to be a real pain in my ass.

Gwen sniffles. “I’m so sorry. I’ll contact Salem and have her reach out to Lenny’s wife.”

My stomach heaves as memories of Aiden hit me like a suckerpunch. Meeting his family for the first time at his funeral and having to explain my connection to their son because he’d never even told them about me. How much it fucking rained the day they lowered his body into the earth. The emptiness of my apartment. And the simmering anger at being left with his unraveling secrets.

Thinking about Lenny’s wife having to go through that horrible pain makes my vision swim and pulse race from a burst of potent adrenaline.

Why would Gabriel’s men target Lenny? It was possible they were keeping tabs on Ezra, but why shoot the guy behind a deli counter? Were they trying to send a threatening message, or was this an Aiden situation all over again and I’d fallen into trust with Ezra too quickly? Wouldn’t be the first time a beautiful face and the whole innocent act fooled me.

I’m so stupid for believing anything Ezra told me. Everything he made me feel.

I’m not fucking doing this again.

Storming from Gwen’s desk, I take the stairs to my apartment floor. Muffled voices and grunts echo from the gym, which only further riles me up.

I walk in on Rev and Ezra tangled up on the boxing ring floor. I realize they’re just wrestling, but all control over my temper snaps.

“You’re fucking done,” I shout, jabbing a finger at them.

Rev immediately picks up my unhinged fury. He releases Ezra from a chokehold and helps him to his feet.

“Hey, don’t be too hard on Ezra. I’m the bad influence.”

Ignoring Rev, I stalk over to Ezra and grab him by the arm, hauling him toward the door. “We’re going to have a serious fucking talk, little thief.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN