Page 44 of Shattered Dreams

“I want to know who is behind this and I want it yesterday,” I demanded.

“Got it. And while I’m digging, you need to find a place to lay low,” Sabrina said as the tapping on the other end got louder and faster, and then nothing. She hung up without another word.

I turned to Krew and Regina, who was wiping tears from her cheeks. “I promise you both, I’ll fix this—even if I have to eliminate every asshole that gets in our way.”

Krew’s anger-fueled eyes met mine and he nodded, but Regina curled in on herself, her legs folded up to her chest and her face to her knees.

“I want to go home,” she whispered, her voice hollow.

“To Elida?” Krew asked, his eyes wide with surprise.

“No. I’ll never go back there.” Her words sounded like a promise. “I want to go back to Chicago.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s not safe there—not anymore.”

Regina popped her head up, glaring at me. “Then drop me off somewhere—I don’t care. I don’t want to be here.”

What Regina wasn’t saying was that she didn’t want to be with us, and that cut me far deeper than it should. I glanced at Krew, who winced from her sharp verbal barb. And in that moment, we were back to being strangers. The stolen interlude we’d had in the motel room—the connection we’d begun to forge, meant nothing to her. And the silence in the truck made that truth more painful.

Maybe this was for the best. I was a killer, after all. I was no good for anyone—not anymore. Regina had changed into a person I didn’t recognize. But Krew? He was the same man I remembered—almost. I was sure he had secrets… Though, I guess we all had secrets we weren’t willing to share.

“Where are we going?” Krew finally asked, his attention diverted to the window.

That was a million-dollar question. Where could we go? Where could I keep Krew and Regina safe until this fucked up situation was sorted out?

Then it hit me. It was a slim chance, but there was one person who could help—who I trusted. I unhooked my phone, climbed out of the truck and closed the door. I dialed Sabrina.

“Miss me already?” she snarked.

“I need you to call Merrick Gentry.”

Silence.

I glanced down at the screen, thinking we’d gotten cut off.

“Are you still there?”

“Do you think it’s a good idea to contact Merrick?” Sabrina finally asked, her trepidation clear in her voice.

For my handler to hesitate to call the retired hitman, I knew right then it was going to be a risky move. Yet there was no other place safe enough for Krew and Regina.

Two years ago, Merrick Gentry retired from the hitman business, for the love of his life. And if I was honest to him about what these two people meant to me, Merrick might help. If he didn’t, then I’d find another place to hide Krew and Regina.

“Connect me,” I demanded, before I could rethink my decision.

“It’s your balls, but alright.”

It took three tries before the man answered the phone. “What now, Sabrina?” the hitman’s low growl sifted through the phone like a sand storm.

“It’s me.”

Silence buzzed in my ear, but I refused to let Merrick intimidate me. I waited until he spoke.

“What do you want, Moss?” Warning coated Merrick’s words.

“I need your help. I wouldn’t normally reach out, you know that. But this is important—a life and death important.” I swallowed the lump forming in the back of my throat. “I have two loves in my life, and they are being wrongly hunted.”

“Explain.”