Page 99 of Once A Crime Lord

“Lyla,” Blade’s voice turned soft and coaxing. “Let me—”

“Get them there, Blade.”

She hung up. She was done playing this game. It had to end now. Sadist wasn’t allowed to claim the one parent she had left.

The phone rang. Gavin’s number showed up on the screen. She barely resisted the urge to toss it out the window. She turned the phone off instead. Fuck him. Blade mentioned that he was in New York, which was too close to Maine for her peace of mind. If he went after Jonathan, therefore leaving her to deal with this shit on her own, she would never forgive him.

The GPS led her past downtown Las Vegas. At a stoplight, a pedestrian passing in front did a double take. She couldn’t begin to imagine what she looked like. For the first time, she looked at her hands, which were rust colored with dried blood. She didn’t have to look down at her sweater and tights to know they hadn’t fared much better.

When the light turned green, she slammed her foot on the accelerator. The compound was in the middle of a block of abandoned warehouses. Her senses prickled with an odd sense of déjà vu. Two thugs kidnapped and held her in a warehouse years ago. She had been unconscious when they brought her in and too distraught to notice when she left. Everything in her screamed that this was the same place. A glimpse of Blade’s SUV in the rearview mirror stabbed at her icy determination. Nora and Carmen couldn’t be here.

The sight of a group of vehicles made her heart slam into her throat until one of the doors opened and she saw Barrett, an older guard who Gavin had put in charge of security at home. He was alive. She lowered the window as he came to her door. She couldn’t read anything from his implacable expression. He took in her bloody appearance without batting an eye.

“We’ll take it from here,” Barrett said.

She tightened her hands on the wheel. “No. I’m going in.”

Blade appeared at her window and brushed Barrett aside. The vehicle with Carmen, Beau, and Nora sped away. Her grip on the steering wheel eased slightly. At least they were safe.

“Lyla—” Blade began.

“We’re wasting time,” she said impatiently. “I’m not leaving until I see her alive.”

“You don’t want to see this.”

“Yes, I do.” It couldn’t be worse than killing her own father. She didn’t need anyone to shield her from Sadist’s work. She had firsthand experience, and it was her mother. It was her duty to be here. When she caught up to Sadist, she would pay him back tenfold.

“Gavin’s gonna—”

“Gavin isn’t here,” she snapped. “We’re wasting time.”

She could feel him debating whether he should get physical with her. She looked straight into his merciless black eyes. “Don’t.”

Blade shook his head. “Fuck. You don’t move from my side, got it?” He turned to Barrett. “How many men do you have?”

“Thirty. More on the way.”

“It’ll be too late by then.”

“Blade, Gavin’s gonna—” Barrett began.

“I got her. She can hold her own. You focus on directing the men.” Blade slid into the passenger seat. “Let’s roll.”

Barrett didn’t look happy about the situation, but he jogged back to his SUV. She started through the maze of warehouses.

“I have to do this,” she said.

“I know.”

He reloaded their guns and watched the screen as she navigated around car piles and garbage. When she was a block away, he told her to stop. She obediently parked. He slid out and spoke to the men who armed up and put on earpieces.

The past six hours began to hit her all at once. She rested her face on the steering wheel, took a deep breath, and gagged when she smelled the stink of the driver’s dried blood and guts. She sat back, rolled down the window, and took deep breaths of fresh air. Exhaustion threatened to drag her under.

“Lyla?”

She opened her eyes and saw Blade standing at her window.

“Okay?” he asked.

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