Page 137 of Arran's Obsession

The three of us left my place and entered Shade’s across the hall. His apartment mirrored mine with the oak floors and exposed metal beams, but there was more of his personality on display including knives on a wall, not all of them decorative.

He stopped outside a bedroom and unlocked it. The light sprang on, and a disorientated, still masked and bound Riordan stumbled to his feet.

Gen gasped. “You left him tied up?”

“Of course I did. He could’ve jumped me when I released him,” Shade replied, miffed.

I stepped into the plain room. “Riordan, my name’s Arran. I’m going to remove your mask so we can see each other.”

He held still, and I peeled the skeleton bandanna over his head. Pillow marks lined his flushed face, and his brown hair was flattened. In his features, I could track the connection from the boy I’d seen in the family photo to the man who shared a strong resemblance to my woman.

He blinked in the light, taking me in with a dirty scowl then seeking his sister. “You okay?”

“I’m good. Sorry you’ve been tied up for hours.”

Riordan rolled his shoulders. “Yeah, maybe I had that coming from barging in like I did. What time is it?”

“Six,” Gen replied.

He brought his focus back to me. “I have to get to work. You letting me go?”

“I will once we’ve had a little chat. What can you tell us about Don?”

Riordan frowned. “Not much. What do you want to know?”

“Is he a known killer for his gang?”

A slow nod followed. “He boasts about it. Each time his boss gave him a job like that, he’d brag how he’s one step closer to a top spot. I had no time for his bullshit so didn’t pay him any attention.”

“When was the last time you saw him?”

“Couple of weeks ago. He was at Moniqua’s when I stopped in for a quick… I mean, I went to see her.”

From the doorway, someone snorted a laugh. I twisted to spot Cassie listening in. My narrowed gaze did nothing to deter her.

“Where does he usually sleep?” Shade pressed.

Riordan named a block of flats in the no-go area, but a flat-lipped expression from Shade told me he’d already checked it out.

“Anywhere else he’s likely to be?” I continued.

Riordan gave an exasperated huff of breath, like we were taking up his time. “Why do you want to know? I’m not his fucking keeper.”

I let a cold mask descend over my expression, allowing the man to see who he was talking to. “Because you let a man into your sister’s life who intended to do her harm. If it wasn’t for you, Gen would never have met that piece of shit and he’d never have followed her home. Now tell us what we need to know so we can stop him from hurting anyone else.”

Riordan stared at me, then his shoulders dropped. “Fuck. You think he killed the woman on our street?”

Gen confirmed his guess with a nod. “He was there that night. I didn’t want to tell you in case you worried.”

“Of course I’d fucking worry, and rightly so.” Riordan gazed incredulously at his sister. “I would’ve slept at home rather than on the work site. All I heard was a rumour from Moniqua that he was interested in you. I warned him off over text because he wouldn’t answer my call and said that we’d have a problem if he went near you. He never replied. That’s why, when you and I spoke on the phone, I asked if you were seeing him. Just to be sure he hadn’t somehow sweet talked you into his bed. Having you anywhere near the gangs is fucking killing me. I blame myself.” He glared my way.

“Another woman was killed tonight,” Shade added. “She was brought here and left outside. Could Don have followed ye and your girlfriend this evening?”

Riordan stared then swore. “To grab Genevieve from us once I got her back? Then killed someone else when he couldn’t? Fucking hell.” He hung his head. “Not that I knew of, obviously, but you’re thinking Moniqua is in touch with him.”

We all went quiet. After he’d tried to take Gen from me, I wasn’t about to throw Riordan a welcome party into my life, but I liked his quick mind, and more, I pitied him. It was the very thing I feared—that my lifestyle would hurt her. From his point of view, it already had.

Riordan took a heavy breath. “I’ll see her tonight. She claims she’s worried about him, so we can do a drive around. I’ll let you know what happens. If she tells me not to bother, that’s also a message.”

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