Page 71 of Carnival Master

Cade sheaths the knife, wiping his hands on his pants. Blood stains his shirt. “That was fun.”

I grab a rag, wiping down the toolbox to remove any traces of blood. “You did good, Cade. He deserved it.”

His chest puffs out with pride. “He did, didn’t he? I’m just glad I was the one who got to do it.”

“But, you’ll have to burn those clothes,” Lars says, returning with a heavy-duty black garbage bag, efficiently wrapping up Duke’s body.

“Where should we dump him?” Remy asks.

“Bury him out in the woods,” I say.

“Woods it is, boss.” Lars gets to work trying to shift Duke into a bag.

“We’ll handle everything,” Nash adds, already gathering cleaning supplies.

“Like it never happened,” Colt agrees.

“We’ll make it deep,” Cade chimes in with that manic grin. “Wouldn’t want any animals digging him up.”

Gage nods, his massive frame moving to help Lars with the body.

“On it, boss,” Remy confirms, grabbing shovels from the corner.

I motion to Phoenix, who’s already closing his laptop. “Let’s roll.”

We leave the storage unit, the sounds of my men’s cleanup fading behind us. The cool air hits my face as we stride toward my waiting Mustang. Turning the key brings the engine roaring to life, and I pull away from the carnival grounds, leaving my crew to their grim task.

Phoenix types away on his phone beside me. The streetlights flash across his face as we speed toward the carnival, neither of us speaking. Some things don’t need words.

33

SOFIA

I’m adjusting one of the carnival banners when I notice Ty pull up in his Mustang with a thunderous look on his face. Phoenix is in the passenger’s seat.

I didn’t even know he’d left. “Hey, where did you go?” I ask, approaching him. “You seem on edge.”

Ty’s jaw tightens, and he pulls me aside. “Your father’s latest move. He tipped off the cops about our operation.”

My stomach drops. “What? How?”

“Planted evidence. His men hid thirty-eight bricks of cocaine throughout our storage with the help of Duke, our longest-standing member of the carnival. If we hadn’t found them...” He runs a hand through his hair. “The cops will be here tonight, expecting to bust us.”

“Shit. So you were moving everything before they arrived?”

“Yeah. We’ve cleared it all out now, but it was close. And dealt with the rat.”

The way he says that makes me shudder. “And the cops won’t find a thing?”

Ty shakes his head. “No chance. We’re all good now. And still have a few hours to spare until the raid.”

I feel sick thinking about how much planning must have gone into this. My own father trying to destroy the man I love. “I’m so sorry, Ty. I never thought he’d?—”

“Hey.” He cups my face. “This isn’t on you. We caught it in time. The cops won’t find anything when they show up.”

“But he’ll try something else. You know he will.”

“Let him try.” Tyson’s eyes harden. “I’ve dealt with worse than Jimmy Moretti. We’ll handle whatever he throws at us.”

---