Page 107 of Hold Me Before You Go

“Brandon owes them over six figures, and he couldn’t pay. The only way he could escape the debt was by faking his own death, and the Black Mist bought it,” Hayes said, getting us back on track.

“If that’s the case, then why did he run back to Vegas? Why run back into your own death trap?” Dominic asked, crossing his arms.

“Because he tried to strike a fucking deal,” Ash bit off.

Carrie looked up at him. “H-he did what?”

“Tried as in failed,” Hayes clarified.

My eyes snapped down to the phone. “You got confirmation on that?”

“What the hell do you think I’ve been doing the last hundred hours? Fucking around?”

“Don’t get sassy,” Jake taunted.

“Fuck you,” Hayes clipped. “I worked my way into a meeting with Jack. It took a while to get his boy to trust me. Told them there was a bounty on Brandon’s head and I was hired to find him. I didn’t tell them anything else, and they didn’t seem to care whether it was the truth or not.”

“Don’t play with that fire, Hayes,” I warned, worry building in my gut.

“I have it handled.”

I shot a look to all my men. We were all thinking the same damn thing.

“Who is Jack?” Carrie whispered to Ash again.

“He’s the leader of the Black Mist,” he answered. “Obliviously, Jack isn’t his real name.”

“No one knows his real name. He’s just a pain in the fucking ass,” Jake added, typing on the computer, pulling up the casino Black Mist ran.

“You know you can’t hack into their system, right? I don’t need my dick on the chopping block,” Ash said.

“I’m not tracking them, dipshit. I’m tracking Hayes.”

“Don’t,” Hayes ordered.

Jake’s fingers froze in mid-air as he looked to the phone. “Why the hell not?”

“Because we don’t need them coming back for us. I’m here. I’m safe. They are letting me walk out of here after I get the proof I need,” Hayes explained.

“If Brandon is truly underground, then that means BM has him, and—”

“—we can’t take care of him like we want to. He won’t be turned in,” Dominic finished for me.

“Fucking hell,” I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose. This just made things even more complicated.

“I’ll let you know when I have it,” Hayes said before hanging up.

I looked over to Carrie. “Are you going to be alright with that?”

“With this Jack guy taking care of Brandon and not the police?” she asked.

I nodded once. “If you aren’t, tell me now. I’ll go to Vegas myself and make a deal.”

All my men stiffened. “You can’t be serious,” Dominic scoffed in disbelief.

I didn’t look at any of them, only keeping my eyes on her. “Tell me now.”

Carrie’s eyes bounced around to all four of us. “You can’t do that to Red Snake, Grayson.”

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