Page 44 of Hold Me Before You Go

“Right,” he said. “Also, I have the call logs between Brandon and Monica.”

I nodded. “Good. Hayes and I will go through those after we’re done with the parents.” I looked at Ash as I snapped the file close. “Come with me.”

He smirked at me. “Right behind you, boss.”

Leaving Jake in his office, we made our way down the hall, toward Dominic’s office.

“You get anything from him?” I asked, walking in to find him standing on the other side of his desk, shirtless, a wet towel in his hands, stained with blood. His black hair was slicked back from sweat, his skin glistening with it. Dominic had no tattoos, his tanned skin clear, his muscles tight underneath it.

“Aside from his screams? No,” Dominic sighed, rolling his neck as he turned to face us fully.

Ash muttered something under his breath about getting back in the gym and then asked, “What do you mean, no?”

Dominic shot him a glare, his dark blue eyes cold. “I’ve been in there with him for a fucking hour. All he kept saying was all his children were dead. He’s playing dumb.”

“Yeah, and usually within twenty minutes, you have what we need,” Ash shot back, stepping forward. A chuckle left him. “You telling us you’ve lost your touch, is that it?”

Fucking hell.Ash was pushing his buttons, and for once, I remained silent.

I was willing to do whatever it took to get some answers and get my woman back, and if that meant Ash needed to ruffle Dominic’s feathers, then so be it. With that thought at the forefront of my mind, I took a step back, leaning against the wall and watching.

Dominic’s jaw ticked as his eyes sliced to me. “You’re just going to let this happen, aren’t you, boss?”

I cut the shit. “I don’t need Dr. Edwards right now. I need Dom.”

Dom.

The boys and I never called him that. He hated it—he made the people he tortured call him Dom. It drove him crazy, and in turn, pushed him to do what was necessary to get the answers Red Snake needed. When he asked him why he hated being called that, he never gave an answer, remaining silent. It was one of the great mysteries about Dominic Edwards.

He blinked as Ash added, “Or you could just sit here and continue polishing the weapons and being a good little boy.”

Dominic’s nostrils flared, and he raised a finger towards the ex-Navy Seal. “Don’t push me.”

“Oh, that’s exactly what I’m here to do,” Ash vowed, standing in front of Dominic’s desk now.

Dominic said nothing, looking out the window, jaw tight.

Another rough chuckle left Ash as he braced his hands on the desk, leaning closer to him. “Get your ass in there,Dom.”

The towel fell from Dominic’s hands, landing on his perfectly polished desk.

Then, without a word, he was moving, glaring at Ash as he went, not sparing me a glance as he rushed out the door. I looked to the floor, my mind on overdrive.

After a few minutes, I finally looked at Ash, who had discarded the bloody rag in the trash bin and was wiping off Dominic’s desk. Ash didn’t push him to be an asshole; he pushed him because I didn’t have the strength to. Not now, at least.

“Thank you,” I said, my voice tired.

The teasing smirk was gone, replaced by a serious look, one filled with death. “We’re going to get her back, Gray, even if we all have to dive into the deep end to do it.” He rose to his full height.

A twinge of guilt hit me. If I’d done a better job at keeping Carrie safe and started digging into Robert Hale sooner, she would be here and Red Snake would be hunting down thewoman Ash went into Devils Den for. “I know we said we would be going after—”

He held up his hand, shaking his head. “We’re going to get her too, but Carrie comes first,” he said firmly, faith shining in his eyes. He had faith in me, in Red Snake. He knew we wouldn’t let him down.

I nodded once. “Okay.”

“Let’s go see if Dominic is making a mess or not,” he said, giving me a wink.

He was shoving it down. All my Red Snake men seemed to be doing that, running on fumes, ignoring the pain in our hearts so they could get the job done.

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