Page 83 of Hold Me Before You Go

“We need to get on this,” Hayes said from his spot on my office couch, his laptop and files scattered all over the glass coffee table. He lifted the black coffee mug he’d been carrying around with him all morning to his lips. That must be his third cup of coffee today.

“Hayes is right,” Dominic noted, shifting in his seat across from my desk, Ash in the one beside it. Weeks ago, Ash had justreturned to work, and Carrie was safe. Crazy how quickly your world could get flipped upside down without warning.

For the last two days, Carrie had remained in my condo, sleeping and healing while the team and I worked on finding Brandon. The van he and Larks had stolen from Astoria was found abandoned on the side of the road in Nevada with a dead battery and low fuel. Hayes had just gotten back an hour ago and had been debriefing us on what he found—which wasn’t much. According to Brandon’s mother, he was desperate for money. He faked his death to get out of some gambling trouble he’d run into in Vegas years ago, and Hayes was pretty certain the fucker had gone back to, looking for some old contacts.

“There’s no fucking telling what orwhohe was involved with all those years ago, but him coming the from the dead is going to be one hell of a fucking look,” Ash told the room.

Hayes downed the rest of his coffee before gently setting the mug back onto the glass coffee table. “Whatever he is after, we have to assume his primary motivation is to still get to Carrie. He’s unhinged, Grayson. We have to get a lock on his location.”

I nodded. “You willing to go and resume the hunt?” I asked.

My right hand’s green eyes flashed, his jaw jumping. “Whatever it takes.”

I looked down at the file we’d put together on Robert. The St. Louis River Killer had been tormenting that city for over almost a decade and was the primary suspect in over twenty open murder cases. Of course, he hadn’t killed anyone in over a year due to him being brutally murdered. It was a blessing and a curse, his death. He had suffered in his death, and that was enough for me, because of Carrie. She had also moved on from him, her mind, body, and soul finally healing from the years of abuse. The curse? The curse was the victim’s families would never fully have a sense of closure. They would never see himget brought to justice. Him burning in hell currently had to be enough.

“Gray.”

I looked up from the file to find all three of the men looking at me; the only one missing was Jake, who was working in his apartment across the hall from mine, monitoring Carrie. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving her alone, but I also knew she would hate me if I put a man on her. This was the next best thing.

“What is it?” I asked the room like I didn’t already know the answer.

I needed Brandon to be my number one priority due to Carrie, but what Robert did, the horrific crimes he committed, took precedence.

“You need to make the call, Gray.” This came from Dominic, his words finally breaking the thick, uncomfortable silence in the room.

“I need to tell Carrie first,” I told the boys, my voice tired. I looked over to Dominic, then to Ash, and finally over to Hayes. “She needs to hear it from me before it becomes national news, and Garner slaps a pair of handcuffs on me.”

Red Snake had broken many laws over the years, but we’ve never encountered something as big as this. There was a very real possibility I would be going to jail, and everything I’d built would be ruined. Red Snake would be no more, and there was some part of me that was okay with that. I’d made my bed the second I fell for Carrie Hale. She, with her beauty, her gentle soul, and her warm light, somehow got into my heart, forever changing me. She made me a better man. She made me feel things I’d never thought were possible, not for a man like me, not after the things I’d done. I didn’t deserve her, but there was no way I could let her go now.

Not after everything she had given me, not after the way she’d loved me.

Carrie was my world; Red Snake was only a part of it.

However, these guys—my team—were also my family, and Red Snake was their home. By making this one phone call, everything would be hanging in the balance.

“Do you think it will come to that?” Dominic asked calmly, his eyes on the notebook in his lap.

I clenched my jaw three times. The truth was, I didn’t know the answer. “I’m not exactly on Agent Garner’s nice list,” I reminded them.

Ash leaned forward in his seat, grumbling to himself. Hayes said nothing, looking out the windows, his expression passive.

“This is so fucked,” Ash groaned, rubbing his hands down his face.

“Let me rephrase the question: do you really think Garner will arrest us when we reveal the identity of one of theworstserial killers in US history?” Dominic asked, looking up from his notes.

“We broke into a federal prison,” Ash deadpanned as I opened my mouth to speak. “Not to mention we kidnapped two people, Grayson cut off an inmate’s tongue like it was a piece of the prized Thanksgiving turkey, and Top Gun over there decided to destroy the entire west entrance of said prison with a van—which we also stole, by the way.” He jerked his thumb to Hayes, who was now leaning back on the couch, glaring at Ash.

“Don’t start that shit with me, Doss. You blew up a fucking building two years ago,” Hayes shot back.

Ash turned in his chair, pointing his finger. “Anemptybuilding. It was just a developmental property. No one got hurt. Besides, if I hadn’t, Jake would be dead, and Red Snake would be down a hacker.”

My lips twitched at the memory. Fuck, that was a fun job. I looked out the windows behind me, leaning back in my chair, turning my chair, my focus on the building across the street. I looked down three floors, focusing on the fourth balcony whilethe team bickered behind me. After a few minutes, I saw Tic-Tac appear in the window, his orange fur standing out in the gray day.

“A building is still a fucking building, dipshit,” Hayes growled, pulling my attention back into the room.

“He’s got you there,” Dominic hummed, turning his notebook page.

“How do you fuckers get anything done while I’m gone?” I asked, shaking my head.

---