Page 85 of Hold Me Before You Go

“We have to get this settled before we do anything,” Hayes cut in, getting us back on track as he always did.

“I could have the couple taken care of within the hour,” Dominic informed us coldly. Silence followed once more before he added, “It would be my absolute pleasure.”

I inhaled a deep breath through my nose. “And if this comes back on us?” I pressed, folding my arms over my chest and staring at him. “What then?”

“Way I see it, we go to the FBI, we face jail time. We clean up the mess our way, Red Snake remains intact. We’d just have to fly under the radar for a bit,” Ash noted. “Which isn’t anything we haven’t done before.”

“And what about the victims of the St. Louis River Killer?” Hayes cut in, being the voice of reason. He put his hands on his hips, his green eyes bouncing back and forth between both men. “What about the closure their families need?”

“Do you know how my serial killers are out there right now, Mitchell?” Dominic questioned. “According to the FBI, there are roughly twenty-five to fifty serial killers active in any given year within the United States. They are responsible for around one hundred and fifty deaths a year.”

“I didn’t ask for a statistic,” Hayes returned, glaring at him. “I don’t give a fuck about the numbers. I give a fuck about the people—the families, Dominic. We have the truth. What kind of men are we if we don’t give the public that?”

“Fucking hell,” I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose. Leave it to Hayes to get our moral compass pointing in the right fucking direction.

“I suppose you’re right,” Dominic mused, reaching for his notebook again.

I raised my brow at him. “Is he now?”

Ash shook his head, pushing out from his chair, mumbling under his breath. He walked over to the windows, his back to us.

“It was merely a suggestion,” Dominic replied.

“Suggestion, my fucking ass,” Hayes clipped, shaking his head.

Dominic ticked his head to the side, narrowing his eyes now. “You do know the likelihood of both of those spineless idiots currently taking up space in my holding rooms walking free is extremely high, right?”

“You don’t know that,” I told him.

He pinned me with a look. “Every single person in this room is familiar with our justice system, Gray.”

That was true.

He continued, “The mother will get a slap on the wrist at best. She may have to endure a psych evaluation or two, which, by the way, she will pass with flying colors from a government doctor.”

“How do you know that?” Ash clipped, turning back around to face us.

Dominic twisted his neck to look at Ash. “I have two degrees in the field, Doss. I don’t need to repeat my fucking resume to you. The point is, Donna Hale didn’t say shit for two damn days, boys. Then, she tried playing the victim. The woman is a mastermind. The only reason I saw through her little act was because of myown fucking mother.”

I stiffened.

Hayes’ jaw tightened, but he kept his mouth shut. Dominic didn’t. “You want justice?” he asked, rising from his chair, looking at the three of us. “Justice—when it comes to that fucking family—is death.”

With that, he left the room, leaving the rest of us in a stunned silence.

“Fucking hell,” I repeated. “He has a goddamn point, doesn’t he?”

“He brought up his mother, Gray,” Hayes said quietly.

“Look, go see to your woman. Tell her the truth and see how she feels about it,” Ash said, sighing.

Hayes nodded in agreement. “Once Carrie knows the truth, we can move on from there.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Grayson

“What the hell is going on over there?” Jake asked, leaning against the door to his apartment, worry coating his features. He must have been watching on the security cameras.

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