Page 84 of Hold Me Before You Go

“Patience, a fuck ton of anger, and even more coffee,” Dominic answered instantly.

I took this opportunity to address him. “How are the Hales holding up?”

They’d been in the holding rooms for days, waiting to be arrested.

“Donna wants to talk to a lawyer,” he answered.

“She can choke on a brick,” Ash said bluntly, turning back to me. I turned back to face them, rubbing my finger over my lips, remembering how I kissed Carrie until she was breathless a few hours ago while she was curled up in my sheets—in my bed.

My gut tightened.

There was a very real chance I was about to lose that, and if I was—

“If I call Garner and he comes after me, I need one of you to take Carrie somewhere safe,” I ordered. “I don’t know what Garner will do to me, but as long as Brandon is still out there, she is still in danger.”

“I’m going to find him, Gray,” Hayes vowed darkly as he rose from the couch, coming over to the wall of windows. “It’s only a matter of time before he flees Vegas.”

“Then until that happens, let’s hold off on calling this in,” Ash said.

I shook my head. “We can’t, not with the Hales here.”

“We are technically holding them against their will,” Dominic mused.

“And they fucking deserve it,” Ash shot back.

He’d been right, of course.This was fucked.All of it. As my mind continued to be swarmed with thoughts, I rose from my seat. “Right. I’m going to get Carrie up to speed,” I told the men. “I’m sorry it’s taken me so long, I just…” I trailed off.

“We know,” Hayes said, his voice filled with understanding. “It has been a crazy week. You needed time—both of you did.”

“No one is forcing you to do anything, Gray,” Dominic added.

All too quickly, the air in my office shifted and the conversation took a turn. Dominic lifted his head, his indigo eyes darker than usual.

“Careful with your next words, Edwards,” Hayes warned, his voice low.

My eyes shot to his, and we both braced for what our weapons specialist had to say. Then, Dominic hit us with it. “It would be an easy cleanup.”

Ash leaned back in his chair, the wood creaking underneath his massive frame as he folded his arms over his chest, his gaze sharpening as he twisted his neck to look at Dominic. None of us said anything for a few moments, letting the suggestion hang in the air around us, taunting us.

Then, Dominic calmly closed his notebook, placing it on the edge of my desk before he mirrored Ash’s position. Darkness twisted and glimmered within Dominic’s eyes, revealing the killer within.

I said nothing.

My silence was an indication to everyone in the room that this…suggestionwas something I was considering. I promised Carrie I would kill anyone who hurt her, and Robert’s parents had done that. He hurt Carrie and hundreds of other innocent people, all while they, mainly Donna, chose to ignore themonster they brought into this world. Anger was the only thing I felt toward the couple, sympathy nonexistent. They deserved to die, but by my hands? Or Red Snake’s?

“You’ve already hid one body for the sake of Carrie, boys,” I finally rumbled, my chest feeling heavy.

“For her, we’d hide a thousand more,” Ash replied smoothly.

I studied him for a moment.

His face softened a fraction. “She’s a sweet woman, Gray. A good woman. There aren’t many people like her in this world—in this life. Something like that needs to be protected, no matter the cost.”

“We do this, and that just pushes back your hunt, Ash,” I reminded him gently.

Ash looked away from everyone, his eyes on the mountains. “No matter what we decide right now, boys, we all know I’m not going to stop until I find that woman.”

Dominic looked at Hayes and then at me. We were all thinking the same thing, but none of us would say it. The woman Ash went into Devils Den to save last year may very well be dead already. People sold in there didn’t usually last more than nine months at most.

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