Page 62 of Bozo

“She hasn’t told anyone,” I grunt and see that she’s glaring at me. “But she’s going to tell us what she knows.”

Gráinne sighs but takes a seat. “I don’t know the men. There were three of them. Antoine was a patient. He was beaten really badly. The other two men were looking for him.”

“What did they look like?” Raptor questions, standing against the bar with his arms crossed.

“One of them is blonde and has a scar that runs along his jaw, the other has dark hair and dark eyes. Both men are French.” She pauses, her eyes squinting. “They mentioned the name Dragomir and said that Antoine had displeased him. That was all that I had heard. He never did mention the two men’s names.”

I glance at Pyro, my gut tightening at the description she gave of the two men. They sound very much like the two assholes who were at the poker table in Spain. The two men who are very much a part of The Revenant.

Pyro's eyes meet mine, and I can see he's thinking the same thing. This can't be a coincidence.

"Gráinne," I say, keeping my voice calm despite the storm brewing inside me, "Did you hear anything else? Any other names or places?"

She shakes her head, wincing slightly at the movement. "No, that was all. They were just telling Antoine that he’d fucked up and wouldn’t survive. They ended up killing him. He was found dead a few days after the incident at the hospital."

Raptor pushes off from the bar, his face set in a grim line. "This Dragomir character, he's gotta be connected to The Revenant. It's too much of a coincidence."

"Agreed." Pyro nods, running a hand through his hair. "But why go after Gráinne? She's not involved in any of this shit."

"Wrong place, wrong time," Wrath speaks up, his voice low and dangerous. "She overheard something she shouldn't have and now they're tying up loose ends."

The thought makes my blood boil. Gráinne, my Gráinne, caught in the crosshairs of some fucked up gang war. I pull her closer to me, feeling her tremble slightly.

"What do we do now?" Preacher asks, looking around the room.

I take a deep breath, trying to think clearly through the rage and fear clouding my mind. “Who hurt you?” I ask, needing to know who the fuck turned up at her apartment and hurt her.

“The blonde man. He told me it was easy to find out where I lived. If one of my neighbors hadn't called the police when they did…” She shakes her head, her hand clutching her side. “He told me he was tying up loose ends.”

"Fuck," I growl, my fists clenching at my sides. The thought of that bastard laying his hands on Gráinne makes me see red. I can’t wait to fucking find him. When I do, he’s in for a world of fucking hurt. "We need to find these fuckers and end this. Now."

Pyro nods, his face set in grim determination. "Agreed. But we need to be smart about this. We don't know how deep this Revenant shit goes."

"First things first," Raptor says his voice steady despite the anger I can see in his eyes. "We need to make sure Gráinne's safe. She can't go back to her place. It's not secure enough."

"She'll stay here," I say firmly, leaving no room for argument. "She’ll stay in my room."

Gráinne looks up at me, her eyes wide. "Con, I can't just leave my life behind. What about my job? My patients?"

I cup her face gently, mindful of her bruises. "Sunshine, your safety comes first. We'll figure out the rest later, I promise. But right now, I need you safe."

She hesitates for a moment, then nods, leaning in to my touch. "Okay," she whispers.

"Alright," Pyro says, taking charge. "Wrath, I want you to dig into this Dragomir character. See what you can find out about him and his connection to The Revenant.”

“I need to make a call to Jerry Houlihan. That fucker knew she was injured and never called me.”

Pyro nods. “You do that, and get him to come here. We’re going to need him to help us uncover this shit.”

I rise to my feet and help Grá up. “Let’s get you in bed, Sunshine.”

She nods, her eyes filled with pain and tiredness. “Yeah,” she whispers as she shuffles toward me.

I lift her into my arms, careful not to jostle her. I don’t know where else that fucker has hurt her. Once she’s asleep, I’ll find out what that cunt did to her.

She’s safe here. This is the only place I know she’ll be completely protected. I need that. I can’t fucking lose her.

TWENTY

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