Page 81 of Sinner's Fury

“Stay close to me. Places like this are havens for homeless and drug addicts.”

We quickly scanned the first floor and proceeded with caution to the second floor until the sound of a door slamming caught my attention. With a swift motion, I retrieved my gun from behind me. Uncertain about whether the source of thedisturbance was the wind or the presence of another person in the room, I decided not to take any risks.

The building was set up like a brownstone. The fact that each floor resembled an apartment made the search process a bit more organized and efficient. Just as we ascended to the fourth floor, I unmistakably caught the sound of someone speaking.

“Where is she?”

“I don’t know!”

“That’s too bad,” another man said before I heard the gun go off.

“Stay here,” I whispered, before dashing the rest of the way, bursting through the door to discover a man slouched in a chair, lifeless. Moving swiftly into the apartment, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye while I scanned the room.

On the kitchen floor lay another man, clutching his stomach as blood seeped through his fingers. The instant our eyes met, he muttered almost inaudibly, “Help me.”

“Oh my God,” Carly gasped, running past me to kneel before the man on the floor. “Kyle.”

“Stay with him, Charlotte. Try to stop the bleeding. I need to find the other guy.”

“Fire escape,” Kyle coughed.

Understanding that the fire escape was the only exit option aside from the front door, I carefully scoured the apartment until I stumbled upon it in one of the rear rooms. With haste, I made my way to the window and cautiously peered outside, narrowly dodging a bullet that ricocheted in my vicinity.

“Fuck!” I roared loudly, feeling the rough texture of the wall against my back as I turned to look out the window and spotted the familiar man in a black tweed coat making his way down the fire escape. Knowing there was no way I could catch him, I holstered my gun and headed back to Charlotte.

“How is he?” I asked, entering the kitchen to find Charlotte with tears streaming down her face as she sat next to Kyle, holding his hand.

“He’s dead.”

Kneeling before her, I whispered, “I’m so sorry, but, baby, we need to go.”

“I can’t leave him. He was my friend.”

“I know, baby, but it isn’t safe here. Someone is bound to have heard the shots. The police will be here soon.”

I didn’t give her the option to stay. Instead, I helped her to her feet and hurriedly led her out of the apartment. We descended the four flights of stairs, and I intentionally paid no attention to the front door we had entered through and swiftly guided her to the back of the ground-floor apartment, fully conscious of the presence of another exit. Without hesitation, I kicked the door open, the sound of it crashing to the ground echoing through the room.

With Charlotte’s hand clasped in mine, we quickly made our way down the alley, the faint sirens of a police car growing louder when it neared us from the opposite direction. We emerged onto a side street, and I quickly scanned both ways before spotting a cab driving toward us from my right. With a loud whistle, I waved my hand to flag down the cab, and as it came to a stop, I guided Charlotte into the backseat before joining her and closing the door.

Not thinking, I quickly said, “47275 Verona Street, Little Italy.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Fury

The house was empty.

I knew it would be, and I was grateful. Because there was no fucking way on earth I would ever explain to my mother what I was doing showing up on her doorstep with a woman covered in blood.

My mother was an understanding woman, but she always saw through my bullshit.

Sitting in the living room, I hunched over in my seat, twirling a tumbler of whiskey, wishing it was something stronger because I had no fucking clue how I was going to tell Montana and Reaper that our only lead was dead. More importantly, I wanted to know why Tyran Fitzpatrick was questioning the Kreuger Brothers and why he killed them. I clearly heard him asking the brother where she was. I could only assume he was looking for the same woman Carly and I were.

Wherever Thena Hartley was, I prayed she stayed vigilant. Because with the entire underworld looking for her, it was only a matter of time before someone found her.

Taking a sip, I let the slow burn work its way down my throat.

Sighing, I sat back and closed my eyes. I was so fucking over all this shit. Warring clubs, the lies between brothers, and the damning secrets. But what really annoyed me was that no one was fucking talking to anyone. Montana and Reaper could haveprevented half of this shit, if the two of them had just swallowed their fucking pride, sat down, and fucking talked like adults. Instead, their petulant disdain for each other was only fueling the rumblings of war.

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