Page 61 of Dangerous Contract: Part 2

"Lie back," Leo insisted. "You're in no shape to be moving around yet."

"I feel fine," Raz lied, voice hoarse, body sore.

"You can't even say that without grimacing. Relax, boss."

Leo didn't remove his hand from Raz's shoulder until Raz relaxed against the pillow. Closing his eyes briefly, he took a deep breath and released it slowly. There was still pain in his side, but it wasn't as bad as before.

His body was still heavy, like it was weighing him down, preventing him from moving properly. At least he didn't feel as out of it as he had before. He opened his eyes and stared around the room.

Rome was seated in a chair against the wall. In front of him was a small table that his laptop was perched on. As usual, Rome's eyes were glued to the screen, and his fingers were clicking across the keyboard.

Raz looked toward the window, where Cas stood, staring out. What the hell was he looking at that had him so damn enthralled? Raz's gaze returned to Leo in time to see his guard swipe his hand across his face.

Something was wrong? They were all acting strange. They were all looking...defeated. Raz attempted to sit up again. When Leo tried to push him down, Raz shoved his hand away.

"What the fuck is going on?" Raz asked, sitting up, ignoring the I.V. in his arm, ignoring the pain in his body.

"We'll tell you," Leo assured him. "First, you need to get better. I've got guys taking care of everything."

"What’s everything?" Raz asked. "How long was I out?"

Leo's gaze moved to Rome, who didn't look up from his laptop.

"How fucking long was I out?" Raz yelled.

"Two days," Leo told him.

"Two days?" Raz mumbled, mind racing. "The board? Are they dead?"

Leo nodded. "All of them. First, they were reported as missing. The next day, the bodies were found in one of Tatum's warehouses, burned to a crisp, only identifiable by their dental records. We convinced their families to say that Tatum was behind their deaths in exchange for their lives. The police are looking for Tatum and his son. We have them both."

Shit.He'd missed a lot.

"The police interviewed us," Rome spoke up, eyes still on his laptop. "Cas and I told them that our father and uncle left, saying they were going to a meeting with Tatum and never returned. To keep the police looking for Tatum, I booked a flight for Tatum and his son to Mexico, making it look like they were on the run. I had two of our guards take the flights. I'll send someone to get them in a few days. The police want to talk to you when you wake up. To explain your wounds, I told them you were on your way to meet with me when your car was shot at. I explained that I was on the phone with you when it happened. I told them I tracked your phone, found you wounded, and brought you here. You were out when the police came to talk to you. I'll tell you yourcover story in detail so you know what to tell the police when they come in. For now, we'll pretend you're still out so you can rest some more."

"When they come in? They're still here?" Raz asked.

"They won't leave until they get your statement. And they'll be watching us for as long as the investigation lasts. Probably longer because it's us."

“What about our guys on the force? Can't they do anything to take this heat off us?" Raz asked.

"I contacted them. They can't do anything yet. Too many people have gone missing for them to push this under the rug. It looks like this is going to hang around for a while."

Raz nodded. "Make sense. Tell me my cover story..." Raz started, then paused. "Wait. We're in the hospital." His gaze jerked to the hospital door. Rosa was here! "Where is she?"

Where was his Rosa? He needed to see her, to hold her, to see for himself that she was safe.

"Relax," Leo told him.

That was the last fucking thing he wanted to hear.

"Where is she?" Raz asked again. "Where is Monique?"

"There's something we need to tell you," Leo started, then paused.

Raz frowned, a memory flickering to life in his mind. While he'd been out of it, he'd heard Leo say something about everyone in the hospital being found unconscious. The guards had searched but hadn't been able to find Monique. Raz's eyes widened.

Gripping Leo's arm, he shouted, "Is she gone? Did they take her? Tell me, Leo! Tell me!"

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