Page 140 of Hot for Hostage

“I just got off the phone with Enzo.” Vince’s shoulders rose with a deep breath. “Lorenzo’s dead.”

I went still. “How?”

“That’s the interesting part, and you can thank Dante for updating the system or we would’ve missed it. The feeds went down as soon as we left, but the backups kicked in right away.” He hesitated. “It caught Seb going to the shed.”

What the hell.

I almost asked him to repeat himself. “…My old man offed Lorenzo? You’re kidding.”

“Enzo sent me a clip of the footage. I saw it myself.” He shook his head. “Seb didn’t know about the backup cameras. He just counted on sneaking in and out during the chaos.”

I looked over to where my father was talking to Peterson, my mind reeling. I wasn’t sure what to think. Seb had no reason to kill Lorenzo. Unless…

It clicked. The goddamn piece of the puzzle I’d been missing earlier.

Lorenzo wouldn’t have gone sniffing around Zain on his own, and he knew something my father thought was worth silencing him over.

And Zain had found Sadie way too quickly to not have been tipped off by someone on the inside.

My father was working them both.

I watched Chief Peterson and my father laugh over something together, like old friends.

I’d spent years cleaning up his messes. Handling his dirty work. Setting up the deals and running the games, while he raked in the winnings. Just how long had the old bastard been playing me?

But one question drowned out the rest.

Why?

Vince cleared his throat. “What will you do?”

Tearing my gaze from the man in question, I checked on Sadie. Aside from Pretty Boy blinding her with his pearly white smile, she seemed fine—no thanks to my old man. If it were up to him, today would’ve gone very differently for her.

The voice that left my throat didn’t sound like my own. “I’ll handle it.”

fourth time’s a charm

. . .

Sadie

Sadie’s Guide toHostage-TakingBeing Taken HostageForming a Partnership with Your HostageEmbracing the Hostage LifestyleNot Freaking OutEscapingBeing Taken Hostage (Again), Tip #35: There doesn’t seem to be a limit to how many times one can be taken hostage.

I hadn’t expected the aftermath of a hostage situation to be so noisy. Things quickly grew crowded in the cul-de-sac, between more cops swarming the street, Davian’s men exiting the house, and nosy neighbors creeping closer to the action. A giant fire truck joined the fray, and makeshift tents were popping up all along the grass.

It wasn’t until I saw the crime scene tape going up that it hit me how real all this was.

Officer Murdock led me over to one of the tents, where his coworker offered me water and some kind words.

I picked at the rim of the full cup, unable to stop myself from peeking over at Davian and Bear on the sidewalk again. Davian looked to be in a serious talk with Vince, while Bear sat betweenthem both with his tail wagging excitedly and his gaze focused on me.

There was something about seeing Davian holding Bear’s leash that did things to my insides—simultaneously melting my heart into a puddle of goo while also capturing the horny demon’s attention.

I wanted to go on a date to the park with Davian and bring Bear along with us for a picnic.

I also wanted to jump him.

Davian must’ve felt my eyes on him, because he looked over midsentence. Even from this distance, I saw him raise his brows in silent question. Could he tell the kind of thoughts running through my mind just from seeing him and Bear together? I smiled at his questioning gaze and gave a little wave to let him know everything was fine.

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