Page 66 of Hartley

“Albert, Fourth Street now,” I barked. “Vinny, stay on the line. What were you doing over there?” I wanted to keep him talking, focused on me rather than the pain he was in. Most people saw me as a heartless killer. The truth was, while my men were ready to give their lives for me and those in my protection, I’d rather they stayed above ground.

“He wanted… to buy something… Fuck, for Hartley and Forest.”

I swayed in my seat as Albert hit the gas and flew down the side streets less traveled by cops, thank fuck. I didn’t want tohave to deal with them. Then I’d have to lead them away from Vincent and have someone else get him.

I could hear Raiden in the front seat call Alton and ask him to meet us at my building.

“Vinny, who took him?”

“Noel.”

Instead of my blood going cold, fire licked through my body. My veins were full of an energizing heat. That motherfucker took Hartley’s family. Lane didn’t come to us in the best way, but he was part of us now. He had no desire to go back to his family. Hell, Arden even met with him. Arden couldn’t reveal what was said, but he did tell us we were safe with Lane in our home. Either Lane was a hell of a tale spinner or everything he’d told us was the truth. If I went with my gut, Lane was honest with us.

We screeched to a stop near the corner of the street and rushed from the vehicle. Vincent wouldn’t be out in the open, bleeding on the sidewalk. He’d tuck himself away where no one would see him. The fact the cops weren’t already here meant Noel was well-equipped.

Raiden called Vincent’s name, trying to locate him when we heard a weak, “Here.”

Rushing down the alleyway, we found Vincent on the ground, leaning against a dumpster. He was going to need a strong antibiotic once he got cleaned up. Albert quickly wrapped Vincent’s leg and arm as Raiden stood guard and we got Vincent on his feet. He wasn’t a small guy, but we’d be able to carry him if need be. Vincent wanted to walk to the car, even if he was limping and red bloomed through his jeans more and more with each step.

As soon as we closed the doors, Albert took off. All my attention was on Vincent. Raiden had his gun in hand, readyto shoot if someone came after us. Surprisingly, they didn’t. The guards Edison and Noel hired must have been dwindling, especially if Noel took Lane himself.

Vincent groaned when Albert hit a pothole. He was paler than I liked. A curse tore from my lips. If Vincent wasn’t bleeding like he was, I would have called the fucking city and had someone out here to fix this shit. They were still doing roadwork on the streets after a winter of snowplows and salt.

The garage of my building had never looked so good as Albert pulled in and men waited to help Vincent from the car and into the elevator. Raiden and I followed behind them, Raiden still looking over his shoulder, waiting for a bullet to fly past us.

31

HARTLEY

The sound of Rory’s phone ringing echoed across the studio. He only had certain people set up to where the phone would ring, even if he had it silenced. One of them was Jordan. The others were Raiden, Reghan, Barry, Vail, and me. With me sitting in the same room as him, and Reghan nearby, worry instantly coursed through me at what was wrong. His phone never rang like this.

“Yes?” he answered.

I couldn’t hear what the other person said, but Rory’s eyes met mine and a grim frown formed on his lips.

“We’re on our way.” He hung up and pocketed his phone, then flipped the lock on the front door before killing the lights and coming over to me. “We have to go now.”

I closed my laptop and shoved it in my bag, along with my phone. We were the only ones in the studio today since it was the weekend. “What happened?”

“Vinny’s been shot, and Lane’s been taken.”

“What?” I whirled to face him. “Is Vinny going to make it?”

“I don’t have details. I was told to get back to the buildingas fast as possible. Forest is going to meet us out back where Reghan should be. Move, Hartley.”

Grabbing my bag, I slung it over my shoulder while trying to dig my keys out with shaking hands. Rory must have seen my struggle because he gently took them from me and put his hand on the small of my back to usher me out the door.

I didn’t need words to understand what the urgency was. With Lane kidnapped, I could be next. So could Vail or even… Ava. I remembered she was staying at a friend’s house and had a security detail on her. We still weren’t sure if the Everharts knew about her, but the guess was they did. We didn’t hide Ava, but we also didn’t parade around on the street with her telling everyone who she was to us.

Forest was exiting the entrance to the apartment at the same time we exited the building. Rory parked the SUV close to the door as it was. He told me it was in case we ever needed to use it as a shield. I thought he was crazy. Now, not so much.

My eyes went from side to side, waiting for someone to come out of nowhere to hurt us, but Reghan was making sure that didn’t happen. Rory set the alarm on the studio and locked up before ushering Forest and me into the back of the SUV while Reghan sat up front. Rory jumped into the driver’s seat, and we made the short drive to Jordan’s building without hitting the main road. Guards waited for us in the garage to form a wall from us to the elevator.

I didn’t let out the breath I was holding until the elevator doors slid shut with Forest, Rory, Reghan, and me inside. “Vail? Jordan?” I asked.

“Vail and Jordan are with Vinny,” Rory said. “I saw Alton’s car in the garage so he must be working on him.”

“I want to see them.”

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