Page 70 of Hartley

Lane wasn’t a threat. If I needed proof, I had it when Lane lifted the gun and repeatedly shot Edison until the gun was empty, no bullets remaining. Dropping it onto the dirty wooden floor, Lane leaned heavily against the wall, slowly sliding down. He had dried blood caked on his face and his bottom lip was split. There was a decent-sized knot forming on his forehead. Other than that, he looked okay.

Reaching into my pocket, I withdrew a knife and opened it, watching as the blade hit a beam of sun that poured into this otherwise rattrap of a building, lightening the space andadding a kiss to the blade before I crouched in front of Noel and drove it into his stomach, twisting it.

“I should have fucking killed you decades ago,” I said low. “But I was too caught in my head, and you got away. It was a mistake I’ll never make again. Anyone who comes for me or who’s mine will die.”

“Just end it,” he said, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and beneath his nose.

“I wanted to drag it out. To make you suffer for what your family had put my son and myself through but now with you in front of me, all I can think is to bring Lane back to his family, to the men I love. Why the fuck would I waste my time on you? You’re nothing.”

I pulled the knife out of his stomach and held it up as his blood ran down the hilt and coated my hand, seeping into my sleeve. With one swift move, I dragged it over his throat, slitting it from one side to the other, then I nodded.

Barrett knew what to do. He fired, killing Noel, who was already halfway there.

What happened around me after that was Barrett going into cop mode and devising a plan that had Lane at the center of it and me and my men nowhere to be found. It seemed Barrett got a tip that Lane went missing from my building and one of my guards was hurt. Not shot. Barrett interviewed Vincent and went looking for Lane. He wanted to call it in, but his phone had died, and he had no other way to contact anyone since he rushed out of where he was catching a bite to eat in his personal vehicle.

He came upon the scene where Lane was beaten, and a gun held to his head, but Lane had managed to grab a gun and shoot and kill Edison then plunge the knife Edison held into Noel. Barrett came in and killed Noel when he saw him lungefor Lane with his gun drawn. Since I put a bullet into Edison, I had to leave my gun, with the fingerprints removed, and pretend it was his

Would they buy it? It would be the second crazy-ass story they got from Barrett in a short period of time. As it was, he was currently running to the farm next door to use their phone. Which was why I made sure I didn’t track blood as I left the house while Sheldon and Oleander grabbed the dead guards to drag them inside. One had his neck snapped and the other… poisoned. Something untraceable that will somehow look like natural causes from stress. Maybe his heart? Who the fuck knew or cared? My hands would be clean of this, as would my guards’. Lane would look like he was fighting in self-defense.

And I could go home, shower, and tell the men I loved this latest fucking mess was finally over.

33

VAIL

We hadn’t heard from Jordan, not that I expected him to call us right away. He had a lot to take care of. Finding them, doing what Jordan did, and getting the people who mattered out of there safely. Not to mention having someone come in and stage it. I still didn’t know who did that for him and didn’t want to know. It was enough that Sylvan crafted stories. That was all the information I needed.

I stood in our kitchen, staring at the cabinets, the stove, the refrigerator, and decided it wasn’t big enough. Rooting through the closet, I found a large tote bag and started loading it with what I’d need. There was nothing in my new kitchen yet since it was just completed. I’d have to go to the store and load up on the essentials once everything settled down. Then again, would that ever happen?

With Reghan, Raiden, Oleander, Sheldon, and who knew who else with Jordan, I had Barry keeping me company while Rory was with Hartley and Vincent downstairs. I couldn’t stand to not do anything, so I had kissed Hartley and came upstairs to just stand here too.

“Let’s go, boy,” I called Tahoe. He’d keep me company while I baked.

“Do you want help?” Barry asked.

His dark hair wasn’t slicked back like it normally was. Pieces had fallen forward that he kept brushing out of his face. A shadow of scruff covered his jaw and cheeks. What really ate at me were the dark circles under his eyes. Barry took everything as hard as Jordan did, but we didn’t see Barry’s lack of sleep daily. It was no wonder why Jordan put him in charge of his security. Barry was dedicated.

“Sure.” I handed him the bag and returned to the kitchen to load up my arms.

The elevator arrived as I was doing so. Hartley stepped out and came over to help me too. Rory was with him, who also lent a hand. Hartley didn’t ask any questions, just let me give him stuff to carry. The four of us and Tahoe squeezed into the elevator and rode downstairs. Once there, they placed everything on the counter for me to put away. They weren’t sure where it went, and I was going to be really particular with this kitchen. Jordan already had his set up a certain way with Irene. This one was wholly mine.

Barry and Rory left us to it and moved to stand by the door in the hallway. Barry took his job as seriously as anyone else, but I thought it went deeper than that. Barry was one of the men left Jordan could trust when Malik went behind Jordan’s back. No matter what Jordan asked of him, Barry did it. Not only was this a job to him, it was also his entire life.

“Do you think he’s happy?” I quietly asked Hartley so Barry wouldn’t hear me.

“Who? Tahoe? I think he’d like to snack on whatever you’re about to make.” Hartley was good at making me smile when I didn’t feel like I had one in me.

“No, Barry. He’s here day and night. I’ve never seen him talk about anyone else.”

“Neither do the twins or Ollie. Sheldon at least follows my brother. Rory is a bit of a mystery.”

“Reghan and Raiden already have their sights set on people. I think Ollie has a thing for Sylvan. They might not be in relationships but there’s a direction to their desires. You’d know Rory better than me.”

“Maybe we need to spend more time with Barry. We could set him up with someone.”

“We don’t know much about him. We should have him over for dinner or lunch sometime. Rory too.”

Hartley put his arm around my waist. “You’re one of the kindest men I know. When shit is going on outside, you still think of the happiness of others.”

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