Seeing her artistic side while organising the wedding was an eye-opener. I have a feeling that if being a professional dancer doesn’t work out, she won’t be short of options. The florist would snatch her up in a second if she ever went there to ask for a job.
A red light flashes above the door, catching everyone’s attention, signalling they are close. Terry had left to meet McIntire and escort him and his prisoner down the tunnel.
“I know I say this a lot, but don’t you think we give McIntire a little too much information? He knows our businesses, our relationships, and now our one route to escape if we were to come under attack.”
Turning to Maximus, I try to keep a straight face and not show how conflicted I am right now.
“Trust me, I know, but the alliance we have formed benefits others, and he knows that I never ask him to do things for me; he is offering without expectations.”
“At the end of the day, he’s been more than happy to help and obviously thinks highly of Christian. Otherwise, he wouldn’t do all he does,” Jason adds.
“What are we going to do if it is one of his guys who’s been causing all this shit?” Maximus asks. I don’t miss the way Jason and Layton turn their attention to me, as I have no doubt they’ve been trying to work out the same thing.
“I don’t know,” I admit, shaking my head. “It’s something that we will have to decide when the information is presented to us.” I look back to the door and watch as the green light flickers. “Let’s just hope this helps us put an end to this shit,” I sigh, walking over to the centre of the room as the others step beside me, and Layton heads to the door to open it.
I hold my breath and wait for the door to open, unsure of what to expect on the other side. Before the door opens halfway, a person with a sack over his head, dressed in a yellow t-shirt and ripped jeans, flies into the room, landing on the concrete floor. I hear a muffled yelp, sounding like he’s been gagged. A furious McIntire storms into the room and grabs the guy's arms, which are tied behind his back and yanks him up so he’s kneeling on the ground.
“His name’s Edward Grey, but he goes by Eddy. He’s a fucking waste of space with no job, lives in a shithole, and likes to think he’s smarter than he is.” I have seen McIntire angry before, but nothing like this. He grabs the sack and rips it from his head. Eddy already looks like he’s taken a beating. Judging by the way he flinches away from McIntire, he’s the one who dished it out.
“Don’t fucking look at me, you piece of shit. Look at the ground, and if I see you looking up at me again, I will carve your eyes out.”
I look at him with an arched brow, but McIntire doesn’t see me; all he focuses on is the arsehole in front of him.
“How do you know him?” I ask, wanting to see if someone will come looking for the shit.
“I’ve been watching him for a couple of months, waiting for him to fuck up and give me an excuse to take him out.”
“I told you, I don’t know-” he gets cut off mid-sentence by McIntire grabbing a fist full of hair and slamming Eddy’s face into his knee. Eddy screams out in pain as blood gushes from his broken nose.
“I already have all the reasons I need to finish you, but first, you are going to have a little chat with the O’Reillys here and explain what your intentions were when you attempted to climb into their fiancée’s bedroom.” McIntire looks up and gives me a nod.
“He’s all yours; if you decide you don’t want to kill him, don’t worry; I will be more than happy to.”
“What's he done to piss you off?” Maximus asks behind me. McIntire glares down at Eddy, who is still kneeling on the ground, holding his bleeding nose.
“He has been seeing someone who doesn’t belong to him,” McIntire answers.
“Who?” I ask, almost sure I know the answer. When he turns his attention to me, I can see why people are so scared of him with one look. I have to stop myself from stepping back, wanting to put as much distance between us as possible.
“Abigail Young.”
ChapterForty-Nine
CHRISTIAN
My eyes shoot up to McIntire. Abigail, was the leak? Surely, she wouldn’t do that to Jasmine; the girls are very close. From their first meeting long before Geralt was killed, they became inseparable. Jasmine has called her every single day since Geralt was murdered. Abigail has even told me herself that Jasmine has been the one to keep her going.
I turn to Jason and Maximus and can see the sheer shock and disbelief on their faces.
“No. There's no way Abbi would betray Jasmine,” Maximus declares, shaking his head.
“That’s because she hasn’t, not knowingly anyway. She is as much a victim here as Jasmine,” McIntire answers. “This prick has used her to listen in to conversations and probably gone through her phone at times as well.”
“I haven’t done anything; I love Abbi!”
McIntire punches Eddie in the face, growling.
“Enough of the bullshit! I warned you what would happen if you didn’t back off, and now I have even more of a reason to end you. How long and painful your death will be depends on what you tell us now.” McIntire turns to me, and I see why he is so feared. “What have you got down here? I left my stuff in the rush to get him here.”