Page 82 of The Silencer

I breathe deeply.Thank fuck.“Did you hear that, baby?”

“Yes,” she says, her voice trembling.“Be safe, Emmanuel.I love you.”

I close my eyes, savoring her words.Christ, I need her with me.“Love you too, baby.I’ll see you soon.”I end the call and turn back to Maverick.

"Jason will keep her safe," Maverick assures me."He's one of our best."

I nod, still feeling on edge."I know.I just...I need her here with me."

Maverick clasps my shoulder."I get it, man.We all feel that way about our women right now."

We turn our attention back to the grim scene before us.Freddie is still cradling Ava's body, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs.The other men are securing the area, making calls, trying to piece together what the hell just happened.

But still, there’s that niggling feeling.Nothing about this shit sits right.

* * *

Two hours later and the place is crawling with police.They’ve been asking questions, demanding to know why their witnesses have gone, but thankfully they backed the fuck off once Jer arrived.Now, we’re trying to focus on getting any piece of evidence we can.

“We need to find out who the fuck did this,” Jer growls.

“Why take out Ava?”I ask.“I mean, no offense to her, but she’s not dating any of the men.Yes, she means a fucking lot to Freddie, but if you’re wanting to hurt someone, you’d take out a wife or significant other.”

“The calling card means something,” Danny hisses.“Someone’s left us a message.”

“The Ace of Hearts?It means nothing to me,” Jer snaps agitatedly.“It doesn’t make sense.”

It doesn’t, but at the same time it does.There’s something that I’m missing, and the moment I realize what it is, I’ll have a better picture of everything.Fuck, why can’t I remember?

“Where’s Freddie?”Mav asks.

I glance around and see that he’s nowhere in sight.Fuck, he’s gone.I can’t lie, I would be too.

“Fuck,” Jer growls.“I’m on it, don’t worry.You all go home and keep the women safe.We don’t know who did this or when they’ll strike again.”

"We need to increase security," Mav says, his voice low and filled with anger.His sister, niece, and woman were close to the bullet."Around the clock protection for all of them."

"I'll make some calls and get our best men on it," I say through gritted teeth.I’ll make the calls while I’m on my way to Clodagh.Thirty minutes after our phone call, I got a text message letting me know she was with Jason.They should be here any moment.

"Good," Jer says, his eyes scanning the area one last time."Go home, all of you.We'll regroup tomorrow.”

As I head to my car, my mind is racing.Who would target Ava?And why leave that calling card?There's something familiar about it that I can't quite place.

I'm about to get in my car when I see headlights approaching.My hand instinctively goes to my gun, but I relax when I recognize Jason's SUV.Thank fuck.

The car pulls up and Clodagh jumps out before it's even fully stopped.She runs to me and I wrap her in my arms, breathing in her scent.

"Emmanuel," she sobs against my chest."I was so worried."

I hold her tighter, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, beyond relieved that she’s here."I'm okay, baby.You're safe now."

She pulls back, her eyes searching my face."What happened?Who would do this to Ava?"

I shake my head."I don't know.But I promise you, we're going to find out."

Clodagh nods, wiping her tears."Okay.What can I do?"

"Right now, just stay close to me," I say, leading her to the car."We're heading home where it's safe."

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