Page 53 of Assassin's Prey
There was so much to know: arrangements for Abby, what the police might find out, who was behind this. That last bit of information would most likely shatter any relationship between Geneva and me, but I’d share it. Not right now, but when the time was right.
For now I had a man to destroy.
“I will,” I said, letting everything else fall away. I stood and leaned over her, feeling the familiar papery texture of her cheek as I kissed her. “You rest.”
She nodded, but I could see in her eyes that she wouldn’t rest anytime soon. The moment we’d lost the best thing in our worlds would be on constant repeat in our brains until we died.
I closed the bedroom door behind me and was in the living room with barely two steps down the tiny hall. Not long enough to get my shit together, but it would have to do. Remi and Eli stood near the front door with Bryant, the three big men seeming to take up the whole room. I nodded to the small group of strangers opposite them and ushered my brothers and Bryant out the door.
“Levi, God—”
I didn’t know who spoke; it didn’t matter. I held up my hand, took a moment to force composure into my voice. “Not right now. I can’t…” I shook my head, grateful as all fuck that aside from yards of damaged pavement and strings of yellow police tape, the evidence of what had happened mere hours ago was gone. “I just can’t right now.”
When I glanced their way, I could read understanding in my brothers’ eyes.
“This was Redding,” I said.
Not surprisingly, no one argued. Just nods all around. Describing the text I’d received did elicit some harsh, if hushed, profanity. We weren’t the only ones still outside.
“Where’s the SIM card, Levi?” Bryant asked.
“Doesn’t matter,” I told him.
Frustration roughened Bryant’s voice, as if he already knew he wasn’t going to win. “Of course it does. You can’t let this go unpunished. With that text as evidence, he will get all the punishment he deserves.”
“Oh, he’ll be punished,” Remi said. “He’ll know hell before he’s through.”
Bryant rubbed a hand over his face. “You can’t go after him. Let me bring him in. Let me do this right.”
With Redding’s money? He’d never see the inside of a jail cell, evidence or not.
“Who said we were going after him?” Eli asked.
Because that would’ve been stupid. Bryant was a good guy, but no way would he be on board for vigilante justice. Which was why he didn’t need to know about it.
Afterward he could come after us if he wanted to. I’d make sure my brothers were safe before…
I glanced at the blackened pavement nearby and felt bile rise to the back of my throat. “I need to get out of here.”
“Levi.”
I hit Bryant like a freight train, my fists tangled in either side of his collar, my face right up in his. “I need. To go.”
Bryant raised his hands out to his sides. “Okay, got it.” He straightened as I released him, and tired sympathy settled over his face. “Just…be careful. And if you change your mind—” He paused, then shook his head. “Just call me.”
I walked away without another word. I appreciated the man—which surprised me, him being a cop and me being what I was—but I couldn’t let him interfere. We never harmed the innocent, that was a rule, but Redding and Chadwick weren’t innocent, and they wouldn’t go down if we left this up to someone else. They’d gotten away with too much already. No, this was our job.
And I was looking forward to it.
Remi and Eli flanked me as we crossed to their SUV, parked a block away. The thought of climbing inside made my skin shrivel, but after a thorough check, we did it anyway. Remi started the car.
We drove for five minutes without a word. I finally broke the silence.
“Contact Luka Sokolov.”
Remi jerked as if he’d been deep in thought. That name certainly broke him out of it. Once a major player in our world, Sokolov had gone legit several years ago. Now he was the best security expert money could buy.
“Why?”
