Page 27 of Ensnared By Silence
“What’s going on? Is there a problem with Aubrey?”
After she got the job, I reached out and thanked my friend for his help. He explained they wouldn’t have hired her if she wasn’t good at her job. It was hers by ability, not connections.
“I know he hates me, but I need your help.” I sighed heavily, rubbing my forehead to push away the quickly growing headache.
“Hold on.” He covered the phone, and I heard some grumbling before he returned with a chuckle. “I’ll let the doorman know you’re on the way. Third floor, door on the left.”
He disconnected the call, and I pushed my phone into my pocket as I crossed the small street separating the park and their building.
After showing my ID and signing the security log, I was escorted to the elevator, where the doorman pressed the button for the third floor and turned a key before stepping out, leaving me alone for the short ride up.
“Do not punch him in the face,” I muttered as I exited the elevator and knocked on the door to the left.
The door opened and James extended his hand to me as I crossed the threshold. Devlin was sitting in a chair across the small living room turned office space, his legs crossed and his fingers steepled together in front of his mouth as his hard eyes watched my every move. He was wearing his usual black on black suit and I could see the thinly veiled resentment in his expression.
“What brings you by today, Hayden?” James asked, sitting down in a chair across from Devlin and gesturing to the chair next to him.
I sat down and rubbed my jaw before explaining, “I don’t know how much your wives have told you about Aubrey.”
“What about your flavor of the month?” Devlin sneered, and I jumped up from my chair, the sound in my ears cut off as my anger spiked higher than ever before.
Devlin mirrored my moves, and I swung one punch, landing it solidly on his jaw. His head snapped to the side and his eyes turned black as he tried to charge me. James stepped between us and pushed Devlin away, reasoning, “You deserved that. Imagine what you would do if someone said that about Elise.”
His eyes net mine as he muttered, “I’d kill them.”
“Then cut Hayden some slack. He cares about this girl, and whatever happened between him and Elise was years ago. Let that shit go, Devlin, so we can get down to business. For fuck’s sake.”
James ran his hands through his hair as Devlin and I retreated to our chairs. My hand hurt and he wiggled his jaw as he looked me in the eye and said, “Sorry for any disrespect.”
I nodded as James sat back down and pulled a joint from his top pocket. Firing it up, he passed it to me, and I inhaled before handing it to Devlin. He eyes me warily before reaching out, and a few minutes later, everyone was calmer and I settled back to start the painful conversation.
“So, to ask again, how much do you two know about Aubrey?”
“Not much, to be honest,” Devlin replied, and I was shocked.
“But she works for you. Didn’t you do a background check?”
He nodded, but his expression remained stoic. “Then I need some information from you.”
“Why not get it from her?” James asked, and I turned to him.
I shook my head in frustration. “I’ve asked, but she won’t tell me, and I know it’s the source of all her pain.”
“What pain?” Devlin asked, leaning forward with an intense stare. “The few times I’ve seen her, she seemed fine.”
“She . . . fuck, man.” I leaned back again and sighed. “She carries around some pretty deep secrets. Painful secrets that have real monsters attached to them. I need the information so I can kill those fuckers.”
His head tilted to the side as he inspected me. James broke through the stare down. “You’re going to have to tell us a little more than that. We can’t condone killing. You have to understand that, Hayden. There are ways to handle this. Proper channels.”
I stood and started pacing, my anger at their hypocrisy rising to a staggering level. I turned and leveled my gaze at them as I replied, “So, it’s okay to kill Elise and Amaya’s attackers but not Aubrey’s. Fuck that and fuck you both. I’ll handle this shit myself. Thanks for nothing.”
I went to leave, but a hand gripped my forearm, stopping me. I swung around to find a stunned James standing in the middle of the room and Devlin stopping my retreat. His blue eyes were black and the rage coming from him was radiating into his grip on me.
“Say that one more time,” he whispered menacingly, and I tugged my arm from him, ready to throw down with him.
“Fuck you, Devlin.” I leveled off with him, and he stood firm as he stared me in the eyes with death and rage burning brightly. “I don’t care if you killed Chuck’s brother or Natalia’s rapist. Fuckers deserved it, as far as I’m concerned.”
“Not that part, asshole. What happened to Aubrey?” His voice was so low, I could feel the rumble in my chest. “Who hurt her?”
