Page 29 of Savage Hearts
Sloane says, “Declan got a call. We need to go.”
“Now? We didn’t eat yet!”
Sloane’s look could melt off my face. I hold up my hands in surrender. “Sorry.”
We all get up and head toward the restaurant’s entrance. Everyone is so uptight, they don’t notice I’m wearing Spider’s suit jacket. Probably a good thing.
As we walk, Spider asks Declan in a low voice, “What’s happened?”
“They found Diego.”
“What do you mean? His head?”
“No. Whoever that body belonged to that the cops found in the landfill, it wasn’t him. They misidentified it. Not sure yet if that was an accident or not.”
“Bloody hell!”
“Aye,” says Declan darkly. “But it gets much more interesting than that, mate.”
“What do you mean?”
“Diego’s still alive.”
Spider’s shock is palpable. He almost trips over his own feet when he hears that piece of news.
Whoever this Diego is, he’s obviously someone important.
NINE
RILEY
The trip back to the house is weird. Everyone is tense and silent. Spider drives like he’s trying to qualify for the Indy 500. Sloane keeps glancing nervously at Declan, who grinds his jaw so hard and frequently, I worry for his molars.
When we’re finally home, the men all disappear into the kitchen, and Sloane brings me back to my room.
As soon as she closes the door behind us, I turn to her and demand, “Okay, spill. Who’s this Diego and why is everyone so freaked out?”
Sloane sits carefully on the edge of the bed and takes a breath. “Diego was Declan’s boss. Until he was captured by MS-13 and murdered. Only now it seems he wasn’t murdered, but that someone deliberately made it look like he was.”
She looks at me rummaging through my carry-on. “What are you doing?”
“Getting snacks. This sounds juicy. Keep talking.”
She waits to continue until I’m sitting across from her in a chair, tearing into the plastic wrapper on the Twizzlers box with my teeth.
“There was a fire in a warehouse—”
“Where? Here?”
“New York.”
“Which part?”
Sloane says tartly, “Would you like me to draw you a map?”
“Sorry. Just trying to get a good visual of the action. Go on.” I chow down on two Twizzlers at once. For a moment, Sloane watches me chew with a constipated look on her face, then starts talking again.
“Diego was found at the warehouse when the fire department arrived to put out the flames. They’ve taken him to the hospital.”
