Page 71 of Witness Protection

He took the fastest route to the address.

Esperanza liked the finer things. The property took up half the block with a high, wrought-iron fence surrounding it. Hawk parked a block down the street and killed the engine, the silence settling in immediately.

“Okay, I’m going in. Stay here, keep down, and whatever you do don’t leave the damn car. Understand?”

“Hawk, you can’t go in there alone. It’s crazy.” She grabbed his sleeve. “Please, I can’t lose you, too.”

Tears glistened in her eyes. Only one thing would get her approval for him to get out of the car. “Cayden’s already in there alone. I’m going to help him.”

“What?”

“Two are better than one, no?”

She kept quiet as he left the car.

The streetlights were broken, giving him added cover as he walked up the street. Tonight would decide their next move—more hiding or Sophia’s dreams coming true.

He slipped in the iron gates, conveniently left ajar. The distant drone of the alarm system sent a chill up his spine. It reminded him of the night Vasily was murdered. No gunfire could mean everyone was dead, and he was too late. He pulled a balaclava over his face before entering the house, not wanting his image on their foyer security footage.

Hawk stepped over a body in the foyer. With his gun outstretched in front of him, he did a sweep of the main floor. All he found were bodies.

So many fucking corpses.

Blood everywhere.

The plaster walls were shot to shit, glass broken, and the massive chandelier a heap on the floor. What the hell went down here?

It looked worse than the massacre at Vasily’s place.

“Don’t move, motherfucker.” The barrel of a gun pressed to his skull from behind.

Hawk acted on instinct. He ducked, spun around, and aimed his gun up at the bastard’s face.

“Cayden?” He pulled the mask up to his forehead.

“Hawk? What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I came to help you.”

Cayden lowered his weapon. “I don’t need help.”

“Where’s Esperanza?”

He pointed his gun up the stairs.

“Dead?”

“Not yet,” said Cayden.

Hawk stepped around the chandelier and raced up the stairs, broken glass crushing under his boots. Cayden was right behind him. No way was he losing the chance to give that fucker some payback for putting Sophia through hell. Half the lowlifes of the city were looking to cash in on her death thanks to Oscar and his hunger for power.

When he entered the master bedroom, Oscar was sitting on the ground against a wall, his hands tied behind his back, his mouth duct taped. He looked like he’d been through a fucking meat grinder.

“Holy shit.”

Cayden joined him in the room, standing next to him. “No one fucks with Sophia.”

Oscar whimpered.

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