Текст книги "Blood & Loyalties"

Автор книги: Ryan Michele

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Текущая страница: 12 (всего у книги 17 страниц)

“Chill the fuck out. This is Rex. He’s solid. Vino and Sal know about him.”

As Val eyed Rex up and down, Rex didn’t so much as blink, which was expected. He was too much of a professional to let anyone get to him. He marched to his own drum, but right then, I was paying him a shit load to march to mine.

“Fine. Any trouble and I’ll wipe you out,” Val threatened.

Rex silently grunted, his arms crossed over his chest, but his eyes and wide-legged stance exuded confidence. I didn’t have time for this pissing match. I had shit to do.

Grunts and groans from behind me told me it was time to move. Without looking back, I brushed past Val with Rex, Dan, Brett, Vinny, and a trunked-up Zan behind me. Val moved in front, guiding us down the hall and stairs quickly.

The house was in pretty good shape judging by the painted walls, clean floors, and nice furniture. It almost seemed as if someone lived there.

Val opened a door in the basement, and we filed in. A lone, wooden chair with leather straps on the arms and legs sat prominently in the middle of the room. The floor of the room was concrete with a drain off to the side. Lining the sides of the walls were bright blue tool boxes with a sink at the end of the row. The fluorescent light above illuminated the entire room.

The guys lugged the trunk in front of the chair, setting it down with a thump. Dan reached for the latch, unlocked it, and tossed the top over, only the hinges holding it in place. Then he reached down into the box, pulling out a very bound Zan.

His feet and arms were wrapped in duct tape, surrounded with rope. Zan’s eyes were open, focusing directly on me. He wasn’t fighting Dan, but he wasn’t helping at all by lying limply in his grasp.

Dan placed Zan in the chair, straightening and adjusted his shirt that had become askew in the exchange.

“So this is my fun for the night.” Val clapped his hands together loudly, drawing Zan’s attention. “Nice.” He rubbed his hands together eagerly. “Hook him up to the chair.”

Dan and Brett went to work, quickly slicing the tape with their pocket knives then strapping my uncle to the chair. Zan’s head lolled, wobbling back and forth like his neck wasn’t supporting the weight.

“Take the gag off.”

Dan grabbed the corner of the duct tape, pulling roughly, and the tear could be heard throughout the room.

Zan quickly used his tongue to dislodge the fabric from his mouth.

“You ready to talk?” I asked, walking in front of him. I widened my stance, locking my knees and crossing my arms over my chest.

“Fuck off,” Zan raged.

Val picked up a metal tool and hit Zan in the back, and he jolted from the pain.

“What do you want to talk about?” His words came out a bit slurred. I knew I shouldn’t have given him that punch to the jaw earlier.

Using my steel-toed boot, I kicked his shin hard, eliciting a grunt. “Don’t fucking play around with me. Do you know something about my father’s death or not?”

“Told you it was Sal.” He was lying, toying with me. He would pay for that.

Val moved fast, coming to the side of me. “I knew this would be fun. Fucker, get ready.”

Zan shook his head. “That’s all I know.”

“We’ll see about that.” Val stomped off to the blue chests along the wall, opening and shutting doors quickly, slamming a few on the way. Then he turned, walking toward us with a hammer in one hand and pliers in the other.

Walking up to the chair, he reached under the left side where Zan’s hand was and pulled a small table out, attaching it in front of the straps and securing Zan’s hand on it, his fingers spread.

Val lifted his right hand that was holding the hammer and, with all of his strength, swung it down to the table. A loud crunch echoed throughout the room as Zan’s index finger shattered before my eyes. Blood seeped from the open wounds the hammer had left, and his finger now had a zigzag pattern to it.

Zan gritted his teeth hard, remaining quiet and impassive, the only indication of his pain in the far recesses of his eyes.

Val did the same to Zan’s middle and ring fingers, crushing each with the same force.

I stepped back and watched the show as Val asked Zan questions he wouldn’t answer. Val moved on to the other hand without so much as a peep of protest from Zan.

The door swung open as Sal stepped across the threshold, his large frame and powerful presence making the already small room feel ten times smaller instantly.

“What does your uncle have to say?” Sal asked, moving to the side wall.

“Nothing,” I uttered, more pissed. Zan was a waste of fucking time.

Zan’s head flew up, his eyes sweeping over Sal as an evil smile came back to his face. “You’re here, you worthless piece of shit.”

Val swiftly kicked Zan’s leg from the side, at which Zan grunted before he continued. “I was just telling my idiot of a nephew that you were the one who slit his father’s throat, but he doesn’t want to believe me,” he scoffed.

The heat inside my body was ready to explode. For months, I had searched for this asshole. Months away from Catarina. Now this fucking cat and mouse game?

Sal moved toward Zan, reaching in his pocket and pulling out his switchblade. “Because you’re fucking lying, you piece of shit. The question is, why?” Sal asked, flipping open the blade. “Why even bring it up after all these years?”

Zan’s eyes grew, but it didn’t stop him. “Because you did it, you worthless piece of shit. You killed my brother. You did it. I fucking know it.”

Sal stepped even closer, the menace in his eyes murderous, while I sat back, watching, wondering why the fuck Zan hated Sal so damn much and how this all rolled back to my father.

“I didn’t fucking kill him,” Sal said adamantly before taking the knife and dragging it across his neck. “But I will fucking kill you.”

“See, idiot boy,” Zan addressed me as anger bubbled at his term for me. “This is what a man does. He takes out his threats, just like he did Geo. You’ll get to see exactly how he killed your father.”

Sal stopped for a moment reflecting a bit in thought and tossed the knife to the floor, pulling out his gun.

“What about Flynn?” I asked before Sal had a chance to put the bullet in him.

“I’m no fucking rat. Torture me all you fucking want; I’ll say nothing more.”

As much as I would love to continue beating the shit out of him, it wouldn’t turn back time. Plus, this shit was merely wasting more of it. I nodded up to Sal.

“I’ve heard enough of your shit. I didn’t kill him.”

“Jag, say hi to that beautiful Catarina for me.”

Sal raised his gun and shot, the bullet piercing Zan’s chest. His body jerked and lurched to the side, but the straps kept him in place. Blood fell from his mouth; however, he wasn’t done yet, his words difficult to understand. With his cryptic words, he gasped for his last breath.

I kicked his body and bent down to feel a pulse, finding nothing.

“It’s done. Clean this shit up,” Sal ordered.

“Damn, Dad. I wanted to play.” Val picked up his tools, placing them back in the boxes.

Sal ignored him. “Jag, I’m sorry about what happened with your father. Son, I know your father’s death was hard, but you can’t allow it to cloud your judgment.”

I nodded, feeling exactly like what Zan had called me—an idiot.

“It won’t.” I said those words with every bit of certainty I could muster.

“Get out of here and get a shower before you head back.”

Now was as good a time as any. I had been trying to figure out when I was going to tell them I wasn’t going back, and he had just given me an opening.

“I’m not going back. I’m staying here with Catarina.”

Sal pulled back at my words, crossing his arms over his chest. “Last I heard, she wasn’t speaking with you, no.”

“It’s been a while, but that won’t stop me.” I held strong, knowing Sal would take me out if I fucked her over, but all I intended on doing was fucking her stupid and opening her eyes to what we could have.

“I didn’t think it would. She’s been edgy lately, but puts on a good show. Maybe you can find out what’s going on with my girl.” His words struck me. She was the one who had cut it off, so I had figured she would be fine, happy. Even Kiera didn’t let on to any of this.

“I will.”

 

Chapter 14

I DIDN’T SLEEP for shit after that fucking note. Kiera was seriously thinking of committing me. That morning, I had it out with the coffee pot. For some reason, it didn’t want to brew fast enough for me, so I threw it to the floor, shattering glass everywhere.

After hearing the combustion of glass on the tile, I slid down to the floor. The glass lay there like all the broken pieces of me, scattered everywhere. Each piece was a representation of how everything I held dear could be destroyed in an instant.

I laid my hand on the floor, only to cut myself and watch the blood trickle, each drop cementing the knots inside. I couldn’t take it much longer. I was stronger than this, but add my family into the mix, and helplessness was turning me into someone I hated to even be around.

Work that morning sucked six ways to Sunday. A client called me, giving me an earful about his damn money. I swore I was going to unleash a side of me soon that would have him backing the fuck off really quickly.

Everything I seemed to touch throughout the day broke or fell to the ground the instant it made contact with me. I broke two drawers in my desk. Two. Then I decided, since they were already broken, I might as well slam them a few times and really break them. It didn’t settle the anger bubbling inside. If anything, it helped fuel it. This war inside of me was tearing me down day by day.

As I sat in my office, I rested my elbows on top of the desk and sunk my hands into my hair as I looked down at it, the shiny wood staring back at me. My internal struggles were beating me into submission.

My phone buzzed then, causing me to jump, and I answered quickly. “Yes.”

“You have a delivery.”

I rolled my eyes at my assistant Molly as she spoke. She knew better than this.

“Don’t I always? Sign for it.”

She coughed. “Ms. Lambardoni, it has a specification for you to sign.”

Anger bubbled. I didn’t want to get the fuck up, nor did I give a shit about a delivery.

“Fine. I’ll be right out.” I slammed the phone down and raked my fingers through my wayward hair.

I stopped at the mirror on the wall, freezing in my tracks. The woman staring back at me couldn’t be me. The circles around my eyes and the vacant look inside of them was haunting. Shit. I grabbed my bag, pulling out my makeup then applying it as best I could. I didn’t want anyone to know the ghosts that hid behind the shadows. It was best to hide them as much as possible.

After one last look, I opened the door and came to an immediate halt. Red, white, and pink roses, hundreds of them, lined the counter spaces, the scent immediately invading my nostrils and causing a small lift to my lip. Standing next to Molly’s desk was what I assumed was a man judging from the jeans and boots. The upper half of his body was hidden by numerous long-stemmed roses that he held in his hand.

As I stepped closer, the hairs on the back of my neck prickled and goose bumps rose on my arms. Jag. He was here. I could feel him.

While inside I was jumping erratically up and down with excitement, I stood rooted in place.

I looked over at Molly who had a sheepish grin on her face. She knew exactly what she was doing.

Jag didn’t move from his spot, only lowered the flowers, his gorgeous face peeking out above. He still looked as handsome as he had when he’d left, everything in his face still strong and confident. His beautiful blue eyes sparkled as they locked with mine, lust igniting swiftly. My heart pattered in my chest, and my mouth opened just a bit as the physical sight of him slowly took my breath away.

Not answering his calls was one thing; seeing him in the flesh was the total opposite.

“Hi, dolcezza,” his rough, sexy voice called over the small distance separating us. His words slid over me like warm honey, covering me in a thick blanket.

“Hi,” I whispered, unable to say more.

He began walking forward and stopped in front of me, holding out the flowers. “I missed you, baby.”

I reached out, taking the flowers, and swallowed hard, earning a huge smile from Jag. There was no doubt he affected me. That was why it was easier over the phone. I didn’t have to see him, I just didn’t have to answer the phone and poof, done. This…this wasn’t going to have that ease.

“Thank you.” I broke eye contact and looked around. Every eye in the office was focused on Jag and me. Panic surged; we couldn’t be seen together. What if whoever was sending me the notes saw? Quickly, I turned to move into my office.

“Please come in.” I didn’t wait for him to follow, but the click of the door told me he had.

I turned around, seeing him lean against the door, his eyes sweeping my body up and down. I set the roses down on the desk, quickly looking away from his observation. He needed to leave. He couldn’t be here with me. The notes had said they would kill him. I couldn’t risk it, couldn’t risk being seen together. I had to do this for him to keep him safe.

While my mind raced and egged my body on to climb him like a mountain, it also raged with fear, both for him and my family. All these conflicting thoughts bombarded me at the same time.

I wanted to run to him, wrap my arms around him, and kiss him. Yet I couldn’t, not if I wanted to keep him alive. He couldn’t know about the pictures or my father. I needed to protect him from that pain.

I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply. What I had to do would hurt him and me.

“What are you doing here, Jag?” I asked as I faced him, placing my professional mask on because it was the only way I could get through what I had to do.

“I’m back,” he said simply.

“To talk to my father?” I knew it wasn’t what he was back for. Faking nonchalance wasn’t easy.

He moved farther into the room. “No, for you.”

“Why? I broke it off. I didn’t take your calls or texts. I thought it was perfectly clear that I didn’t want to see you anymore.” I tried desperately to hide the small quiver in my voice. I hoped he didn’t hear it.

“You did, and I want to know why.” He rested his hip on the edge of my desk while I stood on the other side, using the desk as a buffer between us.

The air around us was so charged one could light a whole damn city for a day with it. It was taking every bit of strength I had to keep myself on task.

“I was done.” I shrugged. “We had a few amazing days together; it doesn’t constitute anything more. You’re a great fuck, but you’re across the country. Can’t exactly fuck me while you’re there.” On the inside, I crumbled at my words. Those days were the best of my life, and I had craved every damn phone call after.

Lies. Every word out of my mouth was a lie.

He laughed, and I raised my brow at him in challenge.

“You expect me to believe that seriously poor excuse? That’s shit and we both know it. How about the truth?”

I stomped my foot like a second grader and instantly regretted it. Stupid.

“You need to leave. Don’t come back. You might as well go back to California.” If not, you’re in danger.

He moved around the desk, grabbing my shoulders and pulling me against his body. He leaned down, the smell of him penetrating my nose, and every inch of my body went on high alert, a deep throb low in my belly pounding. Air was becoming scarce.

When our eyes connected, the electricity that was in the room before became palpable, and I couldn’t focus. Everything became a blur except for Jag. I shivered as he spoke.

“If I go back to California, it’s with you by my side. I know damn well you care about me. I can feel it in your body. I can see it in your eyes.” His eyes blazed brighter with each word. “Tell me why you really want me to go.” His command fell on deaf ears.

Using every bit of strength I could muster, I pulled away and walked to the other side of my desk, again putting the desk between us and needing the distance. I took a deep breath and steeled my spine.

“I told you. I don’t feel it. Whatever you’ve conjured up in your head is a lie. You need to leave now.”

“I’ll pick you up at six. We’ll discuss this over dinner.”

Panic crept in.

“No. No dinners, no flowers. Nothing. We are done. Leave.” Inside, my heart was breaking all over again, the hole inside growing bigger and bigger.

“You’re not getting rid of me. I see it in your eyes. You’re afraid of something. Tell me what it is, and I’ll make it disappear.”

I wished he could, but I wouldn’t do that at the expense of his life. I cared too much about him.

I steadied myself for what I was about to say, knowing it would hurt like hell. “You. Now leave.”

“More lies. I fucking watched you shoot a man to protect me, and now, all of a sudden, you’re afraid of me? Bullshit.” He wasn’t buying anything.

Nerves raged throughout me. These last few months had sucked the strength right out of me, and my comebacks sucked ass. I was drowning in my words and not making any sense of any of it. The sad thing was all the anger I’d had over the months had washed away in his presence. I couldn’t even call on it to get him out of there. I just wanted him to wrap his arms around me and tell me that everything was going to be okay.

“Please, just leave,” I whispered, turning to the window and wrapping my arms around my body. What I felt on the inside was pushing forward, and I needed him to leave before he saw it.

Strong arms engulfed me, and I immediately tensed. He couldn’t do this to me.

Tears burned the back of my eyes and threatened to escape, but I pushed them back. The warmth of his body against mine sent daggers through my heart. I missed him more than I had ever thought possible, yet I couldn’t have him.

He leaned down, whispering in my ear, “Dolcezza, this isn’t over. I’ll leave you be. I can see how it’s tearing you up, and I don’t want to cause you pain, but I’m not going anywhere. You are mine. Trust me to take care of you.” He kissed my temple before his heat left my body, his footsteps echoing off the floor, and then the click of the door left me in silence.

Only then did I allow the tears to fall.

 

Chapter 15

SHE WAS FLAT out lying. Something had scared her. The fear in her eyes had expanded across the room even though she had tried hiding it. I would have to be blind not to see it. My question was, did anyone else?

Leaving her office, I received many stares, but ignored each of them. Pulling out my phone, I dialed Kiera, who answered quickly.

“Hello?” Her voice had a hit of apprehension in it. Good.

“It’s Jag. I need to talk to you now. Meet me down at the coffee shop.”

She blew out a deep breath. “Is this about Catarina?”

“Who else?” I waited.

“Fine, but if she finds out, she’ll be pissed.”

“Like I give a shit. Five minutes. Be there.” I hung up the phone before she could answer and moved swiftly out of the building to the small coffee shop on the corner. Dan and Brett stayed beside me, but upon entering the shop, they sat at a nearby table. The waitress came by, so I ordered two coffees with cream, not caring at the moment about the contents.

Kiera walked in a short time later, her heels clacking on the tile. Both Dan and Brett straightened up when she waved at them. She sat in the chair across from me, the smell of lavender surrounding her.

“What do ya need?” she asked, placing her purse on the table in front of her kind of like a shield. Although her face was perfectly made up, worry lines surrounded her eyes.

I sat back in the wobbly chair and hoped it didn’t send me pummeling to the floor. “What is going on with Catarina?”

Kiera’s face fell, her eyes turning sad and somber. “I don’t know. She won’t talk to me.” That meant this might be worse than I had thought.

“What do you mean?”

Her hands moved to the strap on her purse, and she began twirling it back and forth repeatedly. “After she stopped taking your calls, she changed, became closed off. I rarely see her laugh. I ask her all the time what’s wrong, and the answer is always nothing.” She stopped and moved her eyes around the room, sweeping it. “And she’s mad, so damn mad. This morning, she got into a fight with the coffee pot because it was too slow. The other day, it was the kitchen cabinet. I hear her cussing and ranting in her room and bathroom all the time. Even at work, she’s different.”

“And no one has said anything?”

“She stays away from her parents and brothers as much as possible, only going over for family meals. I’m sure she could hide it from them pretty easily, but it’s harder for her to do with me since I see her every day.” Kiera’s eyes watered up, but she held back the tears.

This was really killing her, seeing her friend like this. Hell, it was killing me simply from hearing it.

“This all started when she stopped talking to me. Today, she told me she didn’t want anything to do with me, so that would lead me to think something happened to her to make her stop talking to me. The questions are, what is it, and why is she hiding it?” I was pretty much thinking out loud. If I was going to figure this shit out fast, I needed Kiera’s help.

“I don’t know what it could have been. She didn’t act any differently that day except to come and tell me she was done messing around and wouldn’t have a boyfriend over the phone. She said she ended it and didn’t want to take any more calls from you. I thought it was a bit strange since it was all of a sudden, but I took her at her word.”

“Can you tell me anything else about that day?” There had to be some sort of clue there.

“I don’t remember much, just what she said. She didn’t look too different, but she has a way of hiding things if she doesn’t want you to see them.”

I sat and waited, letting Kiera process everything in her head. From the look in her eyes as they moved back and forth, the wheels in her head were spinning.

“Lately, she spends a lot of time in her office. A lot. She never does anything. If she’s not at work, she’s in her office or at the gym. I don’t go in her office, but maybe I should have.”

That would be my starting point. “Thank you. I’ll get this taken care of.”

She looked up at me, chewing the inside of her mouth. “Don’t let her push you away. She loves you. She won’t say it, but she does. For months after you left, she would light up each time you called and act like a damn teenager in love. That’s why, when she cut it off, the whole situation felt strange, but she’s my best friend, so I stood by her. That means not talking to you.”

I reached over and patted her hand. “We’ll get through this.”

Leaving the coffee shop, I dialed Vino’s computer guy.

“Jag, my man, how’s it going?” His chipper voice answered.

“Fine. You’ve still got cameras all over Catarina’s house, right?”

“Yep.”

I continued walking, getting into the car. “I’m on my way there. I need you to pull all of the footage of Catarina’s office.”

“You’ve got it. I’ll have it ready when you get here.”

Techie, Vino’s computer guy, lived in a little house right in the middle of the Lambardoni compound. It didn’t hold a candle to the other houses around it, but it didn’t need to. It was the camera hub for all of Lambardoni’s dealings, housing a single man.

When we pulled up to the house, Techie wrenched the door open before we could get to it, a big smile across his face.

“Come on in, my man!” Techie was in his twenties with glasses and blond hair that was shaggy and fell into his eyes. He was super smart when it came to anything electronic, and that was exactly why he had been hired for the job.

“Follow me,” he called out, walking through the living room.

There wasn’t garbage littered everywhere, but the room was in chaos. Magazines and books were scattered around the tables and floors, and clothes were thrown throughout the space. Something told me he didn’t entertain much.

He led us back to what would be considered the master bedroom, but instead of a bed, there were computer monitors, big machines that hummed, and tons of flashing lights were on every wall, even covering the windows. Unlike the living room, this room was pristine with nothing out of place.

He moved to one of the large, black chairs. “Have a seat.”

I did, staring up at all the monitors. There must have been twenty, if not more, all anchored to the wall. Some monitors showed four pictures on it, each one somewhere on the Lambardoni compound. The others showed full screens of the different properties, inside and out, flipping to different scenes. Yet more were focused on different streets and buildings throughout the city.

Techie tapped on his keys and pointed to the screen in front of him. “The camera looks a slight bit turned. Hang on.”  He pressed buttons, and it looked like he was rewinding a tape quickly. Each time, it showed Catarina moving the cameras upon entering the space then putting the cameras back when she left.

“Go to the first time she did it,” I told him, wanting to know when all this shit had started, although I had a sneaking suspicion that I did.

“That was about three months ago. Look here.” He pointed again to the screen.

As Catarina’s beautiful face came into view, her eyes looked scared and her face a bit pale. She turned each camera one at a time, the cameras shaking from possible tremors in her hand as she did so.

“Shit,” I growled.

“Yeah, shit. I don’t know how I didn’t catch that,” Techie said, rubbing the back of his neck. “But look, she moves them back when she’s about to leave the room, and it’s only for no more than fifteen minutes at a time.”

“You should have. Do you have anything else of her on the same day and around that time?” I asked, not cutting him any slack. If he would have been keeping up on shit, whatever was going on with Catarina could have been avoided.

He plugged back in, pulling up more camera footage. Catarina was getting out of the car, clutching her bag in front of her, her eyes darting back and forth like she was afraid of something. Scraper was with her, though, so I wasn’t sure why she would be scared. The next frame was of her in the hallway in front of the office, clutching the same bag. I needed to know what had been in that bag.

I stood up, desperate to get in that office before she came home from work. “Keep a better fucking eye on her,” I growled at Techie, who was lucky I had some place to be. I would deal with him later.

I left, rattling off to Dan where we needed to go. We entered Catarina’s house with the help of Techie disarming the alarm from his house, and I headed straight to the office.

I opened the door and did a quick sweep around the room. Sappy romance novels lined one bookshelf, while the other had books dealing with numbers and the stock market. Pictures were put in perfect place.

Doing a quick search, nothing was out of the ordinary. The only drawer I couldn’t get into was the one in her top desk drawer. It was locked. I would bet my ass whatever was inside was the reason for all this bullshit.

I grabbed my pick out of my pocket as I sat down in her chair. I held it up to the lock then stopped.

I needed her to tell me. I needed her to trust me to open this up and give it to me. I could just break in and find out what was inside, but that would only make a bigger rift between us.

As much as it killed me, I put away my pick and moved over to the couch, far enough away so I wasn’t tempted to take the pick to the lock.

My mind raced at what could be inside of the drawer. Maybe a letter or document. The drawer was only about two inches tall and sixteen across. Whatever was inside had to be something pretty flat, but I had no idea what it could be. Therefore, I waited.

It had been a long fucking day, and I felt my eyes getting heavy, so I kicked up my feet and rested my head on the arm of the couch, quickly falling asleep.

***

Crying. Who was crying? I woke to the sound of it, rubbing my face and trying to process its location. It was coming from the other side of the door.

The knob began to turn, and the crying got louder. Catarina’s eyes were cast down as she opened the door and shut it. As she leaned her forehead to the door and sobbed hysterically, my heart broke. Fucking shattered.

Getting up, I quietly moved behind her and wrapped my arms around her body. She gasped and thrashed in my arms, kicking and hitting me with her powerful thrusts.

“Get away!” she screamed.

“Shh … Dolcezza. You’re safe.”

Her body sagged in my arms as her knees gave out. I hooked my arm under her legs, pulling her close to my body and carrying her over to the couch as her sobs intensified. Her hand clutched onto my shirt, pulling with all her strength.

I sat her on my lap and calmly rocked her back and forth. The hurt in my heart grew for her with each tear she shed. Whatever this was, it was tearing her apart.

I continued rocking her even when the sobs faded into hiccups, which were pretty fucking cute. Once her breathing finally slowed down, I looked down at her trembling, tear-streaked face, and when I spoke, her entire body flinched.

“Please tell me what’s going on,” I said as calmly as I could, not wanting to scare the little rabbit any further into the hole she had created for herself.

“Everything’s fine.”

“Bullshit. Look at you. You’re a hot mess, babe. Tell me so I can fix this shit.”

Her eyes closed, and as clear as day, I could see the gears turning in her head. It was like she was at war with herself, trying to work something out. I kept quiet and waited.

“I got another one today.” Her words quivered out of her lips when she finally spoke.

“Got what, baby?” I rubbed my hand absently along her arm for her comfort and because I damn well needed to touch her.

“A note. After you left, it was on the seat of my car.”

It was my turn to stiffen under her. “Can I see it?”

She nodded and made a move to rise out of my arms. I was reluctant to let her go, but I had to. She reached into the pocket of her suit jacket and pulled out a slip of paper, handing it to me with wobbly hands.

I unfolded the paper and looked down at the words. I told you to stay away from Jag. Now you all will die.

I looked up at Catarina whose eyes were closed so tightly the wrinkles on her forehead looked like they hurt, and my stomach twisted as the anger inside me came to a boil. Someone had been threatening my woman and scaring the shit out of her. I did my best to put on a stoic face, to not let the anger come through in my expression because I knew it would scare her. That wasn’t what she needed right now.