“How in the fuck is he still alive?” I asked, my arms falling to my sides. “I fucking shot him.”
“I don’t know, but he’s back.”
“How?” Jake clipped, moving to Grayson’s computer, rounding the desk. “How in the fuck did you find that out before me?” He yanked out the desk chair and took a seat, his fingers already flying over the keyboard, remotely logging into the Red Snake database.
“Murphy,” Gray called.
“Who tipped you off?” I asked, raising a brow.
“Stevens.”
Dominic looked to the ceiling. “Fucking hell,” he sighed. “If that’s the case, then maybe we let the mafia handle Jack. He has to be on his own by now. His entire empire crumbled after Mitchell infiltrated Vegas last year.”
“No,” I said. All eyes were on me now, but I kept my gaze on my partner. “If anyone gets to end this, it’s me.”
“Hayes—”
“It’s a loose end.” I cut him off, shooting a glance at each of them. “I should have made sure he was dead before leaving. This is on me.”
“Jack wasn’t your objective,” Ash reminded me, his voice cold.
My head ticked to the side. “Red Snake’s objective is protection, always has been,” I countered.
Jake’s fingers halted, hovering over the keyboard, and he sat back. “How in the hell did Collin Stevens get a hit on Jack?”
“The mafia has ties worldwide, Murphy,” Dominic deadpanned. “It wouldn’t be that hard. Besides, Jack is on Stevens’ shit list.”
“Jack isn’t stateside.”
My head snapped in my partner’s direction. “Excuse me?”
Grayson stepped up, starting his debrief.
Ten minutes later, we mapped out a plan of attack.
Five minutes after that, I walked out of the office, leaving my team to hammer out the details. Before I left, I needed to fix something I’d broken. A conversation Grayson and I had some time ago had come rushing back to the forefront of my mind when I decided to take the hunt, knowing I wouldn’t be back in town for a while.
“I thought I found it, man,” I murmured, eyes on the Denver skyline and the grand mountains beyond it, the sting of Veronica’s affair still fresh.
“And if you found it again?” he asked gently.
My eyes found his and I told him the truth. “If I found what you’ve found, Gray…there’s not a single fucking man on this earth who could stop me from having it.”
Jaw tight, I stormed down the hall and into the kitchen, finding Margo and Rossy there having tea while everyone else was in the living room, lost in conversations. She was sitting in the chair closest to the back window, hands curled around her mug.
“Margo,” I called, chest tight, closing the distance between us.
Her head lifted, jade eyes widening as her lips parted. “Hayes, what—”
Her words were cut off as I cupped her face. “I’m leaving,” I murmured, looming over her.
“I don’t—”
I got in her face then, not giving a fuck about Rossy’s presence. “When I get back, you and I are going to have a conversation. Understood?”
Those addictive eyes flashed, anger painting her face. “We have nothing to talk about.”
“I beg to differ, Temper.” Before she could say anything else, I pressed my lips to her forehead. And then I was gone, walking out of the house.