Someone tackles me to the floor just before another shot rings out and pain explodes in my head. With my cheek pressed to the carpet, my vision goes blurry as another body hits the floor beside me.
Kane.
No longer expressionless, Kane’s face is contorted with agony. He clutches his chest the same way Rafe did, and his eyes roll back in his head.
His lips move, and I swear he utters two words.
“I’m sorry.”
Another wave of anguish rips through me as I watch the man I love die.
“No! This can’t be real! Kane can’t die!”My lips move, but I don’t make a sound.
When everything goes black, I don’t care if I ever wake up again.
9
Kane
About eight weeks earlier
Ransom started a fucking shit show all because of pussy. It always comes back to pussy. I told him to steer clear of Magnolia Maison. Tangling with her is about as smart as carrying around a black widow on your shoulder like a fucking parrot.
Actually, a black mamba would be more accurate. Her history is littered with the dead bodies of men who thought they could tame her.
Ransom might have actually had a chance, because I’m pretty fucking sure she’s hooked on him, and yet somehow, she still managed to drag him into the line of fire. And now his sister is in the crosshairs.
Fuck you, Ransom.
The woman asleep in my bed will not pay for her brother’s bad judgment. Not while I’m still breathing.
But I can’t tell him how fucking pissed I am at him until I can get in contact with him. Right now, my messages on the dark web aren’t being answered.
I’m guessing that wherever he is, he doesn’t have an internet connection. Even if he did, the man barely checks his regular email, let alone the dark web.
Ransom works old school—through word of mouth and referrals. Generally, he only takes jobs he knows are solid from clients who won’t end up fucking him over.
But then you introduce the most powerful drug in the world—pussy. That’s why we’re in this situation.
I pull out my phone and call Magnolia. She doesn’t answer until the fourth ring.
“This better be important.”
“You think I’d fucking bother you if it wasn’t?”
“I’ll hang up if you cop an attitude with me,Saxon.”
Magnolia knows me by my alias, and she knows what I do. Shows just how bold she is that she doesn’t care. Or maybe she just knows I won’t take out a woman.
She’s right. I have lines I won’t cross, and that’s one of them.
“You hear from him?” I don’t have to tell her who I’m talking about.
“Not since he said he was going dark.”
“You get any other information on what we’re dealing with? There’s gotta be a good fucking reason he wouldn’t deliver on time.”
She goes quiet on the other end of the line.