“Enough,” I bark out. “We’re done here. I don’t know where he is. If I did, I wouldn’t tell you. Not here. Not now. Too many ears. Too many eyes. Besides, I don’t fucking trust you any further than I can throw you, Magnolia. So you’re gonna have to wait while we sort out this mess.”
“You son of a bitch—”
“We’re done.” All I want to do is get Temperance the fuck out of here as fast as possible, but as soon as I open the door, I freeze as a man with a face from my past steps in front of me.
Lewis Giles.
My former stepuncle. The dirty DA who teed up who knows how many innocent people to be sentenced to death row by my stepfather. The stepfather who started me down this path I now walk.
For a moment, I wonder if he’ll recognize me before I remember that not even my own mother would after the plastic surgery I’ve had.
Blood roars in my ears, drowning out everything as Magnolia steps up beside me to speak with Giles. He extends his hand, and I stare down at it. He’s fucking insane if he thinks I’ll shake it.
I catch a piece of him saying something about buying an interest in the club because someone sold out, but I’m struggling to keep a tight grip on my control and don’t fucking care about anything but getting out of here.
He keeps holding that fucking hand out.
“We’re leaving,” I say before I get Temperance as far away from him as possible.
With every step I take away from Giles, I can feel his gaze boring into me.
If I believed in omens, I’d say it’s a fucking bad one.
13
Kane
After the speed-dating debacle, I can’t help but shake my head as I watch the security footage, trying to figure out who the fuck would dare pull a fire alarm at a property connected to Lachlan Mount. It’s the man I saw at the bar, and I want to kick my own ass for not getting a picture of him to run through facial recognition.
He has to be connected to the human-trafficking ring. Only someone with balls that big would dare cause a shitstorm on a property protected by Lachlan Mount.
I thought Seven Sinners would have been the safest place for Temperance outside of my warehouse, but apparently, I was wrong.
That means the plan and the timeline need to be moved up. We can’t risk letting it drag out.
The knowledge claws at me, and even though I want to be selfish and keep Temperance with me as long as I possibly can, I know I can’t.
I keep watching the footage. Every camera. Every angle. Every frame. I freeze it on an image.
Temperance and me, pressed together after she rushed out of the bathroom. I hitPrint Screenand wait until the picture is done before I snatch it off the printer.
I stare down at it.
I wish I could hold her like that forever.
But I can’t. Our time is almost up, and then she’ll hate me forever.
After I’m done, she’ll want to burn every memory of me out of her mind and spit on the ashes. And as much as it guts me to think about it, I know it’s the only way.
As I fold the piece of paper and tuck it in my pocket, one of my secure phones buzzes with a new message. It’s from the number I gave Ransom.
I’mready whenever you say. Cargo won’t be found.
Fuck.It’s almost time.
But at least she’ll be safe. She’ll live. And that’s all that matters.
I tap out a reply.