Chapter 33
Chapter thirty-three
Tristan
Ihad so much adrenaline and anger coursing through my veins, I could probably run through a brick wall and not feel a thing. I didn’t know why this fucker wanted to hurt my Kate, but I sure as shit was going to find out. Right after I turned his face into my personal fucking punching bag.
Damn asshole.
With how fast I moved, it didn’t take long to reach the level one parking area.
Shoving through the door, my gaze scanned over the cars. First left then right then left again. I didn’t see anyone besides the security guard.
I hoped that didn’t mean the fucknut was gone.
With a small squeeze to my hand, Kate drew my attention. When our gazes locked, she jerked her chin toward the guard. “Maybe he saw someone?” The fear in her voice cut me to my very core.
That fury bubbling away in my veins burned even hotter than before. I wasn’t just going to rearrange the dickhead’s face; I was going to put him six feet under.
“Tristan?” Kate reminded me I’d yet to answer her.
I didn’t want to involve the guard because with him there, I wouldn’t be able to interrogate the fucker the way I wanted to.
I was about to tell her as much when I spotted a dark figure in the back corner of the garage. Black hoodie pulled over his head, arms crossed in front of his chest, he leaned against one of the pillars.
“C’mon.”
Without explaining, I tightened my hold on Kate’s hand and slowly walked toward the guy. He had his head bent; eyes glued to his phone.
Good.
I didn’t want him seeing us and getting spooked.
“Do you think that’s him?” she whispered.
I squeezed her hand. “I don’t know, baby. Does he look familiar?”
She shook her head.
The fear etched on her beautiful face only fueled my steps. My heart raced; my pace increased. I balled my free hand into a fist, ready to strike the instant we reached this asshole.
But as luck would have it, he chose that moment to lift his eyes from his screen. He looked at me first, and when his gaze slid to Kate, I could practically feel his panic.
Shoving his phone in his pocket, he hurried toward a motorcycle parked a few feet away. He was closer to that damn thing than I was to him. Still, I wasn’t giving up.
I let go of Kate’s hand and set off on a run.
He’d just grabbed the helmet off the seat, but he was so rattled, he couldn’t get it on. I was closing in fast, the anger rushing through my body causing my feet to move faster with every step I took.
The idiot was still struggling with his helmet, and when he saw how much distance I’d covered, panic washed over his face.
Good. He’d better be fucking pissing himself.
Pumping my arms harder, I sprinted even faster. I was so close, just a few more paces, and I’d have him in my grasp.
He’d noticed.
Finally giving up on getting his helmet on, he tried to stop me by throwing it at me. I sidestepped it easily.
With a loud curse he hopped onto his bike.
It was my turn to panic.
If he got away… Fuck, no. I wouldn’t let that happen.
My mind provided me with images of how sick and weak Kate had been, of the fear on her face when she told me what they’d found in her blood. It was enough to put my legs into overdrive.
Fire shot through my lungs and crept up my throat. My breaths came hard and fast, but I refused to stop.
The distinct sound of an engine roaring to life filled the garage as I reached my mark. He didn’t have time to speed away. I tackled him with so much force, we hit the concrete with a resounding thud.
His arms and legs flailed. The fucker landed a few punches and kicks too. I had too much anger and adrenaline pumping through my veins to feel any pain. Plus giving him the illusion that he could hurt me gave me the upper hand.
When his blind strikes slowed, I pinned him down. “My turn.” I’d barely said the words when my fist connected with his nose.
Bones crunched. A scream bounced off the walls. The smell of iron filled the air.
It wasn’t enough.
Over and over again, my fists slammed into him. It only stopped when someone grabbed me by the collar and yanked me off him.
Too soon. Too fucking soon. I wasn’t done.
“Let me go,” I growled. “I’m not done with this fucker.”
“It’s enough.”
Kate’s beautiful face filled my vision a second before the warmth of her palms sank into my cheeks. Her gaze flicked to something behind me. She nodded once and whoever had held on to me let go.
“We won’t get answers like this,” she said. Her tone wasn’t judgmental. She stated a fact. A very true and simple fact.
This guy was the middleman and beating him to a pulp wouldn’t get us any closer to the real culprit.
“He’s insane. Call the cops. I wanna press charges.”
Turning my attention to where another security guard held my little punching bag, I couldn’t help but grin. Blood gushed from both his nostrils as well as a nasty gash on his bottom lip. His eyes were already swelling up and changing color.
I had zero fucking regrets.
And no damn answers.
Gripping Kate’s wrists, I pulled her hands from my face. And because she was the only thing to anchor me, I laced our fingers together and walked over to the asshat.
His eyes grew big with fear. Twisting and shouting, he begged the guard to keep me away from him.
“What’s your fucking problem, man?” he cried when we stopped in front of him.
Red clouded my vision, the fire in my blood renewed. Balling my fingers into a fist, I prepared to shut this asshole up.
Kate squeezed my arm. She must’ve known where my thoughts had gone.
Uncurling my fists, I stepped right up to the shithead’s face.
“My problem?” I snarled. “You and your friend hurt my wife. It’s only fair I return the favor, yes?”
“H-hurt…” His eyes darted between me and Kate. “You got it all wrong, man. I didn’t do anything to your woman.”
I raised a brow. “Really? So you didn’t ask Julia to leave treats on my wife’s desk?
I’m fairly positive you could be charged as an accessory in an attempted murder case.
” I wasn’t. And judging by the expression on his face, neither was he.
“That’s right,” I went on. “The food you delivered was laced with poison.”
Beneath the blood coating his face, the guy’s skin turned ashen. “P-poison? I didn’t know.”
I wanted to call the piece of shit a liar, but one look at his panicked expression, I knew he’d told me the truth. It pissed me off. If he really hadn’t known, he didn’t have anything of value to add.
Still, I asked anyway.
In the thirty minutes it took for the police to show up, the guy—Travis—confessed everything. He’d met Julia at a coffee shop, and not long after they started spending time together, another guy approached him with the sappy story of having a crush on Kate.
As luck would have it, Travis was a true romantic at heart and didn’t think twice about helping the guy out. The guy, suspiciously named John, had the same features as every other average middle-aged man in New York.
“What a fucking mess.” I wrapped my arms around Kate’s shoulders and pulled her into my chest. The officers were gone, only detective Mackenyu Tanaka remained.
He’d vouched for me when Travis told the officer he didn’t want to press charges.
The officer had taken one look at my bruised hands and urged the boy to change his mind.
In return, Detective Tanaka took one look at the officer and suggested she walk away. I guessed knowing a cop came in handy at times like this.
“I’ll get to the bottom of it,” Mac assured me. “The kid’s statement might not mean shit, but at least, he gave me a starting point. Whoever gave the food to him must’ve been watching him. I’ll start with the coffee shop and see if they have surveillance cameras and work my way back here.”
“And if you come up empty?” I hated to ask, but we had to know what our chances were of figuring all this shit out.
Rocking on his heels, he gave me a pointed stare. “I never come up empty. I’ll be in touch.” With a clap against my shoulder, he got into his car and drove out of the garage.
I waited until his taillights disappeared before I tucked my fingers under Kate’s chin and guided those pretty eyes to mine. What I saw cut me straight to my soul.
So much fear and sadness.
I didn’t want that for her.
“If anyone can figure this mess out, it’s Mac.”
Tears sat on the verge of falling down her cheeks. “How can you be so sure? We’re no closer to the truth.” Those tears finally fell. “We don’t know who or why.”
“Baby.” I took her face in my hands and swiped my thumbs over the wetness under her eyes. “He won’t stop until you have your answers. And neither will I. No matter what it takes.”
Mac might’ve had a badge, but he wasn’t bound by it.
I’d hung out with him the few nights neither of my friends had been available.
He never drank, just watched the crowd like a predator looking for its prey.
I’d never asked outright, and he’d probably never admit it, but more than once I’d noticed whenever a guy harassed a girl on the dance floor or at the bar, Mac would zero in on him.
They’d both be gone, and the following day, there’d be an article about a clubgoer found beaten up.
It wasn’t that hard to connect the dots.
Which was exactly what I told Kate.
Those hazel irises bored into mine, touching parts of me no one ever had. The longer she stared, the more I realized how far gone I was for this woman.
“Is it wrong not to care how he gets his information but just that he does?” she whispered.
I wasn’t entirely sure how to answer. It wasn’t that I didn’t have an opinion. It was more because I didn’t want her to think differently of me when I told her I didn’t care what measures Mac used to find this son of a bitch and put him behind bars.
The only thing that mattered to me was her and Millie’s safety.
Instead of saying any of that, I pulled her close and rested my head on top of hers. “Why don’t we pick up Millie from Izzy’s and go back to my place.”
Even with her nose buried in my chest, I didn’t miss the small shake of her head or her soft, “Let’s go home.”
Nor did I miss the tight squeeze behind my ribs when she’d said it.