Chapter 30
Leon
Dom does a sweep of the garage before I help Alex out of the car.
She hasn’t stopped shivering, and I can barely recognize her as the girl I saw just two weeks ago.
Her jeans and hoodie are nothing like the dresses she typically wears, and her face is makeup-free.
She’s still absolutely gorgeous, but fear is etched into every pore on her face, every muscle on her body.
She seems small and weak, the opposite of the powerhouse she was not too long ago.
We rescued her in time, but it was a close call.
A too fucking close call. What if we weren’t so lucky for Sophie and Alex to have a shared family group in the Find my Phone App?
What if we didn’t get there in time? Photos of her lying in a hospital bed flash through my brain, and I dig my teeth into my bottom lip hard enough to draw blood.
The pain pulls me back to reality, where there’s only one priority on my mind.
Keeping her safe.
Even though we killed the two cops who tried to do God knows what to her, her scumbag ex is still after her.
Considering how I acted the last time, she has every right to send me to hell and not agree to stay in my home, but I don’t think I’m mature enough to give her a choice.
She’s not safe. This is the only place I can oversee enough to make sure she is.
I unlock the door, and the excited thuds of Persephone’s paws race across my hardwood floors.
Like the last two weeks of ignoring me never happened, my dog wags her tail, squealing with joy at seeing her friend.
Alex drops to her knees, wrapping Persephone in a giant hug.
A few sniffles break free, and I know that she’s getting the comfort she needs.
The comfort I would love to give her, but I can’t.
In a desperate attempt to keep my cool, I turn to Dom. “You’ll stay here. Give her everything she needs. Keep her safe.” I emphasize the last sentence with my index finger.
“And you? You can’t be out there alone? Not right now.”
“Believe it or not, Dom. I led a whole dangerous life before hiring you and I did it all alone. Just keep her safe.” I tap his chest twice and, with a parting look at Alex and my rottweiler, leave the apartment.
Time to take back control.
My first stop is a little chat with the mayor.
I call him on my ride over to his house.
The man can barely stand me or my family, but fear keeps him in check.
His campaigns depend on our financial support, and it tends to be useful for us to keep him in our pockets.
His security lets me in, and I walk into his office, finding him pacing while holding a phone to his ear.
“No, no! Keep it under wraps. The public will go into a frenzy if they find out two cops were shot dead.” He’s silent for a second, before adding, “I don’t care how. Just keep it quiet.”
He ends the call, running a hand through his thinning hair. I’m used to his polished, not a hair out-of-place look, so this — his unbuttoned shirt and messy hair — is unusual. His office screams old money, with dark, polished woods and a collection of books he most likely never touched.
He doesn’t look at me as he pours expensive whiskey into a crystal glass and downs it in one sip. “Let me guess. You’re here for the same reason that phone call was about.”
“Something like that.” My tongue darts out to wet my bottom lip. “It was us who killed them. I expect your men to cover it up.”
“You’re killing police officers now?” He drops into his brown leather chair, letting out a huff. “And you expect me to cover it up? I think you forgot why I’m here.”
“Did I? I thought we had a deal.” I place my hands into my pockets, feigning nonchalance that’s nowhere to be found.
Another huff. “Our deal sure hasn’t included murdering cops. I gave you free rein to do your business, but I’m here to serve the public!”
My nostrils flare as my contempt for this man grows.
I’ve always known he was scum. From the sheer way he used to look at my father, like he was better than him — while also making sure he got a cut out of the deal — he wasn’t a man I respected.
But after seeing the photos of a crime that he helped cover up, the work of a man he made a deputy fucking chief, he’ll be lucky to walk out of here alive.
“Funny. Because you sure as hell don’t mind those same cops attempting murder on innocent women. ”
His brows scrunch. “What?”
“Check your email, Mr. Mayor. I think you’ll find all the necessary info attached.
” I notice the widening of his pupils and the paleness of his skin as he stares at his screen, reading the evidence of what he’s done.
“You and I are both aware this would do irreparable damage to your career. Naming a domestic abuser a deputy chief? Sealing the files so that no one finds out?” I place my palms on his desk to drive my point home.
“What you don’t know is that I have a personal stake in this, one that makes me want to kill you myself. ”
He swallows his spit, angling himself away from me. As if that would help. “Wh-what do you want from me? I can help keep it under wraps.”
“That’s one thing you’ll do. You’ll also give me the deputy.”
“I don’t understand.”
My head motions to the phone lying on top of his desk. “Call him. Tell him you need him immediately.”
“And what will you do?”
“What I won’t do is send that—” I nod to his computer screen — “to every news outlet in the state. That’s the only thing you should concern yourself with.”
He nods profusely, drops of sweat appearing in the creases of his forehead.
I check the watch on my wrist. “I’ll give you half an hour for him to show up. Better hurry.”
Tapping the glass screen of the watch, I lift from his desk and walk out of the office. The guard at the entrance to his home returns my gun, and I slip it into my pants, making the short walk to my car.
The minutes drag on like hours, making me regret the fact that I quit smoking years ago.
My knee taps with impatience; my palm splayed over the gun.
I just want to go back home. To Alex. I know she doesn’t want to see me, and I’m still pissed off about her lying to me, but my body craves to be near her.
My stomach is in knots, unease from her being in danger still gnawing at me.
I need to make sure she’s safe. But I have work to do first.
Finally, a car pulls to a stop in front of the mayor’s house. It’s a dark gray SUV, perfectly in sync with the fancy neighborhood we’re in. The mayor better get rid of it after this.
Wasting no time, I wrap my fingers around my weapon and open the door of my car. He takes a second to realize I’m behind, and it’s just enough time for me to reach him.
“What are you…” he says, but the butt of my gun connects to the back of his skull.
It knocks him out just as I expected. When violence isn’t something you prefer, you quickly find shortcuts to get your way.
Still, this is just to transport him. I wish for no shortcuts with him.
No, I want both of us to feel every second of what I’ll do to him.
An hour passes before I walk into my apartment. Dom sits at the end of the sofa that faces the door, seeing the exact moment I enter. Good.
There’s no sign of Alex here.
“Where is she?” I ask, walking toward the kitchen sink to wash the blood off my hands. There’s not a lot of it. Not yet.
“In one of the guest bedrooms. Pretty sure she locked herself in there.”
I hum. “Her gun?”
“In a locked drawer of your office desk.”
“And the dog?” I ask, though I know exactly where she is.
“With her.” My head bows. Though I’m slightly jilted my dog replaced me so fast, knowing Persephone is on the watch is more than comforting. “You got him?”
I nod, drying my hands on a fancy dish rag.
“He’s downstairs.” I know Alex is safe here because I own the entire building.
There are twelve apartments in total. The ones next to me and below me are empty.
Dom lives two floors below me, as well as a few of my staff members.
My chef and housekeeper occupy another and the ones on the lower floors, they resemble holding cells more than apartments.
Dom’s eyebrows raise. “Secured?”
“Yup. But check for yourself.”
He doesn’t respond, but I know he’ll definitely go check on him. Dom’s control issues are even worse than mine, and that’s saying something.
The security of the lower floors is top-notch, with military-grade equipment Dom installed. The door opens using either my or his fingerprints, and the alarm system will inform us if anyone even touches it. Our guest is also tied to a chair in a blackout room. He has nowhere to go.
I barely resisted turning his head into mush, but he doesn’t deserve to die so quickly. No, he deserves to feel the fear he inflicted upon Alex.
“Good night,” Dom says on his way out, and I grunt in response.
My feet carry me through the hallway, past my bedroom and to the three guest rooms the apartment has.
I stop next to the furthest room from mine, my palm tracing the door.
Though I have no proof, a part of me knows she’s in there.
If I stay still enough, it’s like I can hear her breathing on the other side.
It’s deep and slow, as if she’s asleep. I release a slow breath, the weight dropping from my shoulders.
She’s safe. She might hate me, but she’s safe.