Chapter 56
Jared’s heart was racing. He was used to dangerous, high-pressure situations.
But nothing like this.
As soon as he’d seen Patrick was unconscious outside Angie’s room, he’d known something was wrong.
He’d raced in here without thought or preparation.
North would kill him when he found out. He hadn’t wanted to leave them. It was only because Jared had promised to stay with Angie and have Patrick on the door to the room with John roaming on the floor that he’d gone.
John had followed him when the doctor led him to a private room. To talk about fucking nothing.
Obviously a ploy.
That doctor was dead.
Patrick had stayed in front of the door to his girl’s room.
“Boss, get down, I’ve got him,” John said.
Jared shook his head.
Who was the asshole in his girl’s room? Was it someone that worked for Beltran?
“Ahh, took you long enough,” the man said, looking unconcerned at the gun that Jared held on him. “I really thought better of you, Bartolli. Your personal security is very poor. That’s unacceptable. I should have gotten here earlier. However, I’m here now and I’m going to have to take her with me.”
Who the fuck was this guy?
And did he really think that Jared was going to just let him take his girl?
“Boss,” John said.
“Wait!” Angie cried. “Don’t shoot. Put the guns away. I know him.”
“What?” Jared asked, startled.
“He’s a . . . a friend of mine.”
A friend? Why had she hesitated as she’d said that? Who was he really?
Jared moved so he stood between her and the masked man.
“A friend? Hmm,” the other man said.
“Jared, please,” she said. “He really isn’t a threat.”
Not a threat? Was she insane?
The guy had knocked out Patrick and somehow arranged to pull Jared and John away from her.
He was right about one thing, though. Jared was being far too lax with her protection. That had to change.
“He is an old friend. After Fergus died I was living in this awful motel and he helped me.”
“What?” Jared was so startled by that statement that he turned to gape down at her. “What do you mean he helped you?”
Her gaze moved to John and he nodded.
“John, leave us,” Jared ordered.
“Boss?”
“Leave now,” Jared said firmly. He knew that John took his job seriously. But he also needed to follow orders.
“I’ll be right outside the door.” John glared at the other man.
“Wake Patrick up,” Jared ordered.
“Oh, he should be waking up now,” the other man said cheerfully.
Why was he so fucking cheerful about the fact that he’d knocked Patrick out?
John left and Jared turned so he could face both of them. “Who are you and why exactly are you here?”
“I’m so sad you don’t recognize me, Bartolli. Ahh, but I did have a different face on then, I guess. And you did know me as Reynard.
“Reynard?” Jared whispered.
“Jared, this is the Fox,” Angie said. “He came here to check up on me.”
The Fox? The Fox was here. The assassin. He’d once told Jared that he had something he wanted.
Angie.
Fuck.
Why was he here now?
“Actually, I came to get you,” the Fox corrected. “Do you really want to stay with him?”
“Um, yeah.”
“Interesting.”
Was it?
The Fox walked over to inspect the tray of food that had been delivered to her earlier. She hadn’t eaten any of it.
“Crazy how they can make food so unappetizing,” he said.
“What is going on?” Jared asked. “Why are you here? What do you want and how do I make you leave?”
“How rude,” the Fox said.
“Jared, the Fox is my friend.”
“Your friend?” Jared asked.
“Yes, see, like I said before, I was living in this awful motel. I had next to nothing. I had found a job cleaning at night but I wasn’t getting paid much. The Fox found me, he offered me a place to live and gave me some money to keep me going. He helped me. He’s my friend.”
Right. Her friend.
“So why are you here now?” Jared asked. “How did you know where Angie was?”
The Fox shrugged. “I have my ways. Some of my informants were a bit slow with their information which is why it took me so long to get here.”
“I really don’t want to leave, Fox,” she said. “Me being in the hospital is just a small misunderstanding.”
“Hmm.” The Fox stared at her. “You are certain?”
“I’m certain. I . . . I love Jared and North. I misheard something that they said and thought they didn’t want me. So I ran and got hurt. But I was wrong and they want me. I’m happy with them, Fox. For the first time in a long time I’m truly happy.”
“Ahh, a menage relationship. I think my two would like to start a support group. Something about needing to speak to others who have an overbearing, overprotective, bossy Top. Not sure yours count, though.”
“Trust me, they’re both extremely bossy,” she said.
“You’re in a relationship with two people?” Jared asked incredulously.
Who would be crazy enough to get involved with the Fox?
Well, he guessed some people might think the same way about him.
“Yes, is that so hard to believe?” the Fox drawled.
Angie gave Jared a pointed look.
“Not at all.”
“I better leave. I have things to do. But I will be paying attention and if I don’t like what I see, I will extract Angie.”
“Why?” she whispered.
“I don’t know. I suppose I feel responsible for you. It’s a very annoying feeling. One I didn’t feel until I met my Sunshine.”
“Your girlfriend?” Jared asked.
The Fox stared at him. “No.”
No?
Who the fuck was his sunshine then?
The Fox turned and headed to the door before pausing. “Ahh, nearly forgot. I heard you have a severed head problem. Tricky thing to get rid of.”
What did that mean?
They weren’t weeds that kept popping up in his lawn.
Fuck. Retiring to a beach in the Bahamas was sounding more and more appealing by the moment.
“How do you know about that?” Jared asked.
They hadn’t told anyone outside the three of them, and a couple of guards. Had one of the guards blabbed?
“Oh, I have my ways. Do you know who is sending you the heads?”
Jared ground his teeth together. Should he tell him?
“Jared thinks it’s a guy called Beltran,” Angie said.
“Beltran? He’s Colombian, right?”
Jared nodded. “You’ve heard of him?”
“Not much. How did you get on the bad side of him?”
“He killed some people I cared about.”
“Ahh. And now you want revenge? Understandable. Well, you will need to take him out before he kills anyone else.”
“I know that.” Why did the Fox think Jared needed him to point out the obvious?
“Doubt he’s doing this himself, of course,” the Fox said.
“I don’t know anyone in the area who is fond of severing heads and delivering them.
It’s so messy. Bit deranged, really. Not that I don’t appreciate that.
Take care of Angie. If she gets her head chopped off, I will be extremely unhappy. ” He left with a whistle.
Jared quickly checked with Patrick and John, to make sure they didn’t try to shoot him on his way out.
Then he rushed over to Angie. “Are you all right? Did he harm you?”
“No, he’s my friend. Why would he hurt me?”
“Maybe because he is a psychopath.”
“I don’t think that’s very nice,” she said.
“Angie, he’s an assassin.”
“And you’re a mafia kingpin.” she fired back.
Fuck.
She had a point.
Jared ran his hand down his face and took a seat in the chair by her bed.
“I know a lot of people see him as the bad guy and I don’t talk about him because he told me it could put me in danger. But also because I don’t want to put him in danger.”
Jared nodded “I understand that. But is there anything else you need to tell me?”
“Like what?” she asked. “Like the fact that Beltran apparently killed people you cared about?”