Chapter 64
Chapter Sixty-Four
Kain
Satisfied with my creations for Eva, I stretched my arms and neck, staring at the art.
She is the flower soothing my soul, and I am the thorn protecting her.
My phone buzzed, drawing me out of my thoughts.
I had lost myself in the creative process and didn’t realize my phone had buzzed several times.
Placing down my sketchpad, I looked at my phone, and fear gripped me as I saw Tony in the back room with Eva.
I bolted out of my seat, rushing to my car.
Extra cameras had been discreetly placed in her store that fed directly to my phone.
She assumed the cameras I installed were for the front counter. She didn’t know I’d installed hidden cameras in other areas too. Fuck!
I should have been more alert.
In my car, I called Detective McNally, alerting him. Then I sped through several traffic lights. One block from her flower shop, a police car chased after me. Shit. I had no time for this. Every second mattered.
I commanded my dashboard to call Detective McNally. “One of your guys is chasing me. Can you tell him not to shoot me? I need him to meet me at Eva’s flower shop. I’m one block away and the fucker has her.”
“Okay. Slow down. Don’t get yourself killed before you get there.”
I parked in front of the store and glanced at my phone.
The recording showed Tony watching Eva make a bouquet of bleeding hearts.
I tucked my gun into my back waistband just as the police officer arrived, parking behind my car.
Worried about Eva, I used the key she had given me and unlocked the door.
The chime alerted Tony. He whirled around, saw me, and lifted his gun. But I was faster and fired one shot at his hand and another at his thigh. His gun dropped to the floor, and Eva kicked it away. He collapsed to the ground, blood dripping from his hand and thigh.
The police officer with the dark hair charged in, aiming his gun at me. “Weapon down! Detective McNally already briefed me, but you still need to follow the law. Put the gun down.”
“Okay.” I bent, dropping my gun on the floor. “He shot at me first. The store has cameras.”
The officer picked up Tony’s gun and my gun, placed them on the counter, and called in for an ambulance.
“Laura!” Tony shouted from the ground. “What are you doing? Help me!”
I hurried over to Eva, wrapping an arm around her. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Laura . . .” Tony looked at Eva. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”
I wanted him alive. He had important information about Hawthorne. I grabbed a towel from her counter and pressed it against the wound on his thigh.
“There are more towels in the closet.” Eva rushed to get me more towels to treat the wound on his hand.
Eva stepped closer, but I gripped her hand, fearing Tony would hurt her.
“He won’t hurt me,” Eva said, crouching beside the asshole.
Tony’s eyes fluttered. “I’m sorry . . .”
“I’m okay, Tony. You’re the best brother a sister could have.”
“Thank you.” Smiling, he reached out a hand to her. “I love you.”
“I know,” Eva choked.
“We have to keep Laura safe, away from Hawthorne,” I said. “Where is he?”
“I don’t know . . .” he said. “He calls me when he needs something . . .”
More blood pooled beside him. I couldn’t stop the bleeding. Sirens blared nearby, meaning the police and ambulance were outside.
“Please keep her safe for me . . .” Tony met my eyes. “Please.”
The man begging me right now was a brother worried about his sister.
I’d heard what he told Eva about his sister.
Tony owed Hawthorne for his sister’s life.
He displayed a rare loyalty that most men would’ve broken years ago.
People did inexplicable things for their loved ones, and sometimes those acts crossed the line.
I knew this well, and a part of me sympathized with him.
“I will,” I said. “I promise to keep her safe.”
His lips trembled as if to say something, but the words never made it out because his eyes fluttered closed.