Chapter Twenty
Grayson
Two days later. Red Snake Offices. Denver, CO.
“We need to get on this,” Hayes said from his spot on my office couch, his laptop and files scattered all over the glass coffee table. He lifted the black coffee mug he’d been carrying around with him all morning to his lips. That must be his third cup of coffee today.
“Hayes is right,” Dominic noted, shifting in his seat across from my desk, Ash in the one beside it. Weeks ago, Ash had just returned to work, and Carrie was safe. Crazy how quickly your world could get flipped upside down without warning.
For the last two days, Carrie had remained in my condo, sleeping and healing while the team and I worked on finding Brandon. The van he and Larks had stolen from Astoria was found abandoned on the side of the road in Nevada with a dead battery and low fuel. Hayes had just gotten back an hour ago and had been debriefing us on what he found—which wasn’t much. According to Brandon’s mother, he was desperate for money. He faked his death to get out of some gambling trouble he’d run into in Vegas years ago, and Hayes was pretty certain the fucker had gone back to, looking for some old contacts.
“There’s no fucking telling what or who he was involved with all those years ago, but him coming the from the dead is going to be one hell of a fucking look,” Ash told the room.
Hayes downed the rest of his coffee before gently setting the mug back onto the glass coffee table. “Whatever he is after, we have to assume his primary motivation is to still get to Carrie. He’s unhinged, Grayson. We have to get a lock on his location.”
I nodded. “You willing to go and resume the hunt?” I asked.
My right hand’s green eyes flashed, his jaw jumping. “Whatever it takes.”
I looked down at the file we’d put together on Robert. The St. Louis River Killer had been tormenting that city for over almost a decade and was the primary suspect in over twenty open murder cases. Of course, he hadn’t killed anyone in over a year due to him being brutally murdered. It was a blessing and a curse, his death. He had suffered in his death, and that was enough for me, because of Carrie. She had also moved on from him, her mind, body, and soul finally healing from the years of abuse. The curse? The curse was the victim’s families would never fully have a sense of closure. They would never see him get brought to justice. Him burning in hell currently had to be enough.
“Gray.”
I looked up from the file to find all three of the men looking at me; the only one missing was Jake, who was working in his apartment across the hall from mine, monitoring Carrie. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving her alone, but I also knew she would hate me if I put a man on her. This was the next best thing.
“What is it?” I asked the room like I didn’t already know the answer.
I needed Brandon to be my number one priority due to Carrie, but what Robert did, the horrific crimes he committed, took precedence.
“You need to make the call, Gray.” This came from Dominic, his words finally breaking the thick, uncomfortable silence in the room.
“I need to tell Carrie first,” I told the boys, my voice tired. I looked over to Dominic, then to Ash, and finally over to Hayes. “She needs to hear it from me before it becomes national news, and Garner slaps a pair of handcuffs on me.”
Red Snake had broken many laws over the years, but we’ve never encountered something as big as this. There was a very real possibility I would be going to jail, and everything I’d built would be ruined. Red Snake would be no more, and there was some part of me that was okay with that. I’d made my bed the second I fell for Carrie Hale. She, with her beauty, her gentle soul, and her warm light, somehow got into my heart, forever changing me. She made me a better man. She made me feel things I’d never thought were possible, not for a man like me, not after the things I’d done. I didn’t deserve her, but there was no way I could let her go now.
Not after everything she had given me, not after the way she’d loved me.
Carrie was my world; Red Snake was only a part of it.
However, these guys—my team—were also my family, and Red Snake was their home. By making this one phone call, everything would be hanging in the balance.
“Do you think it will come to that?” Dominic asked calmly, his eyes on the notebook in his lap.
I clenched my jaw three times. The truth was, I didn’t know the answer. “I’m not exactly on Agent Garner’s nice list,” I reminded them.
Ash leaned forward in his seat, grumbling to himself. Hayes said nothing, looking out the windows, his expression passive.
“This is so fucked,” Ash groaned, rubbing his hands down his face.
“Let me rephrase the question: do you really think Garner will arrest us when we reveal the identity of one of the worst serial killers in US history?” Dominic asked, looking up from his notes.
“We broke into a federal prison,” Ash deadpanned as I opened my mouth to speak. “Not to mention we kidnapped two people, Grayson cut off an inmate’s tongue like it was a piece of the prized Thanksgiving turkey, and Top Gun over there decided to destroy the entire west entrance of said prison with a van—which we also stole, by the way.” He jerked his thumb to Hayes, who was now leaning back on the couch, glaring at Ash.
“Don’t start that shit with me, Doss. You blew up a fucking building two years ago,” Hayes shot back.
Ash turned in his chair, pointing his finger. “An empty building. It was just a developmental property. No one got hurt. Besides, if I hadn’t, Jake would be dead, and Red Snake would be down a hacker.”
My lips twitched at the memory. Fuck, that was a fun job. I looked out the windows behind me, leaning back in my chair, turning my chair, my focus on the building across the street. I looked down three floors, focusing on the fourth balcony while the team bickered behind me. After a few minutes, I saw Tic-Tac appear in the window, his orange fur standing out in the gray day.
“A building is still a fucking building, dipshit,” Hayes growled, pulling my attention back into the room.
“He’s got you there,” Dominic hummed, turning his notebook page.
“How do you fuckers get anything done while I’m gone?” I asked, shaking my head.
“Patience, a fuck ton of anger, and even more coffee,” Dominic answered instantly.
I took this opportunity to address him. “How are the Hales holding up?”
They’d been in the holding rooms for days, waiting to be arrested.
“Donna wants to talk to a lawyer,” he answered.
“She can choke on a brick,” Ash said bluntly, turning back to me. I turned back to face them, rubbing my finger over my lips, remembering how I kissed Carrie until she was breathless a few hours ago while she was curled up in my sheets—in my bed.
My gut tightened.
There was a very real chance I was about to lose that, and if I was—
“If I call Garner and he comes after me, I need one of you to take Carrie somewhere safe,” I ordered. “I don’t know what Garner will do to me, but as long as Brandon is still out there, she is still in danger.”
“I’m going to find him, Gray,” Hayes vowed darkly as he rose from the couch, coming over to the wall of windows. “It’s only a matter of time before he flees Vegas.”
“Then until that happens, let’s hold off on calling this in,” Ash said.
I shook my head. “We can’t, not with the Hales here.”
“We are technically holding them against their will,” Dominic mused.
“And they fucking deserve it,” Ash shot back.
He’d been right, of course. This was fucked. All of it. As my mind continued to be swarmed with thoughts, I rose from my seat. “Right. I’m going to get Carrie up to speed,” I told the men. “I’m sorry it’s taken me so long, I just…” I trailed off.
“We know,” Hayes said, his voice filled with understanding. “It has been a crazy week. You needed time—both of you did.”
“No one is forcing you to do anything, Gray,” Dominic added.
All too quickly, the air in my office shifted and the conversation took a turn. Dominic lifted his head, his indigo eyes darker than usual.
“Careful with your next words, Edwards,” Hayes warned, his voice low.
My eyes shot to his, and we both braced for what our weapons specialist had to say. Then, Dominic hit us with it. “It would be an easy cleanup.”
Ash leaned back in his chair, the wood creaking underneath his massive frame as he folded his arms over his chest, his gaze sharpening as he twisted his neck to look at Dominic. None of us said anything for a few moments, letting the suggestion hang in the air around us, taunting us.
Then, Dominic calmly closed his notebook, placing it on the edge of my desk before he mirrored Ash’s position. Darkness twisted and glimmered within Dominic’s eyes, revealing the killer within.
I said nothing.
My silence was an indication to everyone in the room that this… suggestion was something I was considering. I promised Carrie I would kill anyone who hurt her, and Robert’s parents had done that. He hurt Carrie and hundreds of other innocent people, all while they, mainly Donna, chose to ignore the monster they brought into this world. Anger was the only thing I felt toward the couple, sympathy nonexistent. They deserved to die, but by my hands? Or Red Snake’s?
“You’ve already hid one body for the sake of Carrie, boys,” I finally rumbled, my chest feeling heavy.
“For her, we’d hide a thousand more,” Ash replied smoothly.
I studied him for a moment.
His face softened a fraction. “She’s a sweet woman, Gray. A good woman. There aren’t many people like her in this world—in this life. Something like that needs to be protected, no matter the cost.”
“We do this, and that just pushes back your hunt, Ash,” I reminded him gently.
Ash looked away from everyone, his eyes on the mountains. “No matter what we decide right now, boys, we all know I’m not going to stop until I find that woman.”
Dominic looked at Hayes and then at me. We were all thinking the same thing, but none of us would say it. The woman Ash went into Devils Den to save last year may very well be dead already. People sold in there didn’t usually last more than nine months at most.
“We have to get this settled before we do anything,” Hayes cut in, getting us back on track as he always did.
“I could have the couple taken care of within the hour,” Dominic informed us coldly. Silence followed once more before he added, “It would be my absolute pleasure.”
I inhaled a deep breath through my nose. “And if this comes back on us?” I pressed, folding my arms over my chest and staring at him. “What then?”
“Way I see it, we go to the FBI, we face jail time. We clean up the mess our way, Red Snake remains intact. We’d just have to fly under the radar for a bit,” Ash noted. “Which isn’t anything we haven’t done before.”
“And what about the victims of the St. Louis River Killer?” Hayes cut in, being the voice of reason. He put his hands on his hips, his green eyes bouncing back and forth between both men. “What about the closure their families need?”
“Do you know how my serial killers are out there right now, Mitchell?” Dominic questioned. “According to the FBI, there are roughly twenty-five to fifty serial killers active in any given year within the United States. They are responsible for around one hundred and fifty deaths a year.”
“I didn’t ask for a statistic,” Hayes returned, glaring at him. “I don’t give a fuck about the numbers. I give a fuck about the people— the families , Dominic. We have the truth. What kind of men are we if we don’t give the public that?”
“Fucking hell,” I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose. Leave it to Hayes to get our moral compass pointing in the right fucking direction.
“I suppose you’re right,” Dominic mused, reaching for his notebook again.
I raised my brow at him. “Is he now?”
Ash shook his head, pushing out from his chair, mumbling under his breath. He walked over to the windows, his back to us.
“It was merely a suggestion,” Dominic replied.
“Suggestion, my fucking ass,” Hayes clipped, shaking his head.
Dominic ticked his head to the side, narrowing his eyes now. “You do know the likelihood of both of those spineless idiots currently taking up space in my holding rooms walking free is extremely high, right?”
“You don’t know that,” I told him.
He pinned me with a look. “Every single person in this room is familiar with our justice system, Gray.”
That was true.
He continued, “The mother will get a slap on the wrist at best. She may have to endure a psych evaluation or two, which, by the way, she will pass with flying colors from a government doctor.”
“How do you know that?” Ash clipped, turning back around to face us.
Dominic twisted his neck to look at Ash. “I have two degrees in the field, Doss. I don’t need to repeat my fucking resume to you. The point is, Donna Hale didn’t say shit for two damn days, boys. Then, she tried playing the victim. The woman is a mastermind. The only reason I saw through her little act was because of my own fucking mother. ”
I stiffened.
Hayes’ jaw tightened, but he kept his mouth shut. Dominic didn’t. “You want justice?” he asked, rising from his chair, looking at the three of us. “Justice—when it comes to that fucking family—is death.”
With that, he left the room, leaving the rest of us in a stunned silence.
“Fucking hell,” I repeated. “He has a goddamn point, doesn’t he?”
“He brought up his mother, Gray,” Hayes said quietly.
“Look, go see to your woman. Tell her the truth and see how she feels about it,” Ash said, sighing.
Hayes nodded in agreement. “Once Carrie knows the truth, we can move on from there.”