CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Connor
R hys’s voice in the pre-dawn call that next early morning plays over in my head.
“Need you at the docks. Found one of ours. What’s left of him.”
I grip the steering wheel tighter as I speed down the empty streets of Manhattan, my mood turning blacker by the second.
I had to leave Raina in my bed. There was no way around it. I’ll have to consider the best way to protect her on a daily basis. One that doesn’t drive her batshit crazy. I left Blade and Jett inside the apartment, Nero guarding the tunnel, and the rest of the team in my courtyard.
They call me unhinged for a reason.
I push all that aside when the smell of the city’s rotten and forgotten pilings near the bridge hits me. The stench of sweat, piss, and damp pavement greets me when I kick open my Ram’s door.
Rhys is waiting near a silver BMW parked in an empty lot with so many potholes and so much cracked asphalt that I might have broken an axle.
“Where’s Hendrix?” I ask about the high-ranking dead capo.
Rhys points to the body slumped against the steering wheel.
With a handkerchief, I open the car door, and the smell of blood hits me like a punch to the face.
“Throat cut and facial fuckery?” I ask, but I recognize the ink etched into his knuckles.
“A couple of fingers are missing.” Rhys lifts Kip’s arm.
“A few teeth, too.” I crouch, shaking my head at the dark stains running down his blue dress shirt. “Whoever the fuck did this made a mess. How long has he been here?”
“His second hadn’t heard from him in a few hours.” Rhys lifts Kip’s mangled hand to show the tag behind his watch. “Someone took his phone. It’s crushed to pieces on the Metro North train tracks in the Bronx.”
I glance further down and notice that Kip’s pants are open. “He had company.”
Rhys strides around to the passenger side, looking for clues of where his date went. “No blood on the passenger seat.”
“A decoy? A hooker who set him up?” I ask. “Check his wallet.”
Rolling his eyes, Rhys reaches over to fish it out of Kip’s back pocket. “No wallet.”
“A hooker and a thief.” I nod.
“Something tells me it’s more than that,” Rhys says, taking out a cigarette.
“Got another one of those?” I ask, tapping my mouth.
“Griffin thinks you quit,” he says, handing me one anyway.
“Griffin thinks I quit a lot of things.” I wink, reminding Rhys to keep my secret about Raina.
A cig in between my lips, I lean into my da’s old silver butane lighter with his initials carved in the front. AQ. After a deep drag and a long exhale, I choke on the burn.
“Poor bastard.” Rhys pushes Hendrix back against the car seat and holds him steady, or he’ll fall out of the sedan.
“For what? Getting his dick sucked and then his throat slit?”
“If you’re not careful, you could be next, considering who’s in your bed right now.” He doesn’t sound convinced she’s given up on killing me.
Shit adds up in my head. Hendrix’s death and dismemberment must be payback for yet another Albanian they think I killed. Christ, they work fast, which means they will come for Raina with full force. And soon.
“Why Hendrix ?” I lean closer, studying the knife work. Precise. Vicious. “Who the hell did we ice last night?”
We signals Raina is now one of us, and everyone better get on fucking board with it.
“Blade didn’t get a name. He and Jett spoke to several people and found out he was high up. We still don’t know how they’re organized.” Rhys exhales, stretching his neck. “If we even think this was an Albanian hit, Griffin needs to know.”
Looking around, I say, “Can we tow this thing to our warehouse? Let Shane’s forensic team dust for prints?”
Rhys flicks his cigarette into the dirt and gets on his phone. “A flatbed will be easier. I’ll grab a tarp and stick Hendrix in my trunk.”
I stare out at the water and the rising sun on the horizon. My thoughts and excuses take shape about what the hell to do next. The beep beep beep of the flatbed backing up to Hendrix’s car knocks me from my thoughts.
A driver I don’t know, but who seems to know Rhys, jacks up the Beamer. After a few smooth minutes, it leaves with Rhys escorting it himself.
I head back to my apartment and prepare myself for the war between Quinlan Empire and the Albanian Brotherhood. They’re looking for their princess, who I left naked in my bed.
Soaked in my cum.