25. Chapter 25
AHREN
Tierney stiffened beside me, pushing out a shuddering breath before turning, heading for the stairs.
"I like the way you think." I murmured, following her up. We needed to figure out this riddle, but if she was anything like me, and I'm betting she was, she thought better with a weapon in her hand.
Twenty minutes later, I stepped back into the kitchen, not surprised to find her already standing at the table, arms folded across her chest as her eyes scanned over Connor's picture.
A spark of jealousy slipped through me as I took in the daggers sheathed on her thighs, caressing places I had only dreamed of.
Her new Scout strapped across her back and my Walther tucked into her waistband, right where her stomach dipped in.
Fuck! I had never wanted to be the barrel of a gun more in my life than I did at this moment .
I shook off the thoughts of the lethal temptress before me. Connor needed me, and while I had a reputation of being a heartless bastard, she had earned my loyalty a dozen times over in the last eight years.
"It says follow the clues," she murmured, sensing my approach. "But there's nothing here but the picture. The clues must be in the picture."
"Good point." I said, snapping a picture and emailing it to my tech guy, asking him to look for any irregularities.
My phone chimed immediately—Jax letting me know he was on it.
I turned my attention back to the photo. Tierney was right. The clues must be in the picture.
A smile worked its way onto my face as I took in Connor's defiant expression. She may not believe in taking lives, but I had a feeling that right now that principle was being tested and whoever took her might not need to worry about me.
"There are bricks in the background." I said absentmindedly.
“Half the city is brick.” She retorted, dismissing my observation. “Pretty sure this vine along the right edge is Virginia creeper or some variety of it.”
"How exactly does that help?" I asked, my brow pinching together as I tried to understand how the two were connected.
"I'm not sure. But—It's an invasive species, it grows like wildfire. It's likely the building we are looking for—"
"Is covered in it." I said, finishing her thought.
She nodded, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips, and my fingers danced at my side, aching to reach for her.
"It's not much, but it's something."
"You're right. It's not enough, but it's somewhere to start."
My eyes searched the picture, desperate for anything meaningful. The vine was a good catch, but we couldn't very well go busting into every brick building with climbing vines in the city. That would be mental.
"There's dirt on her face." Tierney whispered.
I swallowed hard, pushing down the bile that had risen in my throat. "Yeah. I noticed. They will pay for roughing her up."
She nodded, pulling her favorite Karambit from the sheath on her inner thigh. "I will give them a scratch for every one on her body."
We studied the picture in silence, our vows hanging in the air, spurring us onward, both of us painfully aware of the ticking clock.
A frustrated growl slipped from her. Under different circumstances, I would have found it adorable.
"There's nothing here. Nothing on the walls. She's wearing the same clothes as the last time we saw her. No debris in her hair. Just—nothing."
"Maybe Jax can find something. He's been known to work miracles."
"What, do you think tech support is going to find that we can't see?"
"Like I said. He has worked miracles in the past."
I stepped forward, wrapping my arms around her, pulling her to my chest. "Connor is a strong woman. At this point, they are probably in more danger than she is." I chuckled.
Her answering laugh released some of the tension that had settled over the house.
Fuck, it felt good to hold her. The way her body melted into mine activated something primal, a deep need to protect her.
I laughed internally at the thought. Tierney was the definition of a dangerous woman.
Guileless—innocent in a way that drew people in.
For most of them, her angelic face would be the last thing they would ever see.
My inner demons purred at the thought—what a way to go.
“The mortar looks like shit,” she murmured .
"Hmm." her voice pulled me out of my dark thoughts.
"The mortar—in this picture. It looks like shit. The lines are uneven and see," she said, tapping the photo with her delicate finger. “There are tiny gaps where it's started chipping away.”
"That leaves out government buildings downtown. They can't be bothered to fix a fucking pothole, but they make sure the buildings damn near shine."
"Mmm." she hummed in agreement. "I would say the same for the high end apartment buildings. The man who owns them keeps them in pristine condition. Tight security too. Good luck sneaking a bloody woman through the door."
Her eyes flicked up to mine, a knowing smile curving her lips, and I couldn't resist leaning in and pressing a kiss to those tempting lips of hers.
"I take care of what's mine. Nothing wrong with that."
Color bloomed across her cheeks, her eyes falling back to the picture.
We would need to talk about that kiss earlier and this rising heat simmering just below the surface.
The awkward, clumsy rhythm of our kiss could easily be explained by nerves.
I mean, it's not every day you kiss the angel of death.
But my money was on the simpler, yet more complicated answer—inexperience.
What research I had done into her had turned up no living family, no friends, colleagues, pets—just nothing.
Absolutely no connection to another living being.
There were times we showed up for the same job and I witnessed her fitting in with those around her, mimicking their behavior, making herself forgettable-invisible.
It was a skill, one she had honed to perfection.
Still, it wasn't the same as genuine interactions, relationships .
The irony was that the one area she might actually be innocent was relationships—sex. That was definitely a conversation we needed to have the moment Connor was safe. The last thing I wanted to do was fuck this up because I pushed her too fast.
My phone chimed in my pocket in rapid succession.
Jax: I found something, but I don't know what it is.
Jax: There's a layer of code over the picture. As soon as I scanned it, the damn thing tried to eat my system.
Jax: Whatever it is, it's nasty.
Me: Is there some kind of signature? A way to tell who sent it?
Jax: Maybe. I won't know until I get this decoded.
Jax: I'm on it though.
Me: Paying double if you get this one to me in about eight hours.
Jax: Consider it done.
I offered my phone to her, letting her read the chain of texts.
She handed it back to me, turning in my arms. "You have a lot of faith in him."
I nodded. "He's saved my ass more than once."
"Yours too." I added. "He's the one who gave me the pieces that added up a little too perfectly. That's why I was at the broker's house that night."
"And here I thought you were just psychic."
I snickered, mildly amused at the idea I could have predicted any of this, "psycho maybe, but not psychic."
"We have to find her, Ahren. She saved my life. I owe her at least that much."
I nodded in agreement. I knew exactly how she felt.
If we were keeping score, I owed Connor more than one life debt, and I felt the pressure to hold up my end of the bargain.
She asked me once if she was in danger because of me and I promised her I would never allow any harm to come to her.
Somehow, I failed. I fucked up and let my guard down, and now she might pay for my carelessness with her life.