36. Blair
THIRTY-SIX
blair
Brynn was a brave girl.
I’d like to believe the people we’d surrounded her with since last night were the reason. She believed they’d keep their promise to protect her and chose bravery instead of fear.
“Do me a favor, Brynn baby and go sit with Sean for a second. I want to talk to your mom.”
I waited until she disappeared and took a seat at Lauren’s bedside. She had a broken leg, ribs and two fingers. Some internal bleeding they were able to stop and a concussion.
“I-I’m sorry, Blair,” she whispered, voice slightly muffled from the busted and swollen lip. “You didn’t deserve what I said to you. Thank you for showing up like promised.”
Lauren reminded me so much of my mother but she got a second chance.
“You can make it up by staying in New York and not keeping Brynn away from me. I need her in my life as much as she needs me. Say you accept and we can move forward.”
She nodded and flinched a little from pain.
“Don’t worry about my father. This won’t ever happen again.”
Another nod.
“Kendra came to me before she was killed,” she revealed, meeting my gaze and holding it. “She told me not to let Brynn near him again. To protect her better, but…” she paused and took a breath, probably tired and in pain from talking. “I just thought she was upset that I’d come around with yet another kid. I know now that wasn’t the case. I think she confronted him; he came to me hours after my encounter with her and made me repeat he was with me all night. Then, I heard about your mom. I was too scared he’d do the same to me to tell you the truth and I’m sorry.”
I pulled her hand into mine.
So, that’s why he killed her.
“What happened yesterday?”
She swallowed.
“He wanted me to lure you to him. He said you’re too protected at all times. I refused and he lost it. I’m just grateful he didn’t go after Brynn.”
Which to me didn’t make sense.
If he truly wanted to lure me away from Sean, why not use Brynn to get to me?
He had to be using this as a distraction to keep me off his trail, but I wouldn’t be deterred.
“Okay…” I stood and leaned forward. “Get some rest. I’ll send in baby girl. She’ll be safe with us until you fully recover.”
“You have to kill him,” she blurted and I glanced over my shoulder at her. “It’s the only way we’ll be safe.”
She wasn’t telling me anything I already didn’t know, but I gave her peace of mind anyway with a nod before leaving.
I ignored Sean’s watchful eye and sent Brynn in to say a quick goodbye.
“I’ll send your mom and Brynn home,” I said, sending a text to Esi to meet up. “You can go.”
He was on me before I could hit send on my message, murmuring in my fucking ear all seductively.
“You mad at me, Amoy?”
I begrudgingly lifted my gaze to meet his.
Gorgeous muthafucka , I thought.
He was trying to make me mad on purpose and it was working.
“Why would I be mad, Oisin?” I cooed, blinking at him. “You haven’t done anything for me to be mad about, right?”
The slick man had snuck out before everyone woke this morning.
I lifted an eyebrow at his broadening smile.
“Do you think I’m a joke today?”
He shook his head, lips still fucking spread.
“Never. I told you I wouldn’t accept demands from my second or questions from my wife on anything regarding you personally. Maybe you forgot but I’m reminding you.”
Sean kissed my forehead and walked away, Lorcan on his heels.
“Don’t make me come looking for you, Amoy.”
When did he become so insufferable and why was my clit throbbing?
I shook what he did to me off and sent my text to Esmeralda.
Pick me up from my location. Nothing too noticeable.
After sending Brynn and Caroline off, Esmeralda pulled in ten minutes later and I climbed inside, instantly annoyed at the sight of Liam in the back.
“Don’t you have something better to do?” I asked, meeting his gaze.
He shook his head.
“My job is to protect to you,” he said, frowning at me. “I’m compromising by sitting back here.”
I looked away.
“You two a thing?”
“No,” Esi said at the same time he said, “Yeah.”
Mmm.
They were gonna be a fun time, while we moved on a hunch without my husband’s knowledge. At least… I cut my eyes at Liam over my shoulder. He was staring at Esmeralda through the rear view and she was clearly ignoring him.
“Give me your phones.”
I held my hand out and he hesitated but handed them over.
“Blocked,” I mumbled, cutting off access to us from Lorcan. “You can unblock him after we’re done.”
My phone rang with my husband’s name on the screen and I smiled, swiping to answer.
“Miss me already?”
“Now it’s you thinking I’m a joke,” he said coolly.
He’d started it; I was simply giving him what he wanted.
“Where’s my necklace?” I asked, ignoring his question. “You must have it. Find me and put it around my neck and we’ll call it even.”
Silence.
Then, a soft hum, I took as him agreeing.
“Before you go…” there was a smile in his voice. “Tell Esmeralda, I took care of her cousin. Not for her but for you. Everybody can die behind you, mo ghrá.”
He ended the call and I took a deep breath with my eyes closed before shutting the phone down and stashing it in the glove box.
“Miguel is dead,” I said.
Esi laughed, fucking cackled.
“I had a feeling he’d do just that. It’s the only reason I didn’t skin him alive myself. You mad?”
I looked out the window to hide my smile.
Mad wasn’t the correct term for how I felt.
Annoyed? Yes. Mad that he was standing on business about keeping me safe? Never.
“Just giving him what he wants,” I mused, closing my eyes. “Spicing it up.”
She snorted.
We liked to fuck and try new things and I was enjoying being provoked, even more so by pretending I was upset to the point of defying him until he snatched me up and bent me over. Maybe by then I’ll actually be pissed.
“You really think he’ll come here?” Liam asked, breaking me from my thoughts.
I was so sure I would put money on it and gambling was not my thing.
“This is where he hides his go bag. Passports, money, all the stuff he’d need to at least get out of the tri-state.”
It was a self-storage place an hour from Manhattan in Chester. He was predictable, enough for me to guess he’d show just before the sun went down. We pulled into the bustling parking lot and Esi backed into a spot that gave us a clear view of our surroundings and the front door.
“I had plans to kill my abuelo,” Esi said out of nowhere. “He deserves to die anyway for what he did to my dad. Don’t you think?”
She really didn’t feel anything and it made me worry for Liam’s heart.
“Do you care?”
She shrugged.
“About what? Killing him or that he killed my dad?”
I hummed.
“The hit on Sean’s grandmother was orchestrated by him as well.”
She whipped her head in my direction. We hadn’t had the chance to really talk yet, but that was an important detail for her to know.
“He has to die for that alone,” I mused. “I can tell Sean’s plotting on Miami now that he eliminated Miguel. Your abuelo is probably next on his agenda.”
Esi tapped the steering wheel.
“If he handles that. I’ll root out any traitors and help clean up for y’all to come in and make shit shake.”
I nodded, liking the idea of that.
“Wake me when he shows.”
It felt like I’d just closed my eyes when Liam shook me.
“There he is,” he said after I looked back at him.
Sure enough, my father was standing with the door open to a dark grey Impala. He looked around, shut the door and went inside. I hopped out after waiting to see if he’d return for something with a tiny tracker in hand.
Walking past the row of cars leading to his, I quickly dipped low and stuck the tracker on.
“You know once you activate it Sean will be able to find you, right?” Liam asked as I slid in and opened my laptop to do exactly that.
I smiled when the map, showing my father’s parked location popped up.
“Of course, I know.”
That was the whole point of using one instead of following the old fashion way. We waited for him to return and about twenty minutes later he did, with the go bag slung over his shoulder.
He didn’t check for a tracker like a smart man on the run would and drove away. Esi waited until the signal had him about two miles out and followed.
After an hour, he’d unknowingly led us to Long Island, the last place I expected him to seek help.
“Can you find who lives there?” Esmeralda asked.
I sighed, not needing to do that.
“My… grandparents. The last time I’d saw them my grandfather slapped him so hard his lips ballooned in size. We never went back.”
Going to them meant he was desperate. And they had political connections that could easily assist in him slipping past Sean’s security measures.
Knowing I had to put our game aside and loop him in completely, I turned my phone on and called my husband, who picked up on the first ring.
“Long Island?” he asked, the frown in his voice evident to me. “If he’s there, they’ll fly him out of a private government owned airstrip.”
I could hear the wheels turning in his head as I searched how many were nearby, finding two.
“One is owned by Good Fortune Security. Maybe my grandparents have a connection to them? Can you find out?”
“Hold on…” he looped in Siobhan.
“What’s up? You good?” she answered on the second ring.
The way they showed up for each other no matter what they had going on always made me feel good.
“Blair is on the line, too. Go ahead, baby. I need to put you on mute for a second.”
“What’s up, B?”
I shook off wanting to know why Sean put us on hold and got down to the task at hand.
“I need to know if Ziad’s company has any ties to a Wilma and Barry Brown?”
My father had changed his last name to separate from them before I was thought of.
“They’re longtime friends of my father, why?” Ziad asked, revealing we were on speaker. “Got a call from him to charter a flight for them last night.”
Bingo.
“Those are my grandparents. I need on to that flight.”
Both were silent for a second, telling me we’d been muted before Ziad’s voice returned.
“I can make that happen for you. We’re about forty-five minutes from there. His plane is set to depart in…” I could hear him typing. “Three hours to Florida. Head there now and we’ll meet you.”
Mmm. Florida, huh?
We hung up and I glanced at Esi as she pulled from the gas station we parked at.
“You know Violet. How?”
She started tapping the steering wheel.
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
I already knew I wouldn’t like it based off the way she framed the statement alone but hearing her out was the least I could do.
“My dad used to bring me to New York a lot,” she revealed slowly. “He had ties to the Costa family before their demise. They made me watch what they did to girls until I broke and stabbed one of them with the knife I snuck in. I’d never been so angry in my life.”
She actually sighed, like it hurt to mention.
“I wasn’t trying to make Violet feel uncomfortable. But I’m certain I’ve seen her around them before.”
I absorbed that information and left it at that. There was no reason to confirm or deny, didn’t matter if she saw her not. Violet didn’t have to answer shit if she didn’t want to.
My silence was warning enough to back off.
“Shit,” I mumbled, realizing I’d hung up on Sean before he came back to the line but decided in that moment to let him come to me. We were in my world and this was my show.
Once at the airstrip, Ziad met us as promised. I was still watching my father’s location but wasn’t sure if they would send him in a different vehicle.
The manifest only had their names on it, which told me neither would actually get on. It was simply to cover his tracks.
Didn’t matter because we were one step ahead. And apparently so was my husband, because not even thirty minutes after our rival, a black Escalade pulled to a stop in front of us.
Except the man that stepped out was not who I expected at all.
“Sheldon Black, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
I walked toward him.
“Your husband is cashing in on a favor,” he said nonchalantly, leaning against the driver’s door. “Just so happened to be in Long Island taking care of something. I’m here to make sure you leave here without a scratch.
Ah.
So, that’s why he’d put me on mute, which also told me he was up to no good in the city.
After about twenty-minutes, Ziad let us board the plane—only Sheldon came with—and we settled beside one another toward the back.
I watched from the window as they moved the cars until everybody was out of sight.
“Heard your wife is usually by your side,” I said, cutting my eyes at him.
Our gazes met and he tossed me a little smirk.
“She’ll have something to say about the little detour. We move together for a reason.”
I hummed.
“Is it true, your marriage was arranged before you were born?”
“That it was,” he confirmed. “Parents were out of pocket for that but it brought me the love of my life and later our two kids as a result, so all is forgiven.”
I laughed and sat back, crossing my legs.
They had a daughter, Storm and a son, Sheldon Junior.
“Jaslyn sent me with some information to pass your way.”
Our eyes met and I frowned.
“She couldn’t pass it along herself?”
“Ashton sidelined her on this. Ain’t shit you can do about it when he speaks up. It was affecting her, will probably affect you too.”
He said it like it was fact and nothing else.
“Your cous… brother…” his brows lifted when he said it. “He’s been doing this for a long time. Jaslyn thinks her serial rapist case from a couple years back is connected but her brother is looking into that. I’ll give you something after this…” he tipped his head toward the window. “The guest of honor has arrived.”
I whipped my head around and sure enough my dad had arrived and was making his way to the plane, bags in tow.
Sheldon already had his gun resting on his thigh when I pulled mine.
“What’s in Florida, Nathaniel?” I asked as he emerged, standing to immediately make myself known. “Answer and I’ll shoot you in the head, quick and easy.”
He stopped, looked back to find Siobhan blocking his way.
“And if I don’t answer,” he challenged, looking at the man who hadn’t moved from his seat. “No Sean?”
He had the fucking nerve to smile, like I couldn’t handle him without my husband. Annoyed by his assumption, I tipped my head, Siobhan stepped out of range and I took a shot, smiling when it hit him in the arm.
I stepped into the aisle and toward him, squatting to get close.
“Why must you overestimate yourself at every turn? It doesn’t matter if my husband was in another country or right by my side, your dying today and I might even send your parents with you.”
He jerked forward and I brought the butt of my gun down on his head.
“See what happens when you try me, Nathaniel. I planned to give you an easy death for the sake of Brynn, but now I change my mind. Drug him.”
I stood and held his injured arm down with my foot, while Siobhan injected him.
“Put him in the trunk.”
Liam got on, dragged him off and we followed.
“Send me the cleaning bill,” I said to Ziad before following Sheldon to his truck.
He opened the back door and pulled out a box.
“Planned to drop this off once back in the city but fate brought me directly to you…” he handed it to Liam, who had approached. “If my wife materializes in front of you one day, don’t be alarmed. She’s been making it her business to bring all the women together, form an alliance just for y’all. A network so to speak…” he opened the driver’s door, slid inside and rolled the window down. “Once I tell her you got exactly what she needs, she’ll be on your head.”
He pulled off with a honk, and I got in the truck, deciding to ignore the box for now. Deal with my father first, and Caden second.