37. Ignacio #3
“Good boy,” I whisper quietly, before standing and running my hand over his head.
The sudden sound of glass breaking has me jerking upright, my hand going to my weapon. There’s an immediate thump, and my heart beats faster.
From the way the pup whimpers and backs up, I don’t think loud noises are an uncommon occurrence, and my stomach twists at the thought of what that pup may have gone through.
Breathing out, I gesture for Joel to follow, and carefully, silently, we head toward the hallway where we heard Gerald’s voice.
We pass a couple of guest rooms, but I’m intent on the one room that has a closed door.
The sound of labored breathing and cursing has me frantically pushing it open, hoping the sinking feeling coursing through me is wrong.
“Fuck!” I snarl as I glance down in disgust.
Gerald is on the floor in a puddle of blood, his breathing shallow as sweat mixes with his tears. The sound of glass breaking was a fucking bullet… No wonder the Senator finally picked up the damn phone. He moved the asshole right into position.
Based on our surroundings, this is Gerald’s fucking office. The Senator must have known he’d go here. Which means, he’s been in this house. Just how deep did Gerald’s treachery go?
Joel’s curses fill the air as I crouch down, desperately hoping that I can still get something out of this asshole. My gaze flicks toward Jayden’s brother, and I pale as a red dot flashes onto Joel’s skin.
“Shit!” I jump up, startling Joel as I dive into him. There’s another sound of glass breaking, and a lick of fire against my right upper arm, but I ignore it all as Joel and I hit the floor in a thud.
“What the fuck?” Joel curses as he shoves me off.
Shooting him a disgusted look, I snap back, “Look, asshole, I just saved your life, so maybe shut up and stay down.”
“Fuck. Are you bleeding? Jayden is going to kill me for letting his Princess get hurt. That is not on me. I swear, I don’t know how you even earned the nickname Chaos. So far, you only seem good at being in a damn hospital bed!”
Gritting my teeth, I get away from the window before I get up.
Crossing to the wall perpendicular to one with the window, I grab a mirror that Gerald had hanging.
I hope to hell it helps. My arm screams at me, because of course it was my dominant side that got hit.
However, I’m juggling the mirror with my right hand, and using my left to place a call to Leandro.
“Yeah?”
“We got hit with a sniper. Gerald is on the floor bleeding. I got Joel down before he was hit, but I took some damage. I’ve got a mirror, and I’m checking if I can see what the fuck is going on, but can you get into his system and check the cameras? Or anything surrounding?”
I ignore the kid’s sigh as I creep toward the window, holding the mirror so I can see what’s going on outside. Wherever this sniper is, he’s doing a damn good job of staying hidden. There’s not much out there, for fuck’s sake.
I curse our luck for this, wishing we’d at least get to spend a little time talking to the asshole on the floor, but instead, I’m stuck watching our back in case the sniper decides to come closer. Or continues to try to pick us off.
The only evidence that Leandro is actually still working on the issue is his rapid typing and occasional muttering. Not that I can make out what he’s saying, but damn. Everything about this is pissing me off. My first job back and I feel like I’ve botched it.
“Finally,” he says, but he doesn’t follow through with anything, ratcheting my anxiety up even further.
Eventually, I break the tense silence. “Anything? Or should I just assume I’m going to have a sniper breaking in at any moment?”
“This isn’t a hacker movie. That means it takes me more than two seconds to get you what you want.” His flat voice grates on me, especially when he follows it up with, “Don’t think just because you’re Roman’s that you’re safe.”
I give an aborted laugh at that. “Right, kid. Same back at you. Face it. We’re fucking stuck together. You’re Roman’s best friend, and Lio claimed you, for some fucking reason. Don’t break the people who, for some damn reason, still trust you.”
A frustrated snarl comes across the line, and while I’d like to believe I just won, I know I haven’t. He’s probably trying to decide how he can get away with killing me. Well, may as well make life interesting.
The pain in my upper arm radiates harder the longer I hold the mirror up, but fuck if I’m going to let anyone sneak up on us.
The sounds coming from Gerald slowly die down, and a surge of frustration hits me, driving my anger further.
Fucker just had to go and meet his end before I could even question him.
This job has sucked from the beginning, and considering I’ve still got Joel making snarky comments that I’m ignoring, and the impending doom of Jayden taking his own ire out on my ass… I don’t see the ending getting any better.
“Alright, there was nothing on Gerald’s cameras.
I backed out of his system and it’s closed down, so there’s no evidence when you leave.
However, one of the houses on the lake had security that was actually up and running.
I was able to find the sniper that way. He’s long gone in the opposite direction. He was in a boat.”
I whistle, impressed despite the situation. “That’s a hell of a shot, especially since he couldn’t get that close on the lake. I wonder if he’s a contractor, or part of the Senator’s dirty side?”
“Should I find out so you can offer him a job?”
“You can do that? That's impressive as well. Yeah, I’ll definitely take that information.” I let the mirror drop as I walk further away, now that I know it’s safe.
There’s a pause before Leandro responds, “And people think I’m messed up.”
“What? It was a good shot!”
“At least now I know why you’re called Chaos,” he scoffs.
Struggling to keep my temper under control, I retort, “Look, I’m sorry if our Boss cared enough about us to give us fitting names and yours didn’t… But, Il Padrone was simply that awesome. Sorry Cristian wasn’t.”
There’s a crash before silence. I blink, unsure what’s going on. I shift to look at my phone. Ah, the kid hung up. Damn, I miss the old types of phones where you could actually hear either a dial tone or someone slamming down the receiver.
Shrugging, I put the phone in my pocket. I should probably talk to Javi about the jealousy issues from how much Il Padrone cared about us. I’m sure that’s playing a part in some of this prickliness from the former Amato side. Sighing, I add it to my mental list.
I shake off the thoughts as I stride the rest of the way over to Gerald, but when I get there, it confirms what I already knew. Fucker is gone for good. I’d say rest in peace if I didn’t hope the devil was already having fun with the asshole.
“Is there a reason you’re still sitting down?” I sneer at Joel.
Laughing, he stands up, brushing invisible lint off his pants. “So, are you finally ready to leave? I’m sure my brother is waiting.”
“You do seem obsessed with your brother’s relationship with me.
Are you jealous? Unable to perform with others, maybe?
You know…if you’re having impotency problems, Antonio could probably hook you up with one of the whores.
I mean, we’d probably have to pay extra, but if we’re going to be related… I could chip in out of pity.”
Joel’s face loses his smirk for the first time, as he snarls, “You think you deserve to be with my brother? You’re nothing but a Plaything that he’s wasting his time with.”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “You know shit about our relationship. Hell, you must not even know your brother that well if you think that’s the case.”
“You don’t want to go there,” he retorts, his voice promising retribution, but I wave it away. I’m not scared of him. Jayden? Yes. Joel? Not at fucking all.
I spend a little time grabbing folders and taking out a hard drive, ignoring the asshole stewing beside me. Biting back a sigh of relief, I stroll out of the room, unsurprised to see the pup waiting in the hallway for me. “Aw, you’re such a good boy! Do you want to go home with me?”
The way he thumps his tail confirms my decision to take him, and I hum to myself as I head toward the foyer, assuming I’ll find a leash there as I didn’t see any in the mudroom when we entered.
“You are not taking the dog.”
I wave him away, refusing to turn around and get in an argument with the asshole.
I reach the foyer, and sure enough, there’s a leash.
Not a very good one, and it definitely doesn’t match the poor pup’s collar—I’ll have to fix that.
But still, it’ll work for now. As a bonus, it does have the dog’s name engraved on it.
Ajax. Probably not the most fitting for him right now, but after he’s trained?
It’ll be perfect. He certainly has the strength to back up the mythology.
Grabbing the leash, I call out, “Come here, Ajax. Let’s go for a ride in the car!”
A loud woof answers me and he’s almost a blur as he comes flying toward me, almost knocking me over. Laughing, I praise him as I lavish attention on him. He manages to swipe me with his tongue, which only sets off more laughter. Finally, I get him to sit and put his leash on.
“Absolutely not,” Joel snaps at me. “We have a bunny and cats that roam the house. Not to mention kids. That…thing…is not coming with us.”
Smiling, I answer, “Yes. He is. And I’ll make sure he’s properly segregated before making introductions. Plus, I’ll ensure he’s trained. This is a smart breed, and I’m sure he’ll pick things up quickly.”
“Fucking hell. Do you have to make everything harder?”