Chapter Nine
W ithin twenty minutes , the small area of food trucks and tables had been completely locked down. Men in black suits gathered up the few people still eating and directed them away. Once they were secure, a van pulled into the lot and backed up to where the body lay. A few people wearing coveralls jumped out to gather the corpse. Cross felt only satisfaction at seeing the dead man, knowing he would never hunt Lorelei again.
“Sir, we need to take her.”
Cross snapped his attention to two men waiting with a gurney.
“We need to evaluate her,” the man closest to him said soothingly. “Please, we only want to help her.”
It went against everything in him to concede but he knew she needed medical attention. He placed her carefully on the gurney, and immediately the EMTs began their evaluation as they moved toward the ambulance.
“Where are you taking her?”
“To Mr. Delance’s penthouse suite at The Monarque. His personal doctor will be waiting. You can meet us there if you’d like.”
He nodded, glanced around at the men erasing the other problem. One man asked for his bloody clothes, holding out a new pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. As soon as he changed, Cross hurried back to the hotel to get his bike, and a few minutes later, he roared down the Strip to the Monarque Casino. Parking in the first spot he found, he hurried into the posh main lobby, ignoring all the stares thrown his way. Yes, he looked out of place but he didn’t give a rat’s ass. He stepped up to the concierge desk.
“Let Jeremiah Delance know I’m here.”
The man, whose name tag read Sully , blinked rapidly. His nose lifted a little as he judged Cross. “I beg your pardon?”
“Call up Jeremiah right now and tell him Aera is here.”
Sully was slow to respond. “Do you have an appointment?”
“I’m his brother.”
The haughty attitude stumbled a little and he immediately made the call. A moment later, Sully hung up. “He’s sending down the head of security to escort you to Mr. Delance’s penthouse.”
Cross didn’t linger. He waited by the elevators, and a few minutes later, a man in a black suit arrived. He took one look at Cross and narrowed his eyes.
“Aera,” he greeted
“Dickhead,” Cross said back.
“Still an asshole, I see.”
“Takes one to know one, Evren.” Cross rolled his eyes. “Listen, I don’t have time for this petty brother shit. Take me to where Lorelei is.”
Evren cocked his head. “Is that her name?”
“Don’t fuck with me.”
“Not even a please?”
“Goddamn it,” Cross muttered under this breath. “ Please .”
Evren gave a shit-eating grin and turned. “Come on, Lover Boy. This way.”
Cross bit his tongue, when all he wanted to do was hit Evren. Out of all his stepbrothers, Evren Grenier was hands down the most irritating out of all of them. Not only was he very judgmental about Cross’s MC lifestyle despite the fact he worked for a Sin City loan shark, but he liked playing the knight in shining armor. They entered an elevator car and Evren swiped his badge to access the private penthouse suites their oldest brother, Jeremiah, resided in. A moment later, the car stopped and the doors slid open. They walked up to the door where Evren scanned his fingerprint and entered a pin number. The door clicked open and his brother led him inside.
Jeremiah had always been refined, even when they lived in squalor, and his penthouse reflected that taste of stark sophistication. It was like stepping into some sort of staged photo shoot with white upon white décor and accents in gold and black. His brother snarled into the phone he held to his ear, pacing back and forth in front of the bifold glass doors that led out to a private balcony with a swimming pool.
“...I’ve gone out of my way giving you enough time to repay my loan, and I feel like you’re spitting in my face. Do I need to cut off your balls and stuff them down your throat for you to take me seriously?” Jeremiah glanced up and met Cross’s narrow-eyed gaze. “You’re out of time, Shrewbridge.” He ended the call, then gave him a once-over up and down. “You look like shit.”
“Where is she?”
Jeremiah jutted his chin toward a hallway and Cross hurried that way. In one of the guest rooms, Lorelei lay on a bed. Pale. Barely breathing. Cross’s heart stuttered in his chest and he hurried to her, leaning over to gently touch her cheeks. Her lips. Her delicate throat. Movement had him looking up at a woman who wore a white lab coat.
“What’s wrong with her?” he demanded.
“I don’t know yet,” the physician said. “Can you tell me what happened right before this?”
“A man attacked her,” he replied.
The doctor swiped a thermometer across Lorelei’s forehead. “She’s burning up, but I don’t see an injury. Did he hurt her?”
“No.”
“Has she consumed drugs?”
“No.”
“Alcohol?”
“No.”
“Well, she’s clearly fighting an infection.”
He stilled. “An infection? From a wound?”
Fear gripped him at the realization of what she’d done for him. She absorbed his gunshot wound, healing him while she now battled for her life. Lorelei had to know this would happen, right? How could she save him if this was the consequence?
“How did she get the bruises?”
Cross looked at Evren, not sure how much he could trust the lady doctor. When his brother nodded it was okay to talk, Cross focused his attention back on her.
“She was in Noble Vale Sanatorium,” he explained. “They were doing experiments on her. The asshole doctor running the place had someone hunt her down. They beat her so often that she doesn’t speak anymore.”
The doctor’s face softened as pity flooded her eyes. “I’m glad you rescued her.”
“He said she’d been implanted with a GPS chip.”
“Really? I thought that was just a movie myth.”
She stared at him, as if waiting for him to say something. He just stared back.
The doctor cleared her throat. “I’ll have my assistant bring my portable X-ray machine here. If there is a chip, I’ll find it.”
“Hey, Aera,” Evren said, capturing his attention. “Jeremiah wants to see you.”
He shook his head. “I’m staying with her.”
“Aera...”
“Tell Jeremiah if he wants to talk, he should come here.” He shot a glower at Evren. “I’m not leaving her.”
His stepbrother threw his arms up in the air and marched off, stomping down the hallway. Cross didn’t give a shit if Evren and Jeremiah were pissed at him. All that mattered was the woman lying unconscious on the bed. He hovered over her, silently willing her to open her eyes. Then, a single tear rolled down her cheek, and it almost broke his heart. He had stared men in the eye as he gutted them. Gloated as he slit their throats. Had watched women have a train run on them as they floated on a heroin high. His MC had transported everything from guns to drugs to people, and he hadn’t given a flying fuck.
Cross had always known he was a horrible person, but seeing her suffer from saving his life changed something. What she’d done had been selfless, and kindness wasn’t something he encountered very often. His world had never revolved around altruism, yet this girl proved she was stronger than any man he’d ever known. Including himself. What she did stunned him, and he vowed right then and there he would take care of her forever. Give her everything she needed and wanted. Put her on a fucking pedestal and worship her.
“Aera.”
He glanced at the doorway, where Jeremiah stood with his hands on his hips. Their gazes met and held. Jeremiah Delance tried to stare him down, no doubt like he did with all his minions. Cross had never been intimidated by his older stepbrother, even when they were still part of a family. He certainly didn’t give a rat’s ass now. That was, until Jeremiah sent a pointed look at Lorelei.
Bastard.
Cross leaned over and gave Lorelei a kiss on her forehead, feeling the heat of her skin. Then he joined his stepbrother in the doorway, unwilling to move his sight any further off her.
“I see the clothes fit,” Jeremiah said. “You’re welcome. How is she?”
Cross didn’t reply. He didn’t think he had to point out the obvious.
“When I got your call, I was surprised,” Jeremiah continued. “First, being in my city. Second, calling me for help. Sloppy work killing someone in plain sight, so who was the asshole?”
“A bounty hunter.”
Jeremiah raised one eyebrow. Waiting.
Cross reluctantly continued. “He was sent from this asshole named Birsha, a doctor out of the Noble Vale Sanatorium, to fetch her.”
Jeremiah’s eyebrows rose. “You were in a sanatorium?”
“Not me.”
“Ah.” He shot a quick glance at Lorelei. “Was she supposed to be there?”
“No. I thought we were in the clear but he had us tracked. Your doctor assured me she can find the damn chip and remove it.”
“And where do you plan on going after here?”
Cross shrugged. “I don’t know. Someplace where Lorelei can feel safe. We’ve got a few ideas.”
Jeremiah crossed arms over his chest and tilted his head. “You don’t want to stay here? You’re the only one of us who doesn’t live in Vegas.”
“I left this sewage of a city for a reason,” Cross muttered. “Speaking about sewage, how long has it been since you saw Georgie and Cricket? They’re practically the walking dead.”
“Low blow,” Evren muttered.
“I tried to get them sober,” Jeremiah said, shaking his head. “They kept relapsing. So, now I make sure the house they live in stays upright. That’s all I can do for them. I can’t force them to stay alive if they have not even a modicum of self-preservation.”
“Whatever. I really don’t give a shit about Georgie and Cricket.”
“Then why did you ask?”
Cross shrugged, already tired of talking.
“Asshole,” Evren muttered.
“Fuck off,” Cross told him.
“My generosity for saving you tonight has a price,” Jeremiah said, cutting through the tension
“Why am I not surprised?” Cross cocked his head. “Nothing comes from the heart, not even for your brother. What do you want?”
“That phone call I just had. I want you to get my money.”
“You want me to shake him down?”
“I expect you to either bring my money or bring me collateral.”
Cross looked at Lorelei. He didn’t want to leave her side. What if something happened when he wasn’t there? What if she woke up and was terrified of these people?
“I won’t let anything happen to her, Aera,” Evren stated.
“Take my personal elevator down to the garage and use a company car,” Jeremiah ordered.
“I’ll take my bike.”
“No,” Jeremiah said, already walking away. “A motorcycle will be too conspicuous.”
Looks like he didn’t have a choice. He looked at Evren. “Give me the address.”