Chapter 16
Victor
My eyes drift to Matteo’s office door as I listen to him outline all the reasons it’s better to hand Phineas Draven over to the police. I’ve already said my piece, and I’m ready to bolt and check on Lili and Grace.
Matteo has to realize there’s no way I’ll let Draven escape with anything other than a bullet in his brain. He won’t get away with touching Lili. And Lili will kill him herself if we discover he’s connected to Grace’s stalker.
But he’ll feel better if we listen to his spiel about how far we’ve come in this city and that killing one of its most powerful residents is probably not going to garner us any favors.
Except Phineas Draven is a monster in ways I can’t even fathom, and I have every intention of making sure the public knows that.
“It should be Victor’s decision,” Luke interjects. “We let Owen handle the situation with Bellamy, you did as you saw fit in regard to Skylar, and I would stab every one of you motherfuckers if you tried to stop me from protecting Zara in the way that I feel is best.”
Matteo shoves his hands in his pockets and looks at me. “So, what do you want to do?”
I drag a hand through my hair and pull the rubber band out of it as I contemplate the right answer.
“Your points are valid, Matteo. But the man is despicable, and he would wind up thriving in prison. Is that what we really want? Especially if we can’t end up proving enough of what we know in order to get him sent away for the rest of his life.
“Ultimately, though, I’m going to rely on Lili for guidance.
And I think we should get all the information we can from him before we decide.
I want to find out if he knows anything about Kara Lindon, and Grace being stalked.
Owen is searching for connections that would lead him back to Harper.
But I can’t say if it’s going to lead anywhere. ”
Matteo agrees. “Information will be our priority then. Now get out of here. I’m going to check in with Owen and see what else he’s dug up.
The rest of you reach out to your contacts and see what else we can find out that will help us nail this bastard and his mother.
This has been happening since we got to town, so we need to be looking back over our lives for the past five years to see where there are any connections. ”
I don’t wait for the others to respond after Matteo releases us, instead making a beeline for the door. Grace isn’t in the dungeon with the others, so I go to Lili’s room, but she’s sound asleep. A bottle of water and some fruit sits next to the bed. Grace’s handiwork.
I find Grace in my office with headphones working on her laptop behind my desk.
She looks up at me and smiles as I close the door behind me.
“How’s it going?”
“Better than it was earlier since you’re both safe.”
I kiss her temple and pour myself a glass of whiskey at the bar then kick my shoes off and sit on the couch. When the glass is empty, I stretch out on the couch.
“I’m just going to close my eyes for a little while, butterfly. You keep at it.”
I’m not awake long enough to hear her response.
A loud knock startles me awake sometime later.
“Stay, I’ve got it,” Grace whispers as she moves from the desk to the door.
“Victor, open the goddamn door,” a familiar voice shouts.
“Tyson?” Grace jerks the door open. “What’s wrong?”
“Sabrina isn’t answering her phone. She went to your apartment before she was supposed to meet me to bring you all some food, but she never showed up at the restaurant.”
I’m already up and putting my shoes back on. “Can you track her phone?”
Tyson shakes his head, and I swear. “Talk to Owen. He’ll be able to.”
Tyson nods and jogs away to find Owen.
I grip Grace’s shoulder, and she looks at me expectantly. “Go tell the others what’s going on. I’m going to check on Harper and see if there’s anything she can tell us.”
“I can talk to Harper,” Grace offers.
“No.” I shake my head and squeeze my fingers harder into her shoulder. “I’m not subjecting you to that. Now go.”
She doesn’t argue, and we both race out of the office.
Before I can get to the suite Harper is being held in, Owen steps out of his office and motions me in.
“It looks like her car is headed this way. But we need to be on high alert, because Sabrina was supposed to meet him at the restaurant, not here.”
“Should I bother talking to Harper?”
“Not until we figure out what’s going on. My gut tells me she’s given us all she can.”
I believe he’s right, but my eyes go to the hallway of suites anyway.
What the hell are we dealing with here? Why are we being attacked from all sides?
“Put Luke in the Sandwich shop. Tobias and Tyson can watch the back doors. I’ll call Rafael at the cigar bar and ask him to watch over the back parking lot,” I say, pulling out my phone.
Owen types something on one of his arrays of keyboards and flips a monitor.
“Camera feeds I’ve picked up are telling me she’s driving alone, but I don’t have a good view of the backseat to see if she has a passenger.
It doesn’t appear as if she’s being followed, so I doubt we’re facing an all-out assault. Still best to be safe.”
When everyone is in place, I stay with Owen and watch Sabrina’s car as he flips from camera to camera throughout Las Vegas.
When she turns onto our street, I hold my breath and pray to every saint I can think of that she isn’t bringing trouble with her.
Owen switches to the security feeds in the parking lot as she parks the car. The door opens, and she steps out and looks around, then heads for the front door.
No one else gets out of the car, so I breathe a sigh of relief. Tyson races past Owen’s open door and Owen shouts for him to stop.
He does but looks impatient about it. “Let Luke assess the situation first.”
Tyson’s mouth sets in a firm line but he nods and doesn’t argue.
I grip his shoulder as I walk out of the office and head for the front and the sandwich shop.
Luke and Sabrina are staring each other down when I step into the small restaurant.
“What’s going on?” Sabrina finally asks.
“You were supposed to meet Tyson at his restaurant. When you didn’t show, he got worried.”
She winces. “Sorry about that. I lost track of time at the apartment and was running late, so I rushed over here to help him bring stuff in.”
My shoulders relax, but only slightly. Something still seems off.
“Why do the two of you look like you’re preparing for battle?”
“It’s nothing. We’re all just a little on edge. You might want to talk to Tyson, though. He’s pretty worried.”
“And mad, I would guess. My phone glitched, and I was having trouble getting calls in or out.”
Luke and I both hold our hands out at the same time. “Owen should go through it.”
“No one touches my phone,” Sabrina protested.
“Do as you’re told, tiger.”
Sabrina scowls as Tyson walks into the room. But after another stare-down with Tyson, she huffs and puts the phone in my hand.
“Better. Now let’s go talk about why you worried all of us. In the kitchen.”
She winces but follows him out of the restaurant and toward the kitchen in the back of the club that we use for private dinner functions.
“Do you think he gets kinky with the kitchen equipment?” Luke asks. I smirk despite the tension of the moment.
“Don’t want to think about it. I eat at those dinners,” I respond as I tap Sabrina’s screen.
“Why are you looking at that like you’ll be able to tell if something is wrong with it? Just take it to Owen. You’re practically a Luddite.”
I flip him off but put the phone in my suit jacket because he’s right.
Luke heads for the front door. “I’m going to check out her car. Make sure it’s not being tracked.”
“Good idea.”
I head to Owen’s office and bump into Grace on the way. She’s pale, and trembling. “What’s wrong, butterfly?”
She hands me her phone without a word, fear in her eyes.
On the screen is a text message with a photo of Sabrina’s car in the parking lot.
Unknown: If you don’t want this car to explode, you’ll slip out the back door and meet me at the gas station on the corner.
I race for the front, shouting for Grace to stay back. But she doesn’t listen.
Luke is stepping inside as I get to the kitchen, and my heart slows down a bit.
“What is it?” he asks, wiping his hands on a towel from behind the counter.
I hand him the phone, and his eyes go wide.
“I didn’t see anything that looked like it could be an explosive device. And I opened the trunk and the hood.”
“Tyson was an explosives expert in the military. Get him to look at it.”
We both turn and stare at Grace. “How do you know that, butterfly?”
She shrugs. “I live with his girlfriend. We talk.”
I squeeze her hand. “Good intel. Now get your ass back inside. Tell the others to move as far back as they can. Owen’s play space would be best.”
“Yes, Sir,” she says, rushing to follow my lead.
Luke and I find Tyson, and his face goes pale when he reads the text. “Some fuckface is saying they rigged Sabrina’s car? We need to get the bomb squad out here. Now.”
I shake my head. “Out of the question. We have no idea who is on the mayor’s personal payroll, and we’re still trying to figure out what Phineas wanted with all of us. I’m not bringing authorities into this.”
Tyson’s nostrils flare as he drags both hands through his hair. “Then you need to let me call in a couple of friends.”
Luke puts a hand on his shoulder. “That’s fine, Tyson. But if it’s any consolation, I looked the car over before I read the text. Granted, I wasn’t looking for explosives, but I didn’t see anything that looked like it would blow.”
Tyson shook his head. “Bombs can be so tiny. Especially if they put something in the gas tank. I’m calling in reinforcements. I heard Samuel Carter is in town. And I’ve got another friend who can help after I look at the car.”
Grace’s phone buzzes in my hand and I pull up the new message from the same unknown number.
Unknown: Ticktock, Gracie. You have five minutes. Anyone else touches that car, and it blows.
“Fuck,” Tyson bites out, with a clenched jaw. “Have you sent anyone to the gas station?”
“Not yet.”