Chapter 6
Every unanswered call, text, and fucking email makes me want to go hunt Lachlan down in person. I would have already, if I could do it conspicuously. Though, this is why I have Oliver…
Tennant storms into the office, causing Boston to scramble to her feet, but when she sees who it is, she relaxes a little.
Poor dog has been on edge since coming back inside, picking up on the tension in the house.
I'm sure Lio taking Midas for the night hasn't helped either; the two of them have really bonded.
“You okay?” Tennant asks.
“Fine.”
He comes over and I lift my chin, turning my chair away from my desk and stretching out my arms, showing him I'm unharmed.
He nods once in satisfaction before glaring at me, his blue eyes growing cold. “You have a gun for a reason. Next time someone pulls a knife on you, use it.”
I don't react to that, saying flatly, “I wasn't worried. He wouldn't have killed me.”
“Your life is not a fucking game, Leandro. Next time you fail to defend yourself, I will fucking kill you, understand?”
“Sure.”
He frowns, but turns to Hollis rather than arguing. That is pretty much the usual for us. I may have Tennant's last name, and for all intents and purposes, he may be my father, but I haven't needed a parent since long before my mother died and Julian kidnapped me.
“We need to get you back in the training room, Tesoro. I don't care if it was Mayhem you were up against, he never should have been able to overpower you so quickly.”
Hollis huffs. “I'll never be a fighter, Love.”
“I don't care. I'm not leaving your life up to chance, not after everything that's already happened.”
Hollis sighs, and I can feel him softening.
It makes me curl my lip at him being so soft for Tennant.
Something I am gratefully immune to. Even if having Oliver out searching for Lachlan is making me itchy.
That's normal. Oliver is mine. Of course, I want him under my thumb.
It has nothing to do with bullshit feelings.
Tuning my “parents” out, I focus back on diving into the nanny’s background. Keegan said to focus on Cole, but Hollis and Oliver are on that. So I can turn my attention to the bitch who somehow passed my checks.
It annoys me because I'm never wrong. Yet somehow, someway, that bastard Senator got to her… Unless she was already corrupt? Mm, that's an avenue I need to explore.
Nothing popped up during my deep dive, but then, nothing popped up on Oliver either, or Carter for that matter.
As good as Hollis and I are, we're not infallible. Even if I do pride myself on my work.
My phone rings and I put it on speaker as Ten and Hollis go quiet. “You find him?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Put him on, we don't have time to waste.”
“Are you trying to get me and Oliver killed?” Lachlan hisses. “If the Senator finds out…”
“He won't. Have you seen Cole?”
He lets out a harsh breath. “Yeah, I've seen him. Poor kid is fucking terrified. I hope you have a good psychologist on deck.”
“Don't worry about our business. I need you to hand the kid over to Oliver. What’s the Senator’s schedule look like? The sooner we get him back, the better.”
“Now I know you’re trying to get me killed. What the fuck, Leandro? He’s going to know it was me!”
“I do not fucking care about your feelings, Lachlan. You allowed a child to be taken. A child. He’s fucking four, for fuck’s sake!
I know you’ve been hiding shit from me, but I didn’t think you’d stoop this low.
So you will listen very fucking carefully, or you will wish I let the Senator kill you, got it?
” The cracks in my facade break open at the thought of Cole being left with his kidnapper for any longer than is absolutely necessary.
I might not actually care about the kid, but Roman does, Carter too. And I am a lot of things, made worse by the Martellis’ misplaced distrust in me, but I would never go after someone who doesn’t know the rules of the game.
“Oliver has a burner phone and a USB cable for you. As soon as you get an opening, I need you to plug it into his computer—or any computer inside wherever he’s holding Cole—so I can loop into the system and erase what you’re doing.
Then you get Cole, and you get the fuck out of dodge.
Oliver already has all the instructions for the handover point, etc. ”
Lachlan sighs, and when he speaks again, it’s weary. “I told Kieran we never should have gotten you involved.”
I smile, a true one even though he can’t see me. “Way too late for that. You will do every-fucking-thing necessary to clean up this fuck-up of yours, and I will do my part to make sure you stay alive.”
“How are you going to do that?”
I grimace, well aware Hollis and Tennant are hanging onto every word of this conversation, and they’re going to hate what comes next.
“Oliver has an earbud for you. It’ll connect to a different burner phone he will give you. You’ll wear it and connect with me every single time you speak to Dowing. Understand? If I can save you, I will.”
As...numb to the whole situation as I am, I truly don’t want Lachlan to die.
He got himself into this mess because he wanted to help his best friend and Boss escape the hell he was in.
I can admire that, even if I think both Lachlan and Kieran were idiots.
With Kieran dead, Lachlan is all that’s left, and what a fucking position to be in.
“So, when can you get the kid?”
Lachlan sighs. “Tomorrow night. He has a meeting with some other Senators, so he’ll probably be late. His staff won’t question me being there. I have no idea how many of them know about the kid, as he’s…been very quiet and docile.”
“What does that mean? Dowing isn’t drugging him, is he?”
“No, no,” he’s quick to say. “Nothing like that. He’s just… Look, I don’t know anything about him, or his home life, but are you sure his parents are good?”
“What does that mean?”
“Just…he hardly speaks, and when he does…he just repeats that he’ll be quiet and good. Like it’s a mantra that’s been drilled into his head.”
I look over my monitor to meet Ten and Hollis’s eyes, and they both look as confused as I am, because Cole…
he’s a good kid. Great even. Yes, he does kid things, and can be a little hellion sometimes, but that’s normal.
It’s only been within the last few months—most notably around the time Carter got shot—that he’s withdrawn a little more.
The last few weeks, he’s stopped speaking around most people, but his dads hoped it was a phase that would pass—especially, now that Carter is out of the medical wing.
Lachlan’s concerns…they paint a very different, very terrifying picture. I wonder if Keegan, Marcus, and Carter will let me take a stab at torturing the nanny…
“He’s very loved—by everyone. So you can imagine why it was imperative for me to send Oliver out…”
“Yeah, I got that. Which…risky move on your part. Everyone here thinks this fucker is dead.”
“Yeah, well, we’re all going to be dead if we don’t get Cole back. So, tomorrow night.”
“You’ll have him back before midnight, that’s the best I can do.”
“Keep me updated—and Lachlan? Go ghost on me again, and I will turn you into one.”
I hang up and sit back in my chair, letting out a breath.
“You believe he’s still on the up and up?” Tennant asks carefully, his tone suggests he doesn’t.
I make a see-saw motion with my hand. “He wants to avenge his Boss and friend, and knows we’re the best recourse. Do I think we can trust him after this bullshit ends? Probably not, but it doesn’t matter. We’ll get Cole back and then focus on nabbing the Senator. I want this over with.”
“We all do,” Hollis replies. “Chances of Oliver cloning Lachlan’s phone while he’s there?”
I smirk. “High.” A few keystrokes later, I share the access I was granted during the phone call with Hollis.
“Good, let’s get to work.”
Tennant leaves to go do…something, allowing Hollis and I to our jobs in peace.
Tension and stress melt away as I get lost in my work, the world at large disappearing. This, and playing with Oliver, are the only two things that can make that happen, and if I had my choice? Well, I’d do both at the same time. I like efficiency.