Dylan looks stunned, but he’s zipping his pants and wiping his mouth. “Phantom, fuck, I…”
I grab him with both hands, lift him off the floor, and throw him into a wall. “Where the fuck you supposed to be, prospect?”
The entire compound goes silent except for the music, which someone turns off once it’s clear the party is over.
Dylan crumples against the floor and covers his face like he expects me to hit him.
I bend down, pick his ass up by the shirt, and again shove him into the wall. But this time, I lean so close to him I can smell the sweet stink of something on his breath.
“I don’t care what you snort, smoke, or suck,” I seethe into his face, “as long as you’re never so out of control that you can’t do your job. Now what the fuck were you doing here? Because fucking that bitch is not your fucking job. And if I have to remind you what your fucking job is…”
“No.” Dylan’s whole body starts shaking. “I’m sorry, Phantom. I’m sorry. I left Jasper at that lady’s house. He?—”
“I don’t remember telling you that you could delegate the job I gave you. Have I gone fucking senile and forgot what I told you to do?”
Dylan shakes his head even faster than the rest of him is trembling.
Viper is by my side in a second. “I got this.” Viper’s voice is ice-cold, and I’m damned sure that Dylan pisses his pants. He’s lucky he’s not pissing blood right now.
I nod at Shadow, who’s leaning against the bar drinking a beer. “My office.”
He nods.
“Turn the fucking music back on!” I shout, and the music picks back up. The party resumes—except, of course, for Dylan. I don’t envy the lesson Viper’s about to teach him.
I walk through the crowd, dodging pool sticks and limbs with Shadow close behind.
“Fuck that kid,” I seethe.
“Fuck that kid,” Shadow agrees. “I made some calls. You want news on the break-in?”
“It was her, wasn’t it?” I grit out, my hands in fists. “Tell me you got eyes on Shayla and she wasn’t involved in this.” I don’t think my blood pressure can take any more tonight.
“I got eyes on her,” Shadow confirms. “Drove past her place myself. She was home. Lights on. I could see her through the window. Doesn’t mean she didn’t have something to do with this, though.”
A sick feeling settles in my gut. My ex-wife knows better than to target me or my house or my kids.
There’s no way Shayla knows my lawyer has a statement from Poppy. Which means the only thing Shayla knows is that I found out she tried to rip Poppy off. She probably assumes Poppy ratted her out to me so I’d pay the bill, and she’s pissed enough to take it out on someone. Poppy is the most obvious target. Shaylaknows what will happen if she comes anywhere near me, the compound, or our kids.
Shadow is ten steps ahead of me. “If Shayla is behind this… Once she finds out that Poppy wrote a statement to the judge about what happened…” he says, his lips a thin line.
I tear a hand that’s shaking with unspent rage through my hair. He doesn’t have to say it. I know what this means. Poppy could be in very real danger.
I can’t let that happen. If my shitty ex-wife is behind what happened tonight … Whether she did it herself or got some crackhead boyfriend to do it, I’ll protect Poppy until Shayla is behind bars, paying for what she did. And I don’t say that lightly.
“If she did this, I swear to fucking God, she’s going to pay.” I pick up a soft stress ball Holly gave me for Christmas this year that’s sitting on the top of my desk and squeeze it, but the goddamn thing doesn’t bring even an ounce of relief. I whip it angrily against the wall, where it hits with a thud.
“One step at a time,” Shadow reminds me. “We got eyes and ears all over the county. It might take a day or two, but we’ll get a name. But, Phantom…” He hesitates, lifting one brow in question. “What’re we going to do if Shayla’s behind this?”
“You’re going to leave that to me.” I say it a little too quickly. “Only me. You got that?”
He nods. “You sure? You know how Shayla gets?—”
I hold up a hand and glare. I know better than anyone how Shayla gets. That’s how I know that I’m the only one who can be trusted to handle this.
“Leave Shayla to me,” I grit out. “Get me evidence, and then get the fuck out of the way.”
Shadow nods, then heads back toward the party. I drop down in my chair, but the muffled sounds of music and laughter make it impossible to think.
