Liam paled. I didn’t like the guy, but his love of Emily had warmed even Alexsey’s heart.
“You know what she means to me,” Alexsey piped in.
“Man. I just didn’t know. Halle didn’t tell me,” he said, shifting his gaze back and forth between us.
“There’s more. The gunman posed as caterers. They managed to infiltrate themselves into my house and my life. They opened fire on a group of innocent women and children, guests who have nothing to do with our life. They did so as a distraction while they went after what they really wanted.”
“What’s that?” I could tell by the look in his eyes he knew where this was headed.
“Nina and Emily. Best friends. Our children. We’re grateful Mikhail’s son wasn’t brought to the party as well. But Fallon is pregnant. So I assume you can see how pissed off we might be as to how this happened and who orchestrated the attack.”
He acted as if I’d hit him. “Is she…”
“Emily is fine, but only thanks to Lainey Rose, who has skills that far exceed her musical abilities. I had my eye off the ball because I trusted that my home was safe. I was wrong. Imagine what they’ll try next.”
“Fuck, Sasha. I am sorry.”
“Then help us.”
Liam was known to be a gruff asshole and there was no love lost between us, but he nodded and clapped my shoulder. “You have my word I’ll scour the sewer systems.”
Mikhail laughed. “We’ll bring you your first rat.”
“Aye. My boys will have fun with him.” Now he was getting into the spirit.
I grabbed the photograph I’d folded and slipped into my jacket. “Does he look familiar?”
Liam took it from my hand. “Vaguely. Was he a part of the attack on your home?”
“No, on the corporate house we own for entertainers in residence. Lainey Rose was staying there. This guy is a pro. He broke in, ripped the place apart, and shared his views on Ms. Rose, calling her a bitch.”
“How are they connected?”
“That’s what we need to know, Liam,” Alexsey answered. “From what we can tell, Sasha is the main target, but we could be wrong. If the O’Shaughnessys have anything to do with this, we need to know quickly.”
“What if they don’t?”
“Then we will know for certain it’s time to go to war. With members of our own family.”
Lainey
How many timeswas I going to pace the floor of the hotel suite? I was going out of my mind since Sasha had been gone for several hours. He’d said very little about where he was going, but I knew the first stop had been to interrogate the man I’d nearly beaten to death.
Nina was at least content with drawing. We’d ordered room service, enjoying a nice lunch together where I’d tried not to act as if I was concerned at all. She hadn’t asked where her father was. My guess was the little girl was used to her father being gone for long periods given his job title and responsibilities.
For me the waiting game was excruciating.
I wouldn’t say patience was a virtue and seeing the ongoing coverage on the party continued to grate my nerves. Thankfully, the reporters hadn’t been allowed on the property nor had the police commented on the dead bodies strewn around the property. At least that would protect little ears should Nina hear anything.
I checked my phone for the umpteenth time. So far, I hadn’t been pestered by Scott or the record company. Maybe because it was Sunday. Still, it felt as if a black cloud was hanging over my head. Frustrated, I headed to the small kitchen, grabbing a glass and the already opened bottle of wine.
It was almost four in the afternoon. That was late enough, wasn’t it? With my glass full, I settled in the living room, absently searching through my social media. News had gotten out about my private concert. There were even a few pictures where guests had tagged me.
That was cool.
I continued flipping until one picture caught my eye. The one when Nina and I had tackled Sasha. All three of us were laughing. It was adorable, causing a deep ache to form. The next one was just of the two of us and there was no doubt by the look on our faces that we were…
“Oh, shit.”
