I stop in front of Carlisle and ignore the chill that races up my spine. “You have one minute to explain why the hell you didn’t know about this.”
“I don’t know when it happened.” Carlisle’s words pour out in a rush. “I was investigating the Everett and Fitzpatrick involvement. I didn’t know there was another player—”
I hold up my hand. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
A flash of something moves across Carlisle’s face. “The bounty hunter wasn’t hired by the Everetts or the Fitzpatricks.”
“Who the hell hired him?”
Fucking hell.
“I’m still working on that. The trail has gone cold,” Carlisle replies. “I’ve got men out there working on finding out who the killer is.”
“There’s only a handful of them,” I say. “You should be out there yourself, not in here giving me excuses.”
Carlisle presses his mouth together and doesn’t say anything.
“Bring me a name, or it’s your fucking balls I’ll serve London,” I warn. “Maybe I should’ve gone with one of your brothers after all.”
A muscle works in Carlisle’s jaw.
“Whatever the bounty is on London’s head, triple the contract and offer the same amount for whoever brings me the name of the person behind this.”
After nodding swiftly, Carlisle turns and leaves the room.
I reach for another glass and hurl it across the room. It explodes against the wall. I reach for another glass, and another, until it looks like a tornado has ripped through my study, leaving debris in its wake.
It doesn’t quench my rage, but at least it gives me something to do.
I leave the study, taking the stairs two at a time until I reach my room. The bathroom is shrouded in a thin mist, and I can make out London’s outline behind the shower curtain. She pokes her head out to look at me, and our eyes meet briefly before I stalk back out of the room.
I’m staring out the window when London emerges with a towel wrapped around her.
She pads over to me, and I turn to her.
When she steps into my arms, and I crush her to me, I realize that it isn’t just anger building within me. All of the worry and fear I’ve been carrying around rises within me till it reaches a breaking point. I make a low noise in the back of my throat and hold her tighter.
I’m going to rip that bounty hunter apart with my bare hands if I have to.
He’s not touching a hair on her head.
And I’ll be damned if I let them or anyone else take London away from me.
London lets the towel drop to the floor and takes my hand to lead me to the bed. She pauses to pull on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, never once letting go of me. The bed dips and creaks as she pulls me down next to her. Then, she curls herself around me, and I drape an arm over her shoulders and exhale.
I recognize the vise-like grip around my heart.
It’s been decades since I’ve felt it, not since I saw my mother struggling to breathe as the light faded from her eyes. I swore to myself I'd never feel that way again.
For the first time in a long time, I’m terrified, and I have no idea what to do next.
Or how to protect London from the fallout.
Fuck.
How much more danger am I going to put her in before I do what needs to be done?
Chapter Fourteen
