Roark and my brothers exchange a look.
“He moves in idle rich circles that love the illegal boxing fights, dog fights, hell, rooster fights. It’s not pretty,” Torin says, “but Roark uncovered a connection Heston had to a Cinco Cartel fighting circuit.”
Cal stares at me. “Tonight. He discovered that tonight. That fucking cartel kid, you know the one…”
My blood turns cold. “Leon.”
“That’s him.”
Maybe that’s why he ran. To get free from his ties to the cartel.
“Wait…” Torin types on his computer. Then he looks at me. “Does Marlowe own a private island off the gulf?”
I gape. “Does she what?—?”
“I just found something. I’ve dug into her parents’ accounts and there’s nothing, so I just decided to look at your girl’s accounts. She gets paid from the ballet and also gets a small allowance, but there’s something else I dug up. She had a huge amount put into her account at sixteen, and there was a purchase made with that exact amount.” He hands his computer over to Roark, who puts down the gun and hands the cigarette to Cal before taking the computer. “What do you make of this? Am I right?”
“Fuck me sideways. Marlowe bought an island, or rather, someone bought it for her with money put in her account, on her sixteenth birthday. There’s a safe deposit box at a bank with the deed and information about when she supposedly gets it.”
“I’m betting that’s a gift from her loving da. The fucker.” And I’m thinking that’s where he is, and thathis love for her has more of a guilt slant than anything unconditional. I want to take off there now and?—
Someone screams and the house erupts in yowls and barks and howling cries.
We all run, guns at the ready, racing to the noise at the front door.
Raff is in his space rocket pajamas, bleeding from a scratch on his hand as Lola races out the door. Arnold has Raffy’s top in his teeth, growling, and Clawzilla’s on top of him.
Cal takes one look, sees that his kid is okay and takes off, gun drawn. So do Torin and Seamus.
My heart’s beating too fast and everything twists tight inside.
Lucie streaks down the stairs and grabs Raffy.
Ava appears with Natasha. Natasha runs upstairs at her mother’s order, and Ava runs out the door after Seamus with her own gun. Harriet wrangles the pets together.
Raff sobs, holding his scratched hand, and outside a cat yowls as a shot rings out, and the sound stops dead.
I run out the door, my heart on fire. Cal, Roark, and Ava are already outside, shooting at a plateless car as it roars off, tires squealing against the pavement.
“You get them?” shouts Tor, the only one without a weapon. “Anyone?”
Across the street, one of our men is dead. Ava runs over and shakes her head after checking the pulse.
“What the fuck!” I look around, my eyes wild, my pulse rocketing.
And then I see it.
Molly’s phone on the ground.
I grab it.
Everything slips sideways. Behind me, the chaos erupts farther in the house.
Lola. That fucking nasty ass alley cat took off after Molly to help. I know it like I know my own name.
Just like I know Clawzy and Arnold held Raffy back in the safe confines of the house. Clearly, Raff wanted to follow her.
The images of the kid at the door and the animals flash in my head.
