He halts, nodding, his gaze falling back to my cousin—our friend.
“Calleveryone,” I say, my voice low and lethal. “Whoever did this, dies tonight.”
The loft is silent.
The sound of my heartbeat is loud in my ears after sprinting up the stairs, faster than the elevator. I step into the hallway. The television is still playing some movie, and aside from the spilled popcorn all over the floor, there’s no sign of a struggle.
My gun is drawn, and I clear the area, moving into the kitchen—also empty.
“Rory?”
There’s no answer.
Aidan said she was here…
I check over the courtyard before turning down into the first hallway.
“Rory?” I call again, louder this time, still on high alert.
I catch the faint sound of sobs before a door opens. I lift my gun but let it fall when Rory emerges out of her and Aidan’s bedroom, holding Remi tight to her.
“Daddy?” Remi calls, wiggling out of Rory’s arms and running to me when her feet hit the ground. I drop down, scooping her up and holding her tight against my chest while she cries.
“I’ve got you; you’re safe now,” I whisper to her, but my voice breaks.
“I want Mommy,” she sobs, and something inside of me cracks, my grip on her tightening.
“I’m going to get her too, baby,” I promise her. Running my fingers through her hair before looking up at Rory.She’s pale, shaking, but looking me in the eye.
“Who?” I try to keep my voice calm and steady, but all the grief and pain is funneling into rage and it’s only getting worse.
“I don’t know…” Rory says quietly, coming closer. “I didn’t see them—we were—Briar told us to hide.” She swallows. “They were—they were here forher.”
My jaw flexes. Just once.
“He took Mommy.”
My attention falls back on Remi in my arms.
“Who?” I ask her, but she’s quiet. “Baby, who took Mommy?”
“A bad man,” she whispers, burying her face in my chest again.
“Koen…”
My head lifts at the tone in Rory’s voice.
“I didn’t see them, but before we hid out in the courtyard, I—I could hear them, and they—” Her stormy eyes burn into mine. “They were Irish.”
88
A FAVOR
KOEN
I makea single call before I put Rory and Remi in the back of my car.
“I need a favor.”
