“I was right. I’m going to advise you to provide Miss Nickels with a security detail. Manning is extremely dangerous, and he’s been targeting you folks with some type of vendetta.
“The bastard is sick. You should watch your back as well. I just thought you needed to know,” he says.
I’m wide awake now. I sit up and swing my legs over the edge of the bed. I’ll kill Manning if he tries some bullshit with Zah. A broken jaw will be the least of his worries.
Rage runs through me, causing my head to throb. I see red. Just when we’re happy, and everything is going great, here this asshole comes. Not on my fucking watch.
I’ll take Manning’s head off. He hasn’t even seen how bad my temper can get. I close my eyes and take a calming breath.
“Hold on, Fred. I need you to tell me exactly what’s going on. Why do you think Zah isn’t safe? What’s Manning up to?”
I already know I’m not going to like whatever he has to say. I brace myself anyway. Gritting my teeth, I listen and allow him to explain.
He releases a heavy breath. “Like I said, I’ve been keeping an eye on him. He tried to murder his friend and left him for dead in his apartment. He would have died if I hadn’t been on Manning’s ass.
“I got into the apartment after Manning left and found the guy bleeding out. I got him to a buddy of mine in time to save his life.
“The guy asked me not to reveal he’s still alive or his identity, so that’s all I can tell you at the moment about that. However, he was very forthcoming with details of what Manning has been up to.”
“Were you able to verify his story? Can you trust his word?” I quiz.
“I’ve verified every word. It all checks out. I wouldn’t have called you if it didn’t.”
I nod my head as if he can see me. I had to ask and make sure. I know from experience people will bullshit you when they have a motive.
I try to figure out who this friend of Gilbert’s could be. He didn’t have a lot of close friends back in high school, maybe one or two who stuck around during college that I know of. Fred continues as my thoughts race to connect the dots.
“It seems he’s wanted to get back at you for years. He’s also wanted Miss Nickels for himself. He had been scheming to marry her for his inheritance, but he didn’t plan on letting her out of the marriage once he got the money.”
I scoff. “How the hell did he plan to pull that off?”
“The bastard is a lunatic. The feds are already on him, and some other nasty characters are hunting him down as we speak. I just don’t want him to get to you guys before they get to him.”
“Thanks for the heads-up, Fred. Are you available for the job?”
“I could be. I have a few guys I trust who I can bring in. From what I know, this guy has bodies on his hands. No one has heard from Christen Manning in weeks. His uncle, Theo Manning, is also missing. There’s also information linking him to the murder and disappearance of his own father.”
“What the fuck?”
“I’m telling you, this guy is unpredictable and highly dangerous.”
“I’m going to text you Zah’s current location. I want eyes on her as soon as you can,” I bite out.
“I’m on it. Be safe, Coswell. Congrats on the chip.”
With that, he hangs up, leaving me with my head spiraling. Snapping out of it, I quickly shoot off a text with Zah’s location. I can’t believe this shit.
Gilbert is fucking crazier than I thought. However, when it comes to my family, I can be crazy too. I’m not about to allow him to take everything from me.
I look at my sleeping son and my heart squeezes. Zah could be pregnant with our next child. My priority is to keep her safe.
I dial her number just to hear her voice and make sure she’s okay. I don’t want to alarm her, but I need to at least hear her. It only takes two rings before she picks up the line.
“Hey, babe. You guys finally up?” she sings.
“Hey, baby. I’m up. Aaron is still sleeping. I’m about to wake him and get us something to eat.”
“Cool, I should be home soon. One of my services had to be canceled. You want me to pick anything up for you?”
