“Yeah,” Nico said, his voice raspy, from smoke inhalation.
“There’s an ambulance over here.” One medic helped him up and asked him about his pain.
He glanced at Autumn over his shoulder. It looked like her friends had finally arrived. Nico allowed the paramedics to patch him up and give him oxygen.
Did he need to call someone?
Would he like to go to the hospital?
He wasn’t listening to anything the paramedics were asking him. His eyes were on Autumn. He wanted to make sure she was okay. And he wanted to know how this happened.
Behind the police tape, a stranger with sunglasses watched the flames engulf the house until it collapsed. But the smile drooped and turned to a scowl. Autumn’s arms were full of the fur of the animal he trapped in the back room.
You were supposed to die.
If it weren’t for the fucking lawyer, the stranger’s plan would have been complete. Not only would she lose her home, but something she loved most in the world.
“Why can’t the bitch suffer?”
He didn’t look at his partner. But he knew those red lips would twist in a sneer and her eyes slit within the hoodie she wore. This one wanted Autumn Taylor gone just as much as he did, but she had different reasons.
The stranger wanted vengeance for the death of his father.
This one wanted… money.
What was the saying? Money is the root of all evil.
The stranger smirked.
Not always.
Sometimes a death had to be avenged with another death.
“We have to find another,” the stranger mused.
His partner turned to him, “It can’t be another family of the Big Three. You don’t play with the mafia.”
A red eyebrow rose over the sunglasses, “Scared they’ll come after you or your business?”
She made a hmphing sound, “They don’t know me. No one knows I’m involved.”
The stranger looked back at the scene where Autumn allowed someone to tend to the cat. She was right on the medic’s heels like a mother hen.
His lips twisted.
No, no one knew yet. Autumn Taylor was a smart girl, though. It wouldn’t take her long to put two and two together.
He and his partner in crime still had time before that happened.
“What the hell happened here, Autumn?”
Autumn kept her attention on Dune as he rested comfortably in one ambulance. They gave him some pain medication and antibiotics for the nasty gash on his side. It didn’t surprise her the Savannah cat attacked Scala like he did. Dune wasn’t comfortable around men. After being attacked by a stranger, the cat would lash out at anyone he wasn’t familiar with.
“Autumn, answer me, damnit.”
Autumn finally tore her eyes away from Dune to look at Hererra. His hair fell in waves, from running his hands through it. There were brackets around the corners of his lips as he pursed them. His brown eyes were bright, as his glare barely pierced through her.
She turned away from him and looked at the mess that was no longer her home. It wasn’t really a home, anyway, she thought. There were only a few rooms, so she could eat and sleep. It wasn’t like she relaxed anyway with the work she did.
