I pick her up when she tries to protest, tearing through the house and out the door, sprinting along the side path until we’re out on the street. In full view of anybody who cares to look. More exposed and safer at the same time.
Caylon pulls to the curb while I’m seating her in my car, and I wave him over. “There’s a video playing inside. Rosa thinks Andy is on it.”
“The dead guy?”
The door opens as Rosa tries to scramble out and I give her a warning look before slamming it shut again. “I’m taking her home. Once she’s safe, I’ll come back here or anywhere you want to meet me. If you can track Andy’s connections, we might find the guy we’re looking for.”
He gives me a dull stare that I feel to my soul. “Like I haven’t been doing that already?”
“There’s three bodies in there,” I add like they’re an afterthought.
Rosa rolls down the window, holding out her phone. “This is the number he called me from,” she explains. “Can you trace that back somehow? It belongs to…” She struggles to swallow before trying again. “It’s Harry’s phone but if you can trace—”
Caylon takes a shot of the number. “I’ll see what I can do.” He turns to look at the house. “Gonna be straight with you, man. I’m not keen on going in there alone.”
“Don’t,” Rosa says before I can answer. “He’s still around here, I know it. The kettle was hot, he’s rigged something with the tv, he’s using Harry’sthumbto…”
But she can’t finish the thought.
“It’s bad,” I summarise. “Get some of Stefan’s heavies over here or follow me home and—”
“He’s on his way here already.” Caylon glances over his shoulder at the nondescript house. Nothing visible from the street to suggest the carnage inside. “Believe me, I’m happy to wait outside. I’m too pretty to be a hero.”
Rosa stares at him, open-mouthed for a second, then bursts into semi-hysterical laughter.
Caylon rolls his eyes at me. “Get going. I don’t need your girlfriend making fun of me. The only reason I’m here is the alternative was watching repeats of terrible movies with my mum.”
Right now, I’d swap in a heartbeat.
On the drive home, all the other drivers annoy me. I lay on the horn more than I ever have in my life before, breathing a sigh of relief when I finally pull up to the gate and type in the code to enter.
“Stay with me,” Rosa begs when I escort her to the door and inside. “Please let your friends deal with whatever it is. I don’t want you putting yourself in danger.”
“I’m already in danger.” The words were meant as a reassurance, but they miss the mark.
“You can stay here. You should stay here. This whole thing is like a horror movie and the first rule is, never split up.”
“The first rule is never have sex because you’ll be the first victim.”
“Damn,” she mutters, still clinging to my arm. “Guess we’re both goners, then. We should go upstairs for another quickie since we’ve already signed our death warrant.”
I pull her into my arms, hugging her like it’s an Olympic Sport. “We’ll find him. I promise. We’ll find him and put him so far in the ground even the devil won’t know where he’s gone.”
“Can’t we just call the police?”
“And tell them we’re also killers, but their side’s worse?”
“Something like that.”
“Stefan employs a lot of heavies for protection. I’ll see if he can rustle up half a dozen to come here as an added layer of protection.”
“Is that their official job title?”
A laugh escapes against her hair before I press a half dozen kisses on the top of her head. “My job title’s bouncer if that sounds better.”
I take her chin and tip it back, claiming her lips with a soft kiss that soon grows deeper. I’m like an old knight riding off to battle, staking a claim so he has someone to fight for, someone to return to.
When I release her lips, I keep my forehead resting against hers for a few seconds longer. “Don’t open the door to anyone unless they identify themselves. It’s okay to turn people away. If they’re working for our side, they’ll still protect you, even if they’re locked outside the gates.”
