“Are you stretched too thin? Do you want me to call my brothers down here to have some extra hands?”
“If we don’t hear from Dom tonight, I’ll call Luca myself.”
“Okay. What can I do?”
“I want you here, keeping her safe. These guys are vicious. And they’re going to be extra motivated to find her now. You’re strapped, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t think they’d be messy enough to bring a shooting to a hotel with the level of security there is here. But I want to be prepared for any possibility.”
“Alright. I’m heading out,” he said, draining one coffee, then reaching for another. “Figure your girl will be out cold for a while, so I’m stealing this. Keep your phone charged. Think shit will be coming in fast now.”
With that, he was gone.
On the one hand, I felt guilty. I wanted to be out there helping.
On the other, though, I wanted to be exactly where I was.
I made my way back into the room, plugging in my phone, then climbing onto the bed with Roe, just holding her as she slept, half watching the TV and half watching the damn bruises on her face darken with each passing hour.
As they did, I knew down to my fucking marrow that the bastard who did it had to pay.
And I wanted to be the one to cash in.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Roe
I woke up disoriented.
A migraine was jackhammering behind my eyes. My temple and jaw were screaming in pain And my mouth felt weirdly cottony.
There was just a moment or two of misery before it all came rushing back.
Work, the attack, the questioning, beating, escape, Milo taking care of me, then waking up from a bad dream to him pulling me tighter and reassuring me I was safe.
I was in a hotel with him, hiding out.
Except I wasn’t with Milo anymore.
The spot next to me in bed was empty and cold to the touch. He’d been up for a while.
And judging by how bright the sun was streaming in through the windows, I could see why.
How long had I been out?
But then I remembered the two pills Remo had shaken out of a bottle with his brother’s name on it and into my hand.
That explained the deep sleep.
And the weird feeling in my mouth.
I climbed off the bed, feeling various other aches and pains in my legs and back from being partially trampled on the Boardwalk outside of the casino.
In the bathroom, I inspected the damage, seeing how deep the blue and purple bruises had gotten overnight. My eye was bloodshot, too. And my lip was still pretty fat, even after all the ice.
I used the extra toothbrush Milo had set up for me, did my best to tame my hair, then made my way out of the bathroom.
