“I’m fine. What happened?”
There are at least eight armed men in the room with us, and that becomes nine when Ty takes his place in front of the fire.
He gestures at the couch. “Sit.”
We do. Gable takes my hand and runs his thumb over my knuckles, his heated glare fixed on Ty.
Ty notices the gesture and smirks. “Nailed both brothers? Nice.”
My cheeks burn hot. “Fuck you.”
“She’s feisty.”
“She’s also a great shot, so I’d watch your fucking mouth if I were you,” Gable hits back.
Pride flares in my chest, and Ty ignores the comment. “You’re probably wondering who I am.”
“Not really.” Gable leans back into the couch comfortably, and I want to mirror his nonchalance, but I’m stiff as a fucking board.
Ty smirks. “I’m one of the Winchester five.”
Silence. I blink and glance at Gable, expecting some kind of recognition from him. He’s completely expressionless, until he raises his brows. “Am I supposed to know who that is?”
Ty blushes. He actually blushes. “Fuck you. Everyone has heard of the Winchester five.”
“Sorry.” Gable drapes his arm on the back of the couch behind me. “Not ringing any bells. Not as famous as you think you are.”
Ty’s jaw tenses, and I find myself almost biting back a laugh. He’s bright red now, and I half expect him to pull out a resume.
“We killed Senator Alton,” Ty says, and waits, as if this will suddenly jog Gable’s memory. Gable just shrugs. “We … we took out the Black Snake crew in Texas!”
The quiet that follows his statement is uncomfortable as all hell, because it’s clear Gable has absolutely no clue who this man is.
“Black Snake crew?” I ask Gable. “Did you and Asher have a nickname, too?”
“We didn’t need one; our reputation was enough.”
I smile proudly. “Good.”
He grins.
Ty claps his hands together to get our attention. “You may not know me, but I bet you know what this is.” He dips his good hand inside his suit pocket.
And pulls out a USB stick.
Gable tenses beside me, and I glance between the device and Ty. “You have the drive.”
“Yes, I fucking do,” he says, brandishing it smugly. “You weren’t the only pretty brunette in that building that knew Barnaby.” I frown, then my skin chills as he holds up a phone. It has a case on it that I recognize. Ty makes his voice higher, “‘Am I a bad person if I have feelings for someone so soon after Asher?’ It was fun texting with you. How do you think we found you? You really shouldn’t sendphotos and information via text, Ella. You have no idea who’s on the other end of the phone.”
Tears burn my eyes. “Where is she?”
“Your friend Matilda? Oh, well, she was a fighter. Just popped back to the apartment before heading to France, apparently. Claimed she knew nothing, but she did. She knew of a security guard who got fired for stealing packages just like you did, Ella. Turns out that security guard had the drive all along.”
I feel dizzy. Sick. The room seems to soften, to fade.
“Where. Is. She?” I whisper through gritted teeth.
He pouts. “She died.”
