“You took your time getting back to me. Should I be worried?” It’s a loaded question because my patience is so fucking thin right now. All I want to be doing is driving over and slitting his throat.
Keegan’s hand clamps over my knee, stilling it so we can all hear better.
“I can’t be jumping to your demands, Ronin. I’m caught in the middle of an investigation and have been in a debrief at police headquarters for hours.”
“Ahh, so what is it you’re investigating?”
In the distance, I hear his hollow footsteps. Beside me on the floor, Tynan’s fingers are racing over the screen as he searches for Black’s signal.
“You’ve seen the mess on the streets, right, Ronin? Or is your head only in things that concern you?”
“And you’d be meaning what?”
“I’d be off my head if someone important to me was at the pointy end of a kill order. Especially one given by the great Paddy O’Connor. He’s still our Boss, right?”
“I’m struggling with your tone and disrespect, so you might be needing to repeat the shite that’s spilling from your fucking mouth, Black.”
“Maybe you’re right, Ronin. But again, it doesn’t seem like the time is right for us to be arguing over manners, when we’re all working on doing our part to bring peace to the streets.”
“Stop fucking Nancy-ing around and forgetting who you work for.”
Rafferty’s legs wrap around my waist from the back. He’s doing everything in his power to keep my erratic anger as tame as possible. His movements stir up his scent, but also Tally’s, and it’s exactly what I need. Still, it’s a bitter pill to swallow, as is knowing a part of my wife’s ring finger is in a gift box. It’s a sight that will haunt me until I’m taking my last breath.
“My apologies, Ronin,” he says. But it’s clear in his tone, he’s anything but sorry. “We’re all stressed and snowed under. Arthur Kelly’s death is a concern for the Garda. It's where a lot of manpower is currently being funneled, and I’m not managing this one. I’ve got a Superintendent wanting arrests urgently. I managed a call through to Paddy earlier, though, and let him know our key suspect is Tally. It looks like she’s been working on the sly with Walsh, the bar manager from O’Malley’s.”
I grit my teeth, trying to keep the rage out of my voice. Keegan’s hand clamps harder, and Rafferty pushes his head against my back, scenting up a storm. His brother holds up a note that gives me a place to tunnel my anger.
Black and the Fanning brothers aren’t showing up on any network that Tynan has hacked. And they’re definitely not at police headquarters as Black suggested. They’re shielding theirlocation, and if that’s not the workings of a guilty man, I don’t know what is.
“Best let you get on with your job, Black. I apologize if I’m in a prick of a mood, but put yourself in my shoes, won’t you? I’m positive you’d understand what it’s like trying to see things clearly if your loved ones were being threatened.” I take a quick breath, not letting him speak. “If you’d do me a favor, though, take my call when I ring back. I’ve already had to remind Doyle how life works. I’d hate to have to repeat myself.”
I hang up, seizing back control from the slimy prick.
“You recorded the call?” Keegan asks Tynan.
“Aye. I got it all. If we need to go, I can strip the layers back in the car, see if we can pick up any background noises that would help us figure out where he’s holed up. And who else is involved.”
Keegan stands but stays close. His strength is pouring off him in waves. His Alpha is eager for blood to be spilled, and if anything, it reinforces again that we’re cut from the same cloth. Touching my hand to Raff, I tap his arm, and he lets me go in an instant. I love him with everything, but right this second, I need Keegan.
Like it’s always been with us, there’s no question or judgment, just a place for me to fall apart for a few fucking minutes. Burying my face against Keegan’s neck, I take his scent from the source, letting it become the air that fills my lungs and pumps through my veins. His sugar and cinnamon smell levels my anger to something more manageable, while his strength crushes me and holds me together.
“We’ll find her. I vow it.” His mouth is against my ear, his words said just for me.
He’s never made a promise he didn’t keep.
His hands pull me up from where I’m hiding, and he searches my eyes to make sure I’m the Alpha I need to be. His lips tip everso slightly, and even though our fucking world is falling down around us, when he slams his mouth to mine, he reminds me how far we’ve already come in loving each other. And how far we’ve got to go.
Tynan and Rafferty leave us alone. I appreciate them both for their respect, but I need them with me too. I walk over to grab the pink box off the side table to go see where they are.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, that’s macabre even for you, Ronin.”
“It’s our wife. It’d be wrong to leave any of her behind. Honestly, it’s not like you can talk. I’ve seen you rubbing and sniffing that tracker of hers.”
“Aye. And Tynan looks ready to tackle me for it each time.”
We need the humor, as dark as it is. Keegan sobers up as I do.
“I vow it, Ronin. She’s coming home with us. No matter what state we find her in, she won't ever be alone.”
