Nick lay staring at the stained ceiling, absently stroking Sasha’s back as she curled against him like a kitten, soft and all but purring. The thought made him smile. Sex the second time had been even better than the first. He’d dragged out her pleasure, made her wait and claw and beg for it. Then she’d undone him with a talented tongue and her bedroom eyes until he’d shoved her on her back again and ridden her to a euphoric climax that still had him reeling.
He could handle fifty years of that with her.
First, they had to dispose of Walter Clifford. A glance at the clock told Nick that he and Sasha needed to be out the door to reach Josh Krandall’s house in about forty minutes.
Had they really been making love for the last three hours? As boneless as his legs felt, he believed that.
The cell phone buzzing on his nightstand broke into his thoughts. Nick snatched it up before the sound woke Sasha. “What?”
“Oh, grouchy. You’re either not getting any or I interrupted,” Xander teased.
“Neither.” Nick eased away from Sasha and headed to the desk, speaking in low tones. “You calling for a reason or just want to yank my chain?”
The younger Santiago sighed. “As much as I love to rile you, this isn’t a social call.”
Something about the way he said those words made Nick suddenly wish it was. “Harper?”
“She’s fine. But we’ve moved to a safe house the Edgington brothers have just to be certain.”
His gut tightened. “What happened?”
“Someone broke into your rental a few hours ago. They trashed the place but didn’t take anything.”
“Coincidence?” But even as the question left Nick’s mouth, he shook his head. No way he was buying that.
“What are the odds? I think they were looking for something.”
“The video. It’s reasonable to assume Clifford knows we have it.” Nick wasn’t sure how the asshole managed to work that fast, but he was ruthless and had power. And he was getting frantic—almost reckless—to find Sasha before Mike’s evidence leaked out.
“That’s my guess. One other thing you should know. They left graffiti on the walls that read You’re Going to Die, Bitch.”
Nick’s heart stopped cold.
“Fuck.” He looked over his shoulder to find Sasha still sleeping. “So Clifford also knows she’s with me.”
“Yeah. You need to wrap this up fast. If this DA already linked the house we rented to you, it won’t be long before they come sniffing around for Harper.”
Which also put London and Dulce in danger. Damn it.
“I’ll take care of it tonight. I’ve got to go.”
“Damn it, Nick. I know that tone,” Xander shouted. “Tell me your game plan. Don’t do anything stupid.”
Stupid? No. Just whatever was necessary to keep Sasha and Harper safe. “I’ll call you in a few hours.”
“Nick—”
He hung up. With his gut screaming at him, he lifted the laptop lid, clicking onto a local TV station for all the latest New Orleans news. There at the top, just as he feared, was a developing story. ADA Murdered At Stoplight In Broad Daylight.
Josh Krandall was dead.
Clifford wasn’t fucking around. The asshole had been tracking them most of the day. Nick realized the fucker must not know where they’d holed up now or he’d already be beating on their motel room door. But by cutting down the people who could help Nick, the bastard was sending a message.
Too bad for him Nick wasn’t listening. He intended to make the dirty DA pay for everything he’d done.
Nick mentally rolled through all his options. Going to the cops or the FBI was no bueno. Clifford was lining the pockets of the dirty ones, and how was Nick supposed to know who was clean? Hell, whoever the DA had been on the phone with in Mike’s video sounded like law enforcement of some sort. They’d discussed rigging a trial and killing Mike like it happened all the time. They’d think nothing of ending Sasha and her daughter. Sure, Nick figured he could try the press, but he didn’t have the kind of pull to get their attention, especially in a busy post-election season. If they ran with the story, it would be too little too late to save Sasha.
Raking a hand through his hair, Nick fixed his gaze on his woman again. What would life be without her? Could he live if the worst happened and he hadn’t done everything possible to save her and Harper?
