This world is fucking brutal.
“Did Jeremy tell you who I killed?” I ask.
“No, he didn’t. You know what he’s like. He gave us a heads-up and hinted he wasn’t sure the warrant was genuine.”
I cock an eyebrow. Charles Vaughn using dirty tricks to get me into an interrogation room? Now that’s a twist I didn’t expect.
The dread filling my chest ebbs away, replaced by a cold, calculating focus.
“Are you surethisis your call?” Dante asks, leaning back in his seat. “You know where the safe house is, Carter. If you get in your car now, you can be there in three hours.”
I grab my drink, swirling the amber liquid in the crystal glass. Any other day, disappearing would be my priority. I’ve made it eight years without wearing cuffs, and I’d prefer to keep it that way, but I’m out of options. Vaughn’s my last resort. He knows where Hailey is and hewilltell me even if the confession is the last fucking thing he ever says.
He wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t connected Nash Wright with Carter Willard, which gives me hope the corpse isnotmy girl. It gives me hope that she told Vaughn about me, which would be my confirmation that he has her. That she’s safe. Out of my reach, butsafe.
Right now, confirmation is worth its weight in gold. Without it I might lose my sanity.
I don’t have a single solid lead. Not one concrete piece of information. It’s all wishful thinking. If something happened to Hailey, if it’s her murder I’m being accused of—
I inhale a sharp breath, numbing the pain tearing my heart wide open. The mere thought that she’s dead fucking wrecks me.
“I’m staying,” I say, throwing a hefty sip of Bourbon at the back of my throat. “Vaughn knows where she is.”
Dante’s features pinch but, of all people, he understands the risks I’m willing to take for a chance to find Hailey. For a confirmation that she’s safe.
The not knowing, the uncertainty, has been eating me alive since I found her room at Lakeside empty.
A minute passes, stretching like bubble gum pulled between teeth and fingers, before Dante bobs his head. He gets it because Layla’s his entire world. Not one material or immaterial thing matters more to him than her so I bet he can relate. He walked a mile in my shoes eight years ago. Heknowswhat losing your meaning means.
“Fine. We’ll do it your way. I’ll brief our lawyer. He’ll start preparing a line of defense in case the warrant holds up.”
Even if it does, Michael Foley will dismiss the charges before dawn. He’s the best lawyer in Chicago, strictly on Dante’s payroll, and as skilled at burying evidence as Jeremy Smith.
Not that he’ll have much to bury; I haven’t killed anyone lately... save for Jensen, but there’s no way Vaughn knows that.
“Don’t send him out yet. I get one phone call, don’t I?”
“Yes, you do. I’ll wait for your call.”
The characteristic beep sounds again, letting us know the rest of the entourage is coming. Just as the door handle rattles, Dante summons Broadway’s attention.
“Not a word out of you,” he says. “And stop pouting.”
“I’ll be fine,” I add, hiding my smirk behind the glass.
“You better be.”
2
CARTER
“What’s with the one-on-one meeting?” Nate asks, his gaze idling between Dante and me as he enters the office, Ryder hot on his tail, followed by Jackson, Rookie, and Koby. “Getting a head start?”
“You could say that,” Dante admits, settling behind his desk from where he always commands the meetings.
“Before we get into the briefing...” Jackson takes a seat opposite mine, jutting his chin at me, blissfully unaware the shit’s about to hit the fan, “...is Hailey still a priority?”
“Have we found her?” Dante asks, his eyebrow arching in silent challenge.
