“Call me crazy, Ryder. Call me a psycho and you’ll be right, but no way am I shoving anything into a man’s ass.” He chuckles. “Arthur, on the other hand, has been asking for a promotion into our ranks for a while now.”
“Arthur? The bartender atScarlett?”
Broadway nods. “It’ll be a good way to check how much he can handle, don’t you think?”
“Run it by Carter first. Somehow, I don’t think he’ll approve of testing new soldiers with your sick ideas.”
Although given how much he wants Broadway’s wits back about him, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe he’ll green-light whatever the hell Broadway wants to speed the process.
He’s still level-headed on the job, but he’s also restless. As if he expects one of the still-breathing rapists will barrel through the door, looking for Violet.
No one would get near enough to lay a hand on her, but I think Broadway’s afraid any encounter with her past will set her recovery back.
“Any news on Bianca?” he asks, jutting his chin at her face occupying the top left corner of the screen.
“Not yet.”
Broadway groans, even though I bet he expected this answer. If I had anything, they’d know immediately.
“Carter’s becoming more exhausting by the day,” he says.
That he is. Whenever Hailey’s on edge, he’s not far off standing on his head to ensure she’s comfortable and calm again. It’s not easy when the half-sister she never met is on the run with the unpredictable ex-cop.
“He’s worried Vaughn’s using her the same way he did Hailey and Violet,” Broadway adds.
It crossed my mind, too, but I’m not sure how that would work. “He never physically hurt either of them.”
I click into the software running through the nationwide surveillance cameras I hacked. There are thousands, and Bianca’s face is being fed to them all, but so far, not one hit—not even a false alarm.
“Agree to disagree,” Broadway says. “He let Alex into Hailey’s life, didn’t he? Look how that turned out. Maybe Vaughn didn’t hurt the girls with his own two hands, but that doesn’t mean he’s not responsible. Facilitating Grey’s ventures for so long meant Noretto’s business flourished. Violet wouldn’t have made it to America if Noretto’s trafficking venture hadn’t taken off the ground, correct?”
“You wouldn’t be here, about to become a father and planning how you’ll propose if Violet never made it to America.”
Broadway nods, pinching the bridge of his nose. “She’s my everything. My reason. But I’d rather never have met her if it meant she hadn’t lived that nightmare.”
I get what he’s saying. It’s understandable. Violet did go through fucking hell, but Broadway’s forgetting she was already living a nightmare back in Slovakia.
Granted, a different kind of nightmare, but still.
“Everything happens for a reason,” I say.
“Yeah... seems the reason’s always Vaughn. Someone should kill the guy already.”
There was a time when I had Vaughn’saccidentaldeath planned in the smallest detail. Carter couldn’t pull the trigger as it would destroy Hailey, but I had the perfect solution.
Too bad Carter didn’t let me follow through with it, even though I could tell he loved the premise.
Unfortunately, no matter how Vaughn dies, Hailey will be devastated. He’s a sorry excuse for a father, a vile human, a cop fallen from grace...buthe’s still her father. Carter’s incapable of causing Hailey any distress, so for the longest time, Vaughn remained untouchable.
Thankfully, things change. After what he did last month, his immunity died a sad death. Even Hailey’s not protecting him as fiercely anymore. She doesn’t want him dead, but she no longer considers him a part of her family.
Vaughn lost himself somewhere along the way. He’s not the man he once was, and Hailey can see that.
Maybe I can revisit the accident idea with Carter...
4
Bianca
