Everything went black.
Angel.
Anima gemella mia.
Don’t leave me again.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Angel
Ash had been taken.
Kidnapped.
The last two hours of my life had been a blur of nightmares and pain.
We’d just finished watching a recording of Ash’s abduction, taken on his phone. He triggered the distress signal on it when this man, Tucker Fitzgerald, found him at my spot. Jake said that if anyone on the team triggers an SOS on their phone, it will send an alert to all Red Snake members, and the phone will automatically start recording. Ash knew what to do and he left the phone at the scene for me to find. Along with a few drops of blood. The video was clear at first, then Ash let the phone fall onto the ground, covering it with his boot. All we had after that was audio…shocking and damning audio.
This man had been trying to kill Ash for years.
And Dominic just confessed that Ash had gone to Tucker for a favor after I came into town.
Tucker had helped Ash find Alan. He was the reason Ash was about to avenge me.
“What?” Hayes barked, his nostrils flaring. “He told you that, and you didn’t—”
“Patient confidentiality, Mitchell,” Dominic said, his voice cold. “I had no other choice.”
Jake’s roar nearly shattered my eardrums as he flipped the conference room table on its side. It landed on the floor, and the bang triggered Red Snake’s break-in alarm. My hands slapped over my ears as I watched Jake, my vision blurred, my eyes stinging as the alarm blared. The image of Tucker, a frozen frame from the video was still on the screen. He had a shaved head and a black mustache. His eyes were gray blue, filled with so much hatred it scared the hell out of me. That, paired with the scarred half of his face, was enough to fuel my nightmare for years.
“God dammit, Murphy,” Grayson shouted, prowling toward him. Hayes was there too, coming in like a ghost. Both of themslammed Jake back into the wall. Margo, who was holding my arm, flinched, and Carrie covered her mouth to stifle a whimper. My eyes searched for Dominic, but he’d disappeared. Hayes was in Jake's face, holding his head and talking low, his green eyes practically on fire.
The alarm cut off and the half second of silence was filled with Grayson hushed words to Jake. “We’re going to find him, but you need to keep a level head. I’m not going to lose anyone today. Do you fucking got me?”
Jake glared back at him, both of their chests heaving. Hayes shook him, and Grayson barked, “Do you fucking understand me, Murphy?”
“Yes.”
Hayes and Grayson stepped back. All three of them looked across the room to me, and my breath caught. “This is all my fault,” I rasped, tears streaming down my face. “I should’ve told him to meet me at Rossy’s.”
“Then you and Carrie would have been taken, or worse, killed,” Dominic said, coming back into the room. His sleeves were rolled up, his hair combed back, eyes cold. “Tucker Fitzgerald is bad news, Angel. He would’ve killed you, Carrie, and Rossy without so much as a second thought. I need you to understand that.” He stepped closer, his eyes scanning my face. “Release your guilt. It won’t help any of us.”
“Who the fuck is this Tucker guy and why are we just hearing about him?” Margo asked. “Ash has never once talked about his time in the military. I’ve never heard of him. Carrie, have you?”
Grayson’s eyes landed on Carrie. “No, she hasn’t,” answering for her.
“Please tell me you have something on this fucking guy,” Margo pushed, letting go of me and walking over to Jake’s mess, various papers crunching underneath her Doc sandals. “Hayes, please.”
He nodded, moving to her. “We do, Temper. We’re going to find him.”
“How the fuck did Tucker convince him to go into Devil’s Den?” Grayson asked, putting his hands on his hips.
“I don’t think it was him,” Dominic said. “There’s another player here.” His indigo eyes landed on me. “Ash would’ve asked questions if he ran into Tucker the day he found Angel.”
“Dominic is right. Tucker is a puppet master.”
“Then why reveal himself now? Why not send someone else to get Ash?” Hayes asked, folding his arms over his chest.
