“We’ve dealt with traffickers before, Murphy.”
“Not like this,” he said. “In fact, I don’t want to touch this.”
“So we don’t fucking touch it. Give what you found to the trafficking unit in Houston and move on,” I pushed.
“Buddy, wehaveto touch this,” he whispered, his eyes hard. “We don’t have a choice.”
“You’re absolutely certain this will touch her if we don’t?”
He nodded slowly, his shoulders falling. “I know you don’t want to—”
“Of course I don’t fucking want to,” I growled. “I just got her. I finally have her, Jake. You don’t get it. Fuck. I can’t lose her, not again. I won’t survive it.”
From somewhere down the hall, a door opened and closed. Both of our heads snapped to the door just in time to see Dominic lean against the frame. He gave us a small nod, the bags under his eyes darker than before.
“What are you doing back?”
He held up his phone. “I’m here to convince Ash to do the right thing,” he answered.
“I don’t want her in danger.”
“Then she won’t be,” he replied. “You can take her somewhere. Anywhere. And we’ll contact you when the threat has been neutralized.”
“We don’t know who the threat is.”
“We’ll find him. Whoever killed Kolby is not only a threat to her, but to our family. To Astoria. That town is too small to have a murderer.”
“I can’t sit this one out. I can’t ask the four of you to fight this for me.”
“Good thing you don’t have to,” Jake jumped in. “We’d do it either way.”
“And if one of you gets hurt because of this? Because of my desire for her?”
Dominic smiled. It was gentle and patient. “What’s between you and Angel is more than just lust, and you know it. We all know it. There’s a deeper connection there, and you two should have the right and freedom to explore that.”
“You can’t do that if someone from Benson’s old circle is still hunting her because he didn’t get the memo that you killed his boss,” Jake deadpanned.
A flicker of surprise passed over Dominic’s face. “You told him?”
“I told everyone,” I confessed, shrugging a shoulder. I pointed at Jake. “Also, not possible. I took care of everyone Benson was involved with.”
“How?” he challenged me, bracing his hands on the table. “By stealing my laptop? After years of searching, you expect me to believe that you just magically found Benson on your own?”
Dominic’s eyes cut to me and then back to Jake.
Jake, being fucking Jake, clocked that shit. His head tilted to the side, eyes narrowed on our friend. “You know something, don’t you?”
“I know things because I have to,” he replied. “Patient-doctor confidentiality.”
Jake’s warm eyes turned cold, his gaze locked on me. “What am I missing?”
“It’s none of your concern,” I told him, biting my jaw.
“The fuck it isn’t! I want the truth. How did you find him?”
I shook my head. “I’m not dragging you into this.”
Jake pointed at Dominic. “But you can drag him? Spare me the fucking bullshit, Doss.”
