Page 47 of The Hunted

“That doesn’t matter. I have my sources. You know as well as I do I want him dead.”

Lazz’s last comment comes out with such venom, I have no doubt he wants him dead. He has every reason to, but so do I.

“Look, I’m sorry I’ve been so fucked up. It’s just a lot to handle sometimes. I came to see you and she was there. She just,” he exhales a shaky breath, “she just reminds me so much of her.” He hangs his head as he rubs the back of his neck.

“She isn’t her. You fucked up. You will stay the fuck away from her or I will slit your throat. You get me, Lazz? We had an agreement where my father is concerned. I intend to hold up my end. Do you?”

“Yeah, I got you.”

“You let me know if you hear anything else. If my father is back, we need to be ready. Understood?”

“Yeah, understood.”

I holster my gun as I head for the door.

“Bane, take care of her, man. Protect her with everything you have. You only get one shot at it.”

I nod my understanding. Lazz speaks from experience. That, combined with what went down with my mother has me utterly convinced Raven is my one shot at any type of happiness.

“Plan to, brother.”

I close the door behind me and head back to my quarters. Ace needs the update. We need things even tighter if my father is around. I have no doubt he will be coming to pay a visit.

I dial his number. Ace picks up on the first ring.

“Yeah.”

“Ace, get the girls and staff rounded up and off the grounds immediately. My father is close by. Clear the grounds in thirty minutes.”

“On it.”

Before I can tuck my phone back into my pocket, it rings.

“Corrado.” I greet coolly down the line.

“Bane, I couldn’t locate the girl. She’s gone missing.”

“Missing? How the fuck is she missing?”

“Her prior host was found mutilated, almost beyond recognition. This was something that would have taken hours to do, by the way. The killer, well, let’s say he looked like he really enjoyed what he did. We believe the killer took the girl.”

Host. Nice, generic term for sex trafficker. Piece of shit.

“Christ.” I rake my fingers through my hair, trying to understand where Scarlett could have gone and why someone would have taken their time in killing her captor before taking her. Images of watching my father gut a man come into my mind. How he delighted in chopping off body parts while the man was still alive.

Fuck.

“Anyone have eyes on her?”

“No, Knox. She’s ghosted. I’ll call you soon for that favor.”

“Yeah, I know,” I muster before I hang up.

A sense of dread fills me. I need to get Raven off the grounds to a safe place, now. It’s my only concern at the moment. I won’t let my father anywhere near her. Lazz is completely correct on the fact that I need to protect her. If anyone knows what horrible things Vaughn Bane is capable of, it’s me and Lazzaro Mondragon.

I open the door to my quarters. It’s quiet. Raven must still be sleeping. I can’t be at ease with her in danger, as much as I don’t want to be separated from her. I open my bedroom door and find an empty bed.

My heart stops. My skin grows cold and clammy. Panic, a feeling I haven’t experienced in years, settles in the pit of my stomach.

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