Page 4 of Five Fingers of Death

“Tell Eva not to let anyone else get involved in this shit.”

“She’s not running things at OPS.”

His eyes narrowed slightly as he shifted his weight. “Then who the fuck is running things?”

“Lock. Eva appointed him to lead so she could focus on other things.”

“Like what?”

“Saving your ass,” I said pointedly. “Getting Knight and taking care of Isabelle. Taking care of your kids. Is that not enough?”

He glanced away, his shoulders tense and his whole body filled with rage. It was as if nothing had changed in the time he’d been gone. The bags under his eyes had grown darker and the rough edge he always had to him had now turned to steel.

“Anything you want me to tell her?”

He shook his head. “Don’t even mention you saw me.”

“You don’t think she’d want to know that you’re safe?” I hissed.

“She sent Knight. She knows I’m fine.”

“There’s a difference between believing and knowing,” I pointed out. “She believes you’re safe with Knight. What the fuck are you doing, anyway?”

I could see the burning need to tell me. There was something going on that he really wanted to fill me in on, but with a flick of his eyes over my shoulder, that all went away. I would bet a million dollars that if I looked over my shoulder, Shadow would be waiting somewhere around the house.

He wasn’t going to give me jack shit, not until he had whatever he needed to move on.

“You should get going. You have a little girl to take care of now.”

“So do you.”

He shook his head, kicking at the ground just once before glancing back up at me.

“Give me something,” I urged. “Fucking anything. Tell me something I can take back and give the guys so they know this isn’t all for nothing.”

“This is about me. None of you,” he growled. “I will not stop until they’re all fucking dead.”

“Who?” When he didn’t say anything, I lost it. “Did you know they shot Kavanaugh?”

His eyes snapped up to meet mine. A sort of crazed look came over his face, filling him with a rage on a whole new level.

“Yeah, while you were gone fighting everyone else, you left us here. The senator is dead, and when they killed him, they went after Kavanaugh. He was shot in the neck.”

“Did he live?”

“Now you’re concerned about —”

“Did he fucking live!” he shouted, getting in my face.

I didn’t back down—never would for anyone, not even Cash. There were some things I just couldn’t take, and the way Cash was shutting everyone out was going beyond what anyone should give. I’d learned that the hard way, and that lesson was just repeated as I walked into the house and found Leah dead.

“If you want to know, find out yourself.”

I shoved past him and got into the front seat, glancing in the rearview mirror at my baby girl. She was already asleep in the car seat Knight had installed. I prayed she’d get enough sleep on the drive and wouldn’t be haunted by whatever she might have seen or heard over the last few days.

I didn’t even know her name. I glanced over at the lockbox in the seat beside me and then at the jewelry box. With any luck, the key would be somewhere in there. If not, I’d have to crack it open when we got home. But now wasn’t the time to take a peek at that.

Putting the car in drive, I headed down the driveway, leaving everything behind. I shoved down all the memories and feelings for Leah. That would all have to be examined at another time when I didn’t have a four-year-old to take care of.

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