Page 86 of Risky Passion

He coughed hard and the sound rattled deep in his chest as his body shuddered with the effort.

“How did you find them?” I asked. “This place has been searched a dozen times over.”

“We need to get you to a doctor,” Tory interrupted, glaring at me like I was an inconsiderate asshole.

Whitney raised a hand, brushing her off. “I’m fine. What wereallyneed is to get these boxes out of here and?—”

“Hey, what about that skull?” I cut in, indicating toward the skull resting by Cooper’s leg. “Where the hell did you find that?”

Whitney let out a tired sigh, leaning back. “Well, it was attached to the rest of the skeleton, but I didn’t have time to grab all of him.”

“Eww, that’s disgusting.” Tory cringed, standing and taking a step back from Whitney.

“The body was in the basement with those boxes. If I didn’t grab something of him for evidence, the whole skeleton would’ve gone up in smoke.”

“So B lit that fire?” Tory asked, frowning.

“Yep. After she killed him.” Whitney nodded toward Cooper’s lifeless body where flickering flames cast wobbly shadows over his bloodied uniform. “I can’t believe he was involved in this bullshit,” Whitney muttered, shaking his head. “I liked him.”

“Eddie Walsh was involved, too,” I added.

“Eddie?” Whitney’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious? Where is he?”

“He’s dead.”

“Holy shit!” Whitney croaked. He shifted forward and spat on the ground, then his jaw dropped and his eyes flew wide. “Don’t tell me youkilled him?”

“Okay.” I shrugged. “I won’t tell you.”

“He tried to kill us,” Tory said. “But Jaxson stopped him.” She looked at me like I was someone worth believing in. And damn if that didn’t undo me. “It was self-defense.”

“Bloody hell!” Whitney slumped back on the ground. “This is fucked.”

“Eddie shot Tory.” I pointed to Tory’s upper arm. “How’s your arm?”

She tilted her head, and the flames shimmered in her eyes like molten gold. “I’m fine.” Her gaze locked with mine and my damn cock tingled.

Christ. I need to get moving. ASAP.

“Listen.” I dusted my hands on my pants. “We have to get out of here.”

“Well, we’re not driving out of here,” Whitney said, pointing toward his Tesla. “She shot my tires.”

“Yeah. I saw that,” I muttered. “We have Eddie’s cruiser. I’ll get it.”

As I took off toward the tree line, Whitney’s grumble faded behind me. Onyx trotted at my side, her tongue lolling out of her mouth.

“Hey, girl.” I patted her back. “I’ll get you a T-bone steak as soon as I can. Promise.”

She glanced up at me, her tail wagging faintly, and she gave her nose a quick lick as if she understood every word.

As I sprinted toward the cruiser, weaving through the shrubs, my mind raced, replaying everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. Everything was unraveling damn fast.

B hadn’t just lit that fire for the hell of it. She was intent on making sure that body and those files burned to ash along with the orphanage.

Which meant those files were fucking important.

It also meant they were worth killing for.

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