Page 5 of Murder & Mayhem
“Shit. I’m the wrong brother to deal with this. Jameson, you said you’re looking for Bailey, right? Your brother? I can helpyou find him, but I can’t do that if you don’t fucking breathe. Don’t let this fucking asshole get to you. Trust me, I get what it’s like to come face-to-face with your childhood nightmare, but don’t let him win. You’re stronger than this. Just breathe. If not for you, then for Bailey. He needs you.”
Bailey needed me? I gasped, my lungs burning as air filled them.
“That’s it. Good boy. Nice and easy now. In and out. Like that. So fucking good.”
My eyes flew open, and I hadn’t even realized they were closed. The stranger knelt in front of me, and somehow, we were both on the floor in front of Joey’s chair. On my knees . . .
I scrambled up so fast, the world spun. My breakfast, the last meal I’d eaten today, threatened to come up, even if it would be only bile by this point.
“Easy, Jameson, you’re okay.”
But I wasn’t. I never would be. “C-can’t kneel. Not here. N-n-not in front of him.”
I didn’t need to say anything else. The stranger’s face softened even as something hardened in his eyes, like he understood. Fuck, maybe he did. I still had no idea why he was here.
“Okay, that’s okay. You can stand. Take it easy, alright? You almost passed out. I don’t want it to happen again.”
It hit me then that this guy I didn’t know at all was showing me more concern than anyone ever had in my whole life, except Bailey. It also occurred to me that he knew both my and Bailey’s names.
I staggered back a few steps, trying to create some distance. “Who are you? How do you know me?”
“My name is Dominic,” he said very carefully, like he was trying to settle a scared colt. “And I don’t know you.” He tapped the earbud in his right ear. I hadn’t even noticed it. “My brother Ari is a computer whiz. He did facial recognition on you, and when you said Bailey, he was able to put it together.”
I frowned. “How? We should be hidden.”
“Ari is really good at his job. But I swear, I’m not here to hurt you or your brother. I’m here to take out the trash.” He gestured to an unconscious Joey. I guessed he really had punched him. “We thought he’d be alone. I know it’s hard to believe, but I want to help. Let me help you find out where Bailey is and then kill this jackass for you.”
I had so many questions. Who were these people? He’d done facial recognition on me in a few minutes? How could I possibly trust him?
“How’d you do it so fast? Find us? I thought facial recognition took a while.” I had no idea how this would determine whether I could trust them, but I had to make sure Dominic was telling the truth.
Dominic’s expression faltered a tiny bit, and I tensed, preparing to fight someone way more deadly and trained than Joey. But I could never defend myself against him.
“Ari hacked into the cameras in Byrne’s house a few weeks ago. He’s been scouring the footage for evidence of his crimes. It’s something we do before we take this step. You and your brother are on there a lot. I’m sorry.”
That . . . made sense. I already knew he had more footage of us than I could ever hope of getting rid of. So many times, I’d thought about going on the dark web to try and find our videos, but I could never take that step.
He could be lying. Dominic and his brother were clearly dangerous. I shouldn’t trust him. But I needed help. I couldn’t find Bailey on my own—this disaster of an attempt proved that. I had to take a chance.
I didn’t have to trust him forever, just long enough to findout where Bailey was, and then I could get away from Dominic somehow and get my brother. We’d have to run again, but that would be okay. As long as he was safe, that was all that mattered.
I met those dark eyes that were somehow both dangerous and comforting. “O-okay. Please help me.”
CHAPTER 3
DOMINIC
“Iswear, Nicky, you better not give me any crap the next time one of my jobs doesn’t go as planned.”Gideon laughed in my ear.
“Fuck off,” I grumbled.
Jameson’s eyes widened, and I realized he thought I was talking to him. “What?”
“Oh shit, not you. My dumbass brother.” I tapped the earbud.
“Right. Sorry.” Jameson tightened his arms around his chest. He looked so small and young and vulnerable, and all these protective instincts that typically only came to the surface for my brothers were rearing their ugly heads.
“Nothing to apologize for.” I turned from the young man before I gave in to my intrusive thoughts to wrap him in my arms and never let go. “So normally, I’d check the house before getting this far. But shit happens. I’m assuming you confirmed Bailey’s not here?”
