Page 4 of Dangerous Command
“They were like this when I came home.”
“You were at the spa today?”
She lifted her chin, staring me in the eyes, her body stilling into calmness.
“You think I did this?” she asked.
There were two Ms carved into their stomachs. It was clear who it was.
“I’m asking if there was anything strange that happened at the spa today.”
Her shoulders returned to those jerky movements, her whole body heaving.
“I did the full treatment. Nothing unusual,” she said.
“No calls? No texts?”
“Uncle Ray came by, brought me a bouquet from Gerard. Gerard usually brings them himself, but—” she started shaking uncontrollably. “Was Gerard already like this by then?”
I wasn’t a coroner, but the bodies were wet; they seemed fresh to me. Muro couldn’t have left more than an hour ago. Could have been hiding in the woods right then.
Clara started crying again, and Wil stood in the doorway with his wife tucked under his arm. The three of us moved to the hallway, giving Clara space.
“Muro,” Wil said. The front door opened, and Axe carried his girlfriend to his old bedroom before joining us on the top floor. He looked at the bodies, then quickly went back downstairs.
“Where is he going now?” Wil asked. Axe found his old room, then returned from it, holding his girlfriend in his arms. She opened her eyes wide, staring at the noise coming from the bedroom. Suddenly, she was awake.
My mother’s sobbing quieted. I glanced inside; she was lying in a heap on the floor. Growing up, I had always assumed my parents loved each other, and perhaps, in some ways, they did. But I was surprised to see her like this. My father had cheated on her repeatedly. And though he treated her well at other times, I never thought he deserved that kind of devotion. Loyalty, yes. That was part of being an Adler. But this sorrow?
Then again, my mother had never come home to a bed filled with two butchered bodies before.
“The rest of the men are patrolling,” I said. My brothers nodded.
“Have you told Ethan?” Wil asked. Ethan was our half-brother.
“I’ll deal with him later,” I said.
“Muro,” Axe said.
“How the hell did Muro survive the explosion?” Wil asked.
I took a deep breath. How would any of us know? All I knew was that I wanted Muro’s head impaled on a spike. Proof that he couldnevercome back to hurt my family again.
Because our family’s legacy depended on his death. And now, it was up to me to make it right.
I gathered my mother in my arms, carrying her like a child down to one of the guest bedrooms, where she could be away from everything. She cried silently into my shoulder. I let her down on the bed, found one of the spare blankets in the closet, then tucked her inside of it. Got her a glass of water.
Her eyes were open, but her gaze was lost, like nothing was there. I wanted to ask if she would be alright, but I knew she wouldn’t be.
Instead, I said, “Call me if you need anything.” She didn’t move.
My phone buzzed again.Uncle Rayblinked on the screen. I closed the bedroom door behind me, then answered.
“Yeah?” I said.
“Got the shipment, Boss,” he said. The word ‘boss’ weighed on my shoulders for the first time. Many of our men had called me ‘boss’ for years. Now, it wasn’t an affectionate name for the soon-to-be leader. With my father dead, I wastheleader.
“Everything all right?” Uncle Ray asked.
