“Need you here now,” Dex commands, reeling off an address before ending the call. I know what he’s gonna say before he finishes because it’s the same warehouse I followed him to and Dean went and watched. Although he said it was empty and nothing was there.
I sit up, careful not to disturb Lily.
Dex said he’d call in the next couple of days but all has been quiet since then. Although I’ve been waiting for the call, I’ve enjoyed being in the warehouse with Lily, knowing she’s loving what she’s doing here, not only that but she’s getting ready to take her GED.
As soon as she mentioned it again, I knew I had to make it happen, sooner rather than later.
Thoughts of what she’ll do—what she had planned to do—roll through my head, reminding me I need to talk to her about it. Not right now though. Right now, I need to get to the location.
Pulling on my jeans and a t-shirt before I shove my feet into my combat boots, I stare at Lily and call Ty.
“Yeah?”
“Dex called. I’m leaving now. Location is the warehouse.” I don’t say anything else before ending the call and walking around to Lily. I place a gentle kiss on her forehead and smooth her blond hair out of her face. Her features scrunch up before she rolls over, her arm reaching out for me, only I’m not there.
I wait, watching until she’s fully settled again before walking out of the room and out of the house, making sure to lock the door behind me.
The birds are just starting to chirp as the sky lightens. I run to my SUV before starting the engine and speeding out of there. It’ll take at least an hour to get to the location and I shoot Dex a text to tell him this.
There’s been talk in the bar about this showdown—Dex expecting Darrell to show his face—but I doubt it’ll happen. Afterall, we thought we were dealing with Darrell when we weren’t. This could be our only chance at seeing who he actually is.
I clear my mind of everything as I pull up to the location at the abandoned warehouse, cars and bikes everywhere, but not one person in sight.
Making sure my gun is within reach before I push out of the SUV, I leave the door open in case I need to escape quickly and walk over to the warehouse door that’s half open. I hear voices, shouting, a couple of gunshots and then silence.
“He fucked me over!” Dex screams. “I don’t get fucked over. Tell me where the hell he is!”
Silence.
I walk in, finding James tied to a chair with blood pouring out of his knees.
“Where is he?!” Dex screams again, standing over him, and when he notices me, he straightens up. “Bury him,” he demands.
What the hell have I just walked into?
My gaze flicks to James and back to Dex. “What happened?”
His nostrils flare. “You in on this, too?”
I reel back. “What did you just say?”
“You heard me.” He steps away from James and walks over to me. “You in on this? Fuckin’ me over?”
“I have no goddamn idea what you’re talking about,” I growl out.
He watches me for several seconds before heaving a breath. “He intercepted my shipment,” he grunts. “He thought he could get my weapons. Only he didn’t account for my men.” I look to my left, spotting several of the guys with blood on their clothes. “Thought he was clever but he left his crew behind.” He chuckles. “And now you’re gonna bury him.” He points at James. “Fucker won’t give him up, so he gets put in the ground… alive.”
I keep the expression on my face neutral before stepping past him and toward James. I’ll do as Dex says if it means I don’t blow my cover, but we need this shitface alive. Without him, we don’t have any leads and we’ll yet again be on the back foot.
Crouching down in front of him, I tilt my head to the side. “Give him up and this will go a hell of a lot easier.”
“Fuck. You.”
I shrug. “Your funeral.” I stand and keep my calm mask in place but inside I’m seething. “Literally.”
He keeps his gaze locked with mine. His eyes burn with rage, but behind it I see nothing but loyalty, and I know it’d take more to break him than a couple of gunshots.
“Carry him out,” I tell the two guys to my left when I turn to face them.