“Sven’s the leak.”
Dad grabs me and throws me against the wall. “You better be able to back that up son.”
“He came into my office and tried to say that Lief failed the hit. That it was Lief who let the girl go. But why would Sven bring Lief if it wasn’t Lief who was meant to grab?”
My father’s hand shakes. “Where is your brother?”
“Fixing your fucking problem because you couldn’t see it. He thought it was Sven yesterday. Lief has had his suspicion for nearly three days. What’s your excuse for missing it when you’re supposed to see everything?” I snarl.
“Get the fucking girl,” He orders, releasing me. “Then we can deal with this.”
“Another innocent life because of your fucking incompetence.” I quote something he told me when I was twenty.
I feel his gaze on me, but I have more important things to deal with. Valerie needs to get where we can protect her. Sven may be less lethal than Lief, but that doesn’t mean he won’t take her out and deliver her dead body to my father instead of her, living, breathing, promising not to talk.
If he kills her, it’ll be a race. Lief, Hunter, and I will fight over who gets Sven’s blood. I get halfway to my office before my phone rings. I get a room number and head to the hotel. I go to the room, but I find the door ajar.
There are signs of a struggle. I see Valerie’s I.D., I see her taser on the floor, a broken lamp, a TV that’s been dragged down. No blood. I don’t know if that’s good or bad. Then I get to the bathroom. The mirror is broken and there’s blood here, splattered on the sink and floor.
When I turn, Lief is there.
He stares at the blood and his jaw ticks as his foot bounces. “It’s not Valerie’s.”
“How do you know?”
He nods to a piece of glass on the floor. “She used it as a weapon.”
“How do you know!” I demand, turning on him.
I don’t know when I got this fucking possessive. When I got this wrapped around her finger, but if she’s hurt, I’m going to bring down the entire fucking organization. Lief takes my hand. “Think about her for one minute. We told her someone was after her. She checked in here under cash. She refused to make a phone call longer than four minutes.”
“She’s been on the run before,” I whisper.
“That mirror,” he nods to it, and then I see a bra with glass splinters in it. “She broke it to get a weapon.”
“And Sven would fall for that?”
“He wouldn’t expect it. He doesn’t know her.” Hunter says, joining. “There’s blood on the back door. I’m grabbing the footage from the owner. He’s taking the bribe.”
“I know what car he’s in,” Lief murmurs. “Already have a tracker on it.”
“Did he know?”
Lief rolls his eyes. “Distracted him with cocaine.”
“Any reason he’d take her?” Hunter asks, wearing a familiar mask of calm. He definitely got that from our father.
“To cover his ass.”
“Any reason he’d keep her alive?” I counter.
Lief takes a slow breath and puts his hair up. “To pin our asses to the wall. She won’t give him answers though. We know her. Think of how she dealt with you, Hunter.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.” He hisses. “We need to find her before Sven cuts her throat for her attitude alone.”
But I shake my head. She’s smarter than that. She’ll feel him out. She got Hunter to spill about his life. Lief’s opened up to her. She’s a chameleon and she knows how to take advantage of the moment.
“She’s smart,” Lief murmurs. “She’s got longer than most.”