Her shoulders slumped. “For how long?”
“Until you’re safe,” I said it with confidence, but inside I was burning up. I knew he was close. He had the kind of resources that I struggled to comprehend. Yeah, he was getting desperate and risking his place at the FBI, but if he got to Hadley and had her killed, it wouldn’t matter.
He would take his place as the leader of the Shadow Syndicate, and would no longer need the FBI. He would essentially be one of the most powerful men in the country, and that’s exactly what he wanted. It was also something that the FBI couldn’t offer him.
It was all starting to make sense.
He didn’t want a future with the Bureau. His aim was power and money and greed. The FBI had helped him get to the point where this was possible, and now Hadley was the last piece of the puzzle he needed to make his dreams a reality.
My eyes brightened as something struck me.
We were going about this the wrong way.
We were attempting to work our way through Judge and the FBI and have him cut off and withdrawn from his position. But in reality, that was what would happen eventually anyway. His end game wasn’t the Bureau, it was the Syndicate.
“I’ll be right back,” I told Hadley, kissing her softly on the cheek and rushing out of the room. I took the stairs two at a time. When I reached the top, I spotted Angelo standing outside one of the doors, the woman from last night, Emerson, in his arms.
He was speaking to her softly, one hand coming up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
I cleared my throat.
They both looked to me. Emerson blushed and stepped away. Angelo frowned, whispering to her quietly and using his hand to guide her back inside the bedroom before closing the door behind her.
He walked toward me. “Hope this is good.”
We walked side by side back down the staircase. “There might be something you can do to help.”
“Enlighten me.”
“Where are we going?” I asked Leo as we said goodbye to Angelo and climbed into the truck. There were two cars with us as we pulled away from the house, one in front, the other behind, both carrying Angelo’s men.
“To the airport,” he said simply. His brow was furrowed as though he was calculating things in his mind.
“Are we flying somewhere?” I asked, admiring the landscape around us as we drove.
“Back to Athens.”
I switched my gaze to him. “Am I missing something here?”
He shook his head. “Let’s just get back to the club. The boys are expecting us, and I need to make a plan with Optimus.”
I frowned. “Leo, just tell me what’s going on.”
“Just trust me, please,” he said, his eyes flicking to mine briefly. “I need to talk this out with the boys before anything is solid.”
I was frustrated but in a weird way, happy to finally be going back to the clubhouse. With Leo and I on our own, I knew he would protect me, but if Simon came and brought men, we could be severely outnumbered. Back at the clubhouse, Leo had his brothers to back him up. They would put their lives on the line to protect him and keep him safe. I allowed my body to slump into the seat, feeling a little more relaxed.
His hand reached over, resting on my thigh. I placed my own hand over it and linked my fingers through his. It gave me comfort.
Pulling up outside the airport, I suddenly turned to Leo. “What are we going to do about Blizzard’s truck?”
He grabbed his bag out of the backseat. “We’re going to leave it here.” He opened the door and climbed out, I followed suit, making my way around to his side as he stopped and talked to one of Angelo’s men, shaking his hand and saying thanks. He came to my side, grabbing my hand and leading me toward the door that said departures.
“Isn’t Blizzard going to be mad that you just ditched his truck in an airport, states away from home?”
The airport was small but busy. I held tightly to Leo’s hand as he pulled me toward the ticketing desk.
“Tickets to Huntsville, Alabama,” he said. The lady smiled and began tapping away on her computer.