Forty-One
Ian
My tires screeched as I flew out of the parking garage. Adrenaline surged, seeping into my muscles that flexed and bowed, at the ready for a fucking fight.
My sight clouded with rage, and my heart thundered with fury. I pushed the phone button on the steering wheel and instructed it to call Mack.
He answered on the third ring, voice groggy from sleep. “Ian, man, what’s going on?”
“Heading to Bennet’s office. Meet me there. Pretty sure that’s where I’m going to find the proof that he and Reed have been working together. Wasn’t some fluke that those pictures of me were snagged at that club. Lawrence and Reed are involved in some major shady shit.”
“Pull over. I’ll meet you.”
“Not going to happen. I’m going. Bring backup. And get a cruiser to Grace’s house. She isn’t safe.”
“Shit.” I could almost see him scrubbing a big palm over his face to break up the sleep. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. I just need the papers to prove it.”
“Give me five, man. Then I’m out the door and on my way to you. I don’t want you to do anything that will get you into trouble.”
Cold laughter rippled out. “Think it’s too late for that, my friend. Just get down there. Be prepared to do your job, no matter what.”
Worry bled through the line, Mack’s hesitation thick. “What are you saying, Ian?”
“I’ll see you in fifteen.”
I ended the call and flew down the street. Ten minutes later, I screeched to a stop at the curb in front of Bennet’s office. Didn’t even try to hide my car.
This wasn’t about going covert.
This was going all in.
The last thing I had to give.
Heart hammering wildly, I grabbed my phone and tapped out a text.
Me: An officer is on their way to your house. Stay put, don’t let anyone inside until they’re there. You’re not safe.
Even though it was the middle of the night, her response was almost instant. Like she’d been lying awake like me, tossing in torment.
Grace: What’s happening? Are you okay? Are the kids okay?
Me: It’s all going to be okay. I promise you. But I need you to be extra careful right now.
I bit my lip, knowing I shouldn’t do it, but I was unable to stop myself. Not with what was getting ready to go down. My fingers flew across the screen.
Me: If I could be a better man, I’d be him for you. If I could live a better life, I’d live it for you. I’m sorry for bringing this burden on your family. They are beautiful, Grace. The most amazing people I’ve ever had the honor of knowing in all of my pathetic life. Keep writing your story. Hold them close. Love them hard. That’s the way I’m going to forever love you. Goodbye, Angel Girl.
I pushed send, threw open the door of my car, and slipped out.
Cold blasted across the fire that burned my skin and that adrenaline sloshed as I strode toward the building.
Didn’t give two fucks when I grabbed one of the decorative rocks and smashed in the pane of glass to the side of the door. The sound of it crashing to the ground echoed through the night.
An alarm started to blare.
So loud.
So loud.
It only amplified the determination that lined my heart like a coat of steel. The willingness to do absolutely anything to save that family.
Guessed I hadn’t really understood what that meant until tonight.
What it was really going to cost.
Everything. Everything.
I didn’t care.
I stepped through the broken window in the brick wall, glass crunching under my feet, ducking down beneath the dangling shards that still hung from the upper frame.
I blew right by the front office desk and went for Bennet’s office, which was locked up tight for the night. I picked up my foot and kicked it in. It flew open, wood banging against the interior wall.
I strode in like I owned the place, going right for his computer and punching in the same password as I had the last time I was there.
Only, this time, I knew exactly what I was looking for.
The alarm was deafening where it blared in the small room, stampeding my heart even faster.
Like every scream urged me to hurry.
I clicked open the file that was encrypted and moved through about fifteen options for passwords before I found the one that was right—a combination of Bennet’s phone number he’d had when I’d met him and his mother’s birthdate.
The file popped open.
Vomit pooled and sloshed.
Had to give the asshole credit. His blackmail skills were on point.
There was a copy of the same picture Grace had managed to smuggle out originally.
Reed down on the docks with the armed guards.
Only there was another one that had clearly been taken at the same time, Lawrence caught whispering with someone off to the side as they inspected the opened crates that had been brought up from the bowels of Reed’s ship.