Page 21 of Vengeful Devotion
“There’s nothing special about these murders. They were killed execution style. Each shot in the back of the head. The shell casings I found are common 9mm. In short, we have four brothers to bury and no evidence to solve their murders.”
“God damnit.”
“The moment I can get into the warehouse, I’ll start looking for the security tapes.”
“Don’t bother,” Balor interrupts. “There’s nothing salvageable in there. It’s all gone.”
Just as I thought. It’s a damn good thing I don’t keep my entire stash all in one place. I’ve got guns and drugs scattered all over this city. There’s no way for my enemy to know where they all are. Balor and Dean don’t even know some of my hiding spots. In my business, it’s best not to trust anyone. That applies to everyone. Closest friends or not. Family or not.
“I can check the servers at the estate,” Dean replies. “But it’s unlikely we’ll find anything.”
“Do it. Let me know the second you find something.”
“Got it.”
I turn towards Balor, “What did Chief Angelo have to say?”
“Whoever started this didn’t bring any accelerant. Right now, it looks like they used the Irish Whiskey shipments. Lit up enough crates to bring the whole place down.”
I can’t help but chuckle. Not because any of this is funny, but because I’m imagining the joy, I’ll feel when I find this fucker and l light him up.
“What?”
“I’m going to make sure whoever this is swallows flames right up until the second their lungs give out. I’ll make sure they suffer.”
“You always do, boss… You always do.”
Guilt screams at me. Edging out the roar of rage for a moment. I look towards the man I consider a brother. His cold blue eyes so confident. That confidence shakes me. If he knew the truth, he wouldn’t have that look in his eyes. He believes in the man I am. How would he feel if he knew what I let Warren get away with? He’d probably try to kill me himself. I suppose I would to. But I have too many people relying on me. Letting them down would be worse than my actual crime. At least in my mind. Not that the people relying on me would hang around after finding out the truth. No one wants a weak leader. But if I don’t get this mess under control, they’ll see one, anyway. And all my hard work over this last year to keep this organization together will be for nothing.
“Declan, you good?” Balor’s voice brings me back to the present.
“I’m fine,” I snap.
Balor gives me a look. One I know as the, ‘I love you as a brother, but I will break your nose if you talk to me like that again,’ stare. It surprises me. I thought for sure the last time would’ve taught him a lesson. One bullet in the foot doesn’t appear to have changed his attitude.
“Go home, Deck. We’ve been out here for hours. Go clean yourself up and take a minute.”
“I don’t need you to handle me, Balor.”
“There’s nothing more you can do here. None of us can. We need to get out of the chief’s way and go home. There are no answers here.”
I know he’s right. I don’t like it, but he is right. There’s nothing for me to find here. If I want answers and trust me, I do. This isn’t where I’m going to find them. I wouldn’t even know where to start looking. But lucky me, I have a sister who’s even more connected to this underworld than I am. She’ll know where to go.
“Fine,” I bark. “But get Vivi on the phone. Tell her to meet me at the casino tomorrow night. She’s going to help me find this sick fuck.”
Balor nods. “Have Danny take you home. I’ll ride in another car.”
I turn towards the car, my long strides eating up the distance between me and the door. The moment my back hits the seat, I catch Danny’s gaze in the mirror. It sets off an inferno of rage in my chest. The memory of him so close to Gemma this morning replays in my head. I’ve been too busy to think about this all day, but now it’s hitting me. My fists clench, my attempt to stop myself from reaching for my gun. Danny must feel the murderous vibe because he doesn’t say one word the whole ride home. He’s probably thinking the tension is just because of the fire, but it’s much more than that. I have a protective streak for Gemma. I’ve felt nothing like it before. And it’s only grown over the past few weeks. I know what type of man Danny is, and he’s not good enough for Gemma. No one is.
I say nothing to him as I climb out of the car. My mind focused on one thing now, checking on the girl who consumes a little more of my mind each day. I walk through the house to my mother’s office. Barely knocking on the door before swinging it open.
She looks at me; her face instantly melting in concern. “Declan, are you okay? Was anyone hurt in the fire?”
I look down at myself. My white button down has ash and sweat stains. I can’t imagine the rest of me looks much better.
“I’m fine. But we lost four of the night guards.”
“What the hell is going on?”
