Shattered (The Protectors 11)

“We can’t risk tipping the cops off to look at it as something more,” I said.

“We can’t,” Ronan agreed. “But Declan probably can. He’s the one who arrested Cortano. If he can find anything that shows Cortano and Jennings were still in contact in the past couple of years, he can feed that to the cops in Bethesda.”

I knew who Ronan was talking about. Declan Barretti was a captain in the Seattle Police Department. He was also the brother-in-law of Dom Barretti, Eli’s adopted father. Declan and Dom had both been present when Eli had admitted that Jack had raped him repeatedly as a teenager.

“Are you sure he won’t figure out Caleb was the one who was at the Jennings’ house that day?” I asked.

“I have no doubt he will figure it out,” Ronan said. “But Caleb’s family, and if we’ve learned anything about the Barrettis, even the ones who are a Barretti by law and not blood, you don’t fuck with their family.”

Mav nodded in agreement.

“I’ll talk to him,” Ronan said.

“I’ll have Daisy see if she can find a link between Jennings and Jack that’s more recent. If Jennings panicked after Caleb showed up and reached out to Jack, it would explain how he knew Caleb was no longer in Seattle. It would have been the perfect time for him to silence him.” Mav looked at me and said, “We found a tracker on the rental car we used in West Virginia. I was the one who rented it. Jack probably knew I’d be one of the people going after Caleb and had someone scanning all the rental car agencies for my information. We had the car delivered to the airfield we landed at – the tracker was probably already on it. I’m sorry, Jace. It never even occurred to us to check it.”

I shook my head. “It wouldn’t have occurred to me either,” I said. “I shouldn’t have insisted on radio silence,” I added. “I panicked.” I shook my head. “I can’t stop seeing that laser sight on his chest. If I’d moved just a fraction of a second slower…”

Ronan put his hand over mine. “You didn’t. Nothing else matters. You got him back here and he’s safe now. Jack isn’t getting another shot at him.”

I nodded. “I need to ask you guys a favor. I need to go back to Germany for a few days. Can Caleb and Willa stay here?”

I realized after the question that I hadn’t even pointed out that Caleb and I were together now and that he would be staying with me going forward. Hell, Caleb and I hadn’t even had a chance to talk about what would happen once things settled down. I hadn’t even given thought to where we’d end up. Though after everything that had happened, I was pretty sure that the where was the easy part. Caleb’s family was here.

And, as it turned out, so was mine.

I just hadn’t realized it.

“You can’t go after him, Jace,” Ronan said.

I sighed. Leave it to Ronan to know what I’d been referring to. “He killed my sister, Ronan.”

“And he’ll pay for that, but you won’t be anywhere near him when it happens. You’re one of the first people the cops will point the finger at.”

“They won’t make the connection,” I insisted.

“Yes, they will,” Mav said softly. “We have a source who works for Interpol. He’s confirmed that Petrov is already on their radar and that an arrest is imminent. He’s also confirmed that a body was discovered in one of Petrov’s known dumping grounds – the body matches Maggie’s description.”

I felt my heart sink. Even though I’d believed what Silver had told me about seeing Maggie die, a tiny part of me had wanted to believe he’d somehow gotten it wrong.

“You supplied DNA to the Berlin police, so they should have confirmation that it’s Maggie within a couple of days. If the time comes, I’ll go with you to claim the body,” Ronan said gently.

I managed a nod. “Petrov’s got ties to the Kremlin. We all know he won’t serve a day behind bars.”

Mav and Ronan exchanged glances. “We’ll be taking care of that. But the police will connect Maggie’s death to Petrov. You’ll be their first suspect if something happens. The plan is to use them as your alibi.”

“Who, the Berlin police?” I asked.

“You’ll be at police headquarters in Berlin answering questions about your sister when Petrov is terminated. We’ve already got someone in place. He’s just waiting for the order,” Mav explained.

“It’s the surest way to keep you with your family, Jace. Nothing, not even revenge, is worth risking losing Caleb and Willa, is it?” Ronan asked.

I automatically shook my head. He was absolutely right.

Which meant I had to rely on these men to take care of everything. To give my sister justice, to help me bring her home, to keep my new family safe, to make sure I came back to them… it was a hefty ask, but I already knew what my answer was.