Who the fuck were these people? How did they get to Connor? Why him? Most of all, how the hell could I keep Georgie clear of this?
“And Robbie?”
“Dead. I killed him the second he walked out of jail,” Kai said.
“Jesus Christ. She thinks he’s alive. That you’re trying to find him. You’ve been lying to her.”
“And you’re not?” Kai huffed. “Come on, Deck. You’ve known Connor is alive for months and yet you haven’t told her.”
“You’re keeping her on a leash by telling her Robbie is alive. You’re using her.” I’d have to tell her about Robbie and Connor. Fuck, neither was going to be a good conversation.
Kai shrugged. “You can look at it whatever way you want. Bottom line—I’m saving her from them.” Then his voice lowered and lost that slight accent. “I was there when she was sixteen and damaged by that fucker. You weren’t.” Now, that was a fuckin’ stab right in the gut. “I saw what he did to her, what it still does to her, and I wasn’t letting him walk free after that.”
“The cuts.” I closed my eyes, a wave of sickness breaking through my usual steady calm. Then in a sudden abrupt movement, I hauled off and landed Kai on his ass with one punch. This time, Tyler stood back and watched. “I don’t care if she begs you. And fuck whoever you work for and fuck Connor. Georgie doesn’t get involved in this.”
Kai lay on the ground a second then reached out his hand. Cocky bastard. I yanked him to his feet and he smiled. “Too late for that. She’s been involved for ten years.”
“Get her uninvolved.”
Kai shook his head back and forth. “Lionel is dead. Who do you think is responsible? Don’t know for sure yet, but I’m thinking it’s who I work for.” Shit. “Georgie stops doing assignments, they’ll know and they’ll send someone after her. My guess will be Connor. You can imagine what that will be like for her, having her dead brother showing up to kill her.”
“Jesus Christ.” Tyler got up and walked away, his hands in his hair as if he was pulling it.
I didn’t say anything. I fuckin’ couldn’t; my throat was locked up tight.
Kai stood and the scrape of the chair against the stone echoed. “And just so you know how serious these people are.” I noticed his jaw clench and his hands curl into fists at his sides, not gestures Kai usually displayed. “The girl, London, who I asked you to find in New York … is now theirs. They didn’t like it that I hired you guys to find her.”
Fuck. That was why Kai wouldn’t try to find her himself. Why he brought us to New York and asked us to look quietly for London and then, if we found her, to hide her until he contacted us. He didn’t want whoever he worked for to know he was looking for London. Shit, was that why he’d left her in Mexico when he could’ve easily gotten her out himself? “Why do they want her?”
Kai shrugged.
But I knew why. I knew how people like this worked. Kai showed a weakness for the girl, and that wouldn’t be taken lightly. Weakness led to failure.
There wasn’t much of a choice here. Whoever he worked for was more powerful and had more contacts than I did. There was no chance I could begin to put a dent in some organization that faked the death of a JTF2 officer.
“I won’t keep this from her, Kai.”
“And I won’t kill you.”
I snorted and shook my head. “Why tell me this? Georgie seemed to think if she told me anything, you’d try to kill me. Was that a lie to keep her in line?”
“No. I would’ve. But now I want something.”
“London,” I said beneath my breath.
Kai nodded. “Yes. But if there is any indication I told you about them … that Georgie knows more than she should, we’re all … I’d like to say dead, but it will be more wishing we were dead.” Kai’s hand smoothed down the front of his shirt and the scars accentuated through the material. “And it won’t be pretty.”HALF AN HOUR later, Deck came in the bedroom. He nodded to Vic who’d been silent the entire time I was pacing the room and shooting him dagger eyes. The guy had the gall to laugh at me then dared me to try him when I eyed the door.I didn’t, of course. No matter that Deck and I were together now, I wouldn’t have put it past Vic to tie me up and throw me in the closet. After he’d shut me up by putting my head in the toilet.
Vic did, however, smile at me when he left, but his smile reminded me of a hot boogey man.