Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 126580 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126580 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
How that made me feel—I couldn’t think on it because that meant I’d killed . . .
I couldn’t think on it. I would someday, but that wasn’t today. That’s where I was.
Because of all of that, Leo’s funeral was disgraced, and barely anyone went to it.
Bear’s was another story. He had a few relatives, not many, but a few. They wanted to keep the funeral small. I’d gone, but I’d sat in the back. The after-party at his pub was over capacity, but no one was going to report it. Not on this day, not for Bear.
That’s where Detective Worthing found me, at one of the back booths in Bear’s place.
Val and Reyo had just left. He went to the bar for drinks, and Val went to the bathroom. I saw Brian when I first walked in, but considering that it was out about Trace and me, he’d not come over. I wasn’t expecting it.
“Surprised you showed up tonight.”
I cocked my head to the side. “What do you want?”
His lip curved up, and he let out a small laugh. “Right.” He leaned back, his hands going into his jacket’s pockets. “My brother’s missing—”
I shot forward. “Did you coordinate those raids on behalf of OC or your family?”
He stopped talking.
Then Detective Worthing jerked forward, and his eyes got mean. “You wanna point fingers here? Whose bed did you get up from this morning? Whose bed are you going to be in tonight? You want to bring my family into this, news flash. They already are. Where’s my brother?”
I leaned back, my eyes narrowed. “I was cleared of both shootings. I was also asked to return to my job. I am not dirty.”
He snorted, mirroring me and leaning back too. “Not yet. The only reason you’re allowed to come back to work is because you didn’t warn your boyfriend. That was a test. Now. Where the fuck is my brother?”
“The 411 Network has them.”
His eyes widened, and he went still.
“Kelly reached out to me, said they were scared for their lives. She did not go into detail, and I didn’t ask, but considering she came to me, I’m thinking they weren’t running for their lives from Trace’s family.”
“You’re lying,” he said through gritted teeth.
“I’m not. And you know as well as I do that when the 411 Network gets involved, those people are smoke. Your brother and my best friend are gone.”
Worthing sucked in a breath, making a hissing sound.
“They’re alive, but they’re gone.”
His gaze was heated, but he didn’t move for a moment. Then, slowly, he raised his head up, almost looking down his nose at me, but he was conflicted. That made me feel a bit better about Detective Worthing.
He didn’t say another word, but he stared long and hard. “You know. Bear didn’t know you were staying at your mother’s. Ever think about that?”
I went still. Stock still.
No.
What Worthing was implying—no.
I shook my head, the words spilling out because he was wrong. He was guessing and making a go at me. It wasn’t working. It wouldn’t work. “You’re lying. What you just said. You’re lying.”
His eyes flashed. “You sure about that?”
Leo was sent to kill me. Bear was . . . he was wrong. “We got into his phone. Leo was at his bar earlier, and he overheard Leo’s conversation. He was there to stop him. That’s why he was fully masked, because he was trying to get the drop on Leo. And he thought I was back in Manhattan. That’s why he didn’t notify me. He didn’t have enough time. It’s all on his phone, in case something happened to him.”
Worthing blinked once. “Right. Whatever helps you sleep at night, Montell, but you know he would’ve had time to send you a text. Or dial 911. You know he had time.”
What a dick. How dare he say this to me about Bear, in his bar.
But—no. Bear was good, and I’d killed him, and I’d have to carry that cross from here on out. I growled, “Get the fuck away from me.”
After sliding out of the booth, he stood at the end of the table. He was still studying me.
Val was coming back, about to slide in where he had vacated. She paused in midsquat, taking in the silent perusal between us until she moved in. Reyo was behind her, coming in with a beer for himself and a beer for me. He slid in, also taking in the stare-off before he slowly placed the drinks on the table.
He cleared his throat. “What’s going on, guys?”
Worthing’s eyes narrowed to slits, right before he turned, and I watched him make his way right back outside Bear’s Pub.
“Do we need to know?” That was Val’s quiet question.
I was still watching the door. “You don’t want to know.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Her seriousness filtered through to me, and I turned to see her watching me back, just as serious.