Page 65 of Silver Sinner

Here, I don't care who he really is or how he found me. All that matters is he did.

I don't care about anything other than the fact that Maddie is safe, and so am I.

Pierce stays with me and before long, painkillers and his presence lull me into such a deep sleep that I barely notice him slipping away in the middle of the night.

24

PIERCE

Leaving Layla is one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make, but I can't cope knowing the bastards who did this to her are still out in the city somewhere.

I can't breathe.

Not until those fuckers are dead.

"Tell me you know where they are," I bark at Moses as soon as I step out into the garage and join him.

"I know where they are," he replies. "Assuming they haven't sold the necklace yet, we're closing in on them."

"No one moves until I get there. I want to do this myself."

"Understood." Moses sends a quick message from his phone while opening the car door for me. I take my seat and finally let out a sigh that's so deep it's like I've been holding my breath since I first saw her on that bed.

"How does this happen?" My words are tight and clipped as Moses slips into the driver's seat. "How does anyone get that close to her a second time?"

"We spoke to the shadow on her before he went into surgery. He was doing a perimeter scout and engaged one of the men while another took him out with a crowbar from behind." A note of worry laces Moses' words. "Given his injuries, they hit him a lot when he was down. I spoke to the owners of the restaurant and they explained that someone in a blue mask came in and threatened them. She knew the name of their son, so they were too scared to call the police when they heard the gunshots."

"Blue mask," I repeat. "That was Amy. Her friend."

Friend.

I have enemies that wouldn't even pull shit like that, especially when there were kids involved. I fall quiet for the drive through the city, my focus on my phone where the live CCTV feed plays across the screen, showing me that both Layla and Maddie are fast asleep and safe. It's the most I can ask for right now.

"I'm going to kill them," I mutter under my breath.

"I know," Moses replies.

"Death isn't enough. It's bad enough that they touched her, but the way she looked at me while telling me she was worried she was a terrible mother…. As if any of this has any bearing on whether she's a good mother or not. I'm so fucking—" Anger cuts my words off in a rush of heat that prickles along the back of my neck and down my spine.

I'm going to make them suffer.

"Here we are." Moses pulls up the curb outside a closed convenience store where several of my men mill about the sidewalk, armed and waiting. "The necklace is in the apartment above, owned by someone called Drake."

"Drake?"

"The same Drake that's all over Amy's social media. He's gotta be the drug-dealing boyfriend."

"Figures," I mutter darkly. "Any word on the third?"

"Not yet."

"Well let's go and ask Drake, shall we?"

A ripple of tension moves through my men as I climb from the car and stride toward the side door leading up to the apartment. It's like they can see the waves of fury pouring off me as sharply as I can feel it, like acid in the back of my throat. Every muscle is tight and rigid, every step stiff enough to lock my joints. I storm through the door, climbing each step with barely any time to think or breathe. The closer I get, the stronger the murderous urge swells in my chest.

Reaching the door to their apartment, I lift my leg and slam my foot into the lock. It crunches open with a clatter of metal and wood, swinging open so violently that it bounces off the wall and comes back at me. My shoulder catches against it as I walk through with Moses behind me. Music abruptly cuts off and a distant yell rises from within the apartment.

"Yo, what the fuck?"