Page 45 of Shattered King

“Now he needs the painting to save his ass,” I said. Lulu had told us how Pierce thought she had it, how bad he wanted it. We’d assumed Robert, Pierce’s brother, had it all this time. Lulu had no idea where it was, and we had no leads, no clue to what had happened to it. Which meant Pierce was getting desperate. He’d obviously planned on doubling his money, selling privately as well as getting a fat payment from Union City Insurance. Now the asshole was wanted by police, which meant he couldn’t get into his bank accounts when, and if, the payment came through. We already knew what the motherfucker was capable of, but backed into a corner like this, shit, who knew what he’d try next.

“We need to find the painting before he does,” I said. He’d blow out of town faster than we could blink. I wasn’t letting him get away from me. “Maybe it’s time we brought Robert in. Asshole has to know something.”

Neco shook his head. “Robert and his wife have left the country. Extended vacation. Fucker knows his brother only has two roads outta this mess—a body bag or behind bars. Turns out Robert’s not as stupid as we thought.”

Fuck.

“You think Pierce is in deeper than we thought?” It wouldn’t surprise me if Tomas wasn’t the only one Pierce had breathing down his neck.

“Could be. I’ll keep digging.” Neco leaned back against the wall, arms crossed. “Maybe we should leave him to Tomas. Let him flush him out. The guy doesn’t like being made a fool of.”

I shook my head. “We keep looking.”

“Had a feeling you’d say that.” He held my gaze. “How’s Lulu?”

“As well as can be expected.” I’d left her and Josh with Zeke guarding them. I didn’t like to leave, but I didn’t want her to hear any of this shit. “She’s not saying much.”

“You’ve only had her home a day. Give her time.”

Everything was out in the open now. Neco, Jude, Zeke, and my brother, they knew why she did what she had, what Pierce did to her. And they were almost as hungry for the man’s blood as I was. “She’s not getting it yet, why she’s there, but she will.”

Neco dipped his chin. “I have no doubt, brother.” The guy’s phone started up in his pocket and he cursed when he checked the screen.

“Trouble?”

Neco’s eyes darkened. “With a capital R.”

“Ruby?”

My friend growled.

Our receptionist managed to get herself in a lot of shit, often, and it was Neco she called to bail her ass out. Me, Van, Neco, had all known her since she was in pigtails and had training wheels on her bike. She’d lived in the house right across from my best friend growing up. We’d all known her stepmother was a twisted bitch. So, we’d tried to look out for her, especially Neco. But he was still doing it now. He also let her get away with a lot of shit, shit anyone else sure as hell wouldn’t. Ruby seemed to enjoy taking advantage of that. Either that, or she’d made it her personal mission to make the guy fucking crazy.

“You need backup?”

Head down, busy firing back a text, he shook his head. “I got it. Go home to your girl.”

Thirty minutes later, I was at the door to my apartment. Unlocking it, I walked inside. The place was open, big. Van hadn’t needed me to spell it out, had worked out that I’d had enough of cramped, small spaces to last me a lifetime. It was a great apartment. Open, warehouse-style, but with two bedrooms at the back.

Zeke was sitting at the breakfast bar when I walked in. “You stayin’?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

Zeke gave me a chin lift, slid off the stool and left.

It was late. The place was quiet, light from the city washing the room with muted color. Zeke had been sitting in the dark, TV off, fully alert, all senses focused on keeping my woman and son safe. An example of why I’d trust any one of the guys at the agency with my life, as well as those I cared about.

I keyed in the code, activating the security alarm, pulled off my shirt on the way to my room, and flung it on the back of the couch. Hand on my bedroom door, I pushed it open. The bed was empty.

A rough exhale blew past my lips and I jerked my head from side to side, cracking my neck, tension running thought me. I got it, I did, I understood that she needed time, probably a lot of it. But fuck, I wanted Lulu. Needed her. Just needed to hold her in my arms. Reassure myself that she was mine, that she was safe. Make her believe I would never let anything happen to her ever again.

I went to the spare room and pushed the door open. Shit. Total fucking gut punch.

Lulu was on her side, facing in. Josh’s small body was pressed into her front. Her arm was wrapped around the kid, nose buried in his dark curls, like she’d fallen asleep breathing him in. I’d never seen a more beautiful sight in my life.

I’d meant what I said to her. Josh was mine. I didn’t give a fuck who made him. He was part of Lulu and that was the only part that mattered to me. I only wished my own father had felt that way. Things could have turned out a lot different if he had. Instead, he’d seen me as the physical embodiment of the hell my mother had been though, of his own pain, of the destruction of his family. He’d looked at me every day and seen the man who had hurt his wife.

And I’d paid for it.