Chapter 17

Grady and I succeed in wiping out the first nest of the Andrettis' men. Merrick backs us up remotely, and the three of us are a formidable team. Although, I keep a close eye on Grady to ensure he doesn't shoot me in the back while I'm not paying attention.

Unfortunately, the next house is across town. Who the fuck knows how Andretti picks his safe houses, but it sure would have been convenient for me if they were closer together.

The only time Grady shuts the fuck up is when he's belting out the lyrics to some pop song as he sings along with the radio. I jab the button on the steering wheel to turn the obnoxious music down.

"I was enjoying that."

I raise a hand from the wheel, flipping him off. "You have no vocal abilities. Unless you were purposely trying to give me a migraine."

"Kane, my friend, you are entirely too uptight." Grady laughs, and even the sound grates on my nerves. "We're free of that basement, and it's a beautiful day to slaughter some assholes."

My head tilts until I can study the predatory smile on his face. "You enjoy killing. Like, you actually look forward to it. Don't you?"

"I wouldn't choose it over sex, but there are worse things to fill your time with."

I scoff.

Perhaps I can use his unstable mental health as an excuse when I inform Annika that I had to kill her alpha. He reminds me a little too much of Ranger for any of our good.

"Listen," he says conversationally. "I imagine you're still holding a grudge about me leaving you down there."

I instantly know he means Ranger's basement.

"You made a fucking promise," I growl, whipping us around the corner a little too fast. I let off the gas, and my hand falls to downshift, but this car is automatic.

"Are you honestly going to lie and pretend you would have come back for me?" he accuses.

He's probably right.

I don't think I would have risked getting trapped back down there a second time. It's sad to say the only thing that kept me sane the first time was Grady. Without having him to talk to, I probably would have lost my shit. It's impossible to comprehend how slowly time passes when you're chained to a wall with no bed and no blankets.

I sigh, shaking my head. "We'll never know. Will we?"

"I can apologize if you'd like, but I think it's best we focus on the future. You're still loyal to Ranger on some level, but do you really think he's going to let you live if you fuck his little sister?" Grady twists to face me. "I might not like it. I even thought you were delusional when you told me the two of you are compatible, but if I know one thing in life, it's Annika."

I growl.

Who knows why? It could be a combination of imagining them together the last couple years. Or it might be that I know he's right. He's been the one closest to her since she ran.

"I said it earlier, and I'll say it again. There's chemistry there," Grady says, focusing his gaze out the windshield. "I won't stand in the way of that. Although, if you want my advice, things will go a lot more smoothly for you if you start giving her a little more credit?—"

"I didn't ask for your bullshit two cents on the situation," I growl.

"Yeah, but you can't treat her like she's breakable, or she's not going to want anything to do with you." He has the audacity to shrug. "I figure it's better for us to be allies. You really think Ranger is going to let you keep her once you get her back to Virginia? I know you're hoping you can cut me out and keep her for yourself, but we need to have each other's backs, or it's gonna get ugly."

My teeth grind together so violently, I'm afraid I might crack a filling. I really fucking hate that he's right. I may have tried to delusionally convince myself that Ranger won't care, but it's likely to get bloodier before it gets better.

I slam the asshole to the ground, and I don't mean Grady.

Dropping my empty Glock, I grab the knife from my boot as I pin the dick to the ground with my forearm on his windpipe. The man struggles, but that only lasts until my blade severs his throat. I pull back to avoid the spray, clean the knife on his shirt, shove it away, and grab my gun.

"You seriously underestimated how many dicks were in this house," I growl to Merrick.

"It's a two-bedroom house. How many guys could possibly be in there? You're overexaggerating again," Merrick says distractedly.

"This fucker is number twenty-three."

"Jesus," he mutters. "That's more of a spray and pray situation."

He's not wrong, but eight of those were handled in the backyard before we ever made entry. I breached the front while Grady took the back door.

The whooshing thump of a silenced gunshot makes me jolt as I move to push to my feet.

My head swivels to see Grady's arm still extended.

I keep twisting until I spot the guy, slumping to the floor.

Fuck me.

I thought the one I just took down was the last of them.

Grady just saved my fucking life.

I climb off the corpse, shaking my head at my own stupidity. "Thank you."

"You're welcome—" Merrick starts, but I click the button to hang up on him.

Grady pastes on a shitty grin. "I'm pretty sure this is how guys become best friends. You saved my ass last night, but I covered yours tonight."

I roll my eyes but bump his offered fist. "We work well together."

"Fucking A, we do." He laughs. "Let's get back and save Anni Girl from the millionaire with a stick up his ass."

I nod, but I'm still rattled as hell. It was chaos, and I didn't have many choices when I ran out of ammo. I had to take the bastard down and finish him with my knife, like we did the ones in the yard. There's still no excuse for missing an entire assailant.

He could have blown my head off at any time.

Grady strides over, wiping his blade off on the end of the fucking sofa. "She's got a thing for Gramps. So, you might want to mentally prepare yourself for that too."

"Ward?" I ask with my jaw hanging open.

"That's the one," he agrees. "I'm not sure if it's subconscious, but she's building herself a nice little army of psychos capable of taking on her brother when the time is right."

"Ranger isn't a threat to her."

"Nope," he says. "But he's a threat to her happiness, and I don't think she'll stand for that a second time."

Well, that's a sobering thought.

I'm unsettled the entire ride back to Cassian's ridiculous mansion. The feeling doesn't magically disappear as I park in the same spot in the garage, nor when Grady and I head inside to shower.

This place may be luxurious, but it isn't designed for criminals. Despite leaving our boots in the garage, I'm sure we both track a fair amount of biological evidence into the man's house. He should have an outdoor shower. Hell, maybe there's one by the ostentatious pool.

Grady jogs to the other half of the two rooms Cassian showed us to when we first arrived. He didn't sleep there last night. I knew as soon as he gave the room a once-over that he was heading to find Sparrow.

I mean, Annika.

Fuck, it's practically impossible to remember I'm supposed to call her by her new identity.

I take a quick shower and bag up my clothes. By the time I make it out, Grady is leaning against the opposite wall.

"It's late, but apparently Canton Forbes is here for a visit," he says, shoving off the wall. "Do you know the name?"

"No," I say, shoving up the arm of my long-sleeve T-shirt.

"He's dirty." Grady takes off down the hallway. "Wealthy by way of the illegal business model."

"I'm sure Cassian is too."

"Yeah, but not quite as dirty, from what I heard when I asked around. He's trying to step out of his father's shadow and take a different path, but apparently, Daddy is holding half of his inheritance hostage until Cas can beat him at cards." Grady hits the stairs and heads down.

"Lovely," I snort. "Family values at its finest."