24. Jordan

24

JORDAN

I was going to kill them. Whoever was still alive would be dead shortly.

My body was eerily still as I sat in the back seat of the Maserati. Albert drove and we’d picked up Hartley. I’d be damned if I let him out of my sight after this shit. Telling him what happened, what I knew, was like ripping my fucking heart out. Vail wasn’t hurt, but the idea that he could have been was too much for Hartley. He cried in my arms then I held him while his tears dried. He clutched to me just as desperately as I did to him.

The safe house was located on the outskirts of the city in a home I’d purchased with a lot of land under another name. It was in the name of the author I had on my payroll. He also lived there. The home was a quiet location for him to craft his stories, whether they were for me or for him to publish. Sylvan was an introvert who preferred to be alone rather than out and about with others. He was also a vault when it came to secrets. Nothing left his lips that wasn’t supposed to. When I called to inform him we had incoming, he went to work ensuring there was a clear path from the garage to the door Alton would need to patch up Oleander behind. Irene came out to the house every two weeks to do a thorough cleaning, and in between Sylvan handled it.

No one knew of my connection to Sylvan, except a handful of people in my organization, my son, and Dexen. I worried one day I’d need the safe house for my son, so it was beneficial for him to be aware it was there. And if my son was hurt or the threats to his life became too much, Dexen could get him there. But Jordan would fight tooth and nail. He’d told me he never wanted to have to go to the safe house and would rather stand in the street and fight. He was a lot like me.

Land spread out before us as we sped down the road. Albert finally turned into the driveway, stopping at a tall iron gate with an intricate E on the front of it for Sylvan’s last name, Ellery. Albert entered a code and the gates opened so we could drive through. The entire property was fenced. It wasn’t cheap but necessary. There was also a solid security system here. Sylvan forgot to arm it more times than not, but we hardly came here so the danger to him was minimal.

Albert hit the button for the garage. I noticed the beat to shit front end on the Navigator sitting in the spot to our right. At least it wasn’t so destroyed they couldn’t drive it. Though Sheldon would have driven it here limping on three tires and a rim if he had to. I was grateful for the backroad they were on with minimal traffic so no one else witnessed what took place. I didn’t need the cops up my ass about this.

We exited the vehicle, Hartley looking around wildly for Vail.

“Come,” I said and took his hand in mine. The house could be a bit of a maze. I didn’t want him to start running through the halls until he got lost.

We went through a door to enter a room that had nothing but two additional doors and two keypads. Choosing the door on the right, I entered the code and waited for the lock to disengage. Down a flight of stairs was a long hallway with a cement floor that ended in a large room filled with medical supplies. There were no windows. Nothing but air vents and bright lights so Alton could see what he was doing. Vail stood beside Oleander, holding his hand while Sheldon was on the other side, keeping pressure on the wound.

Hartley rushed to Vail, wrapping his arms around him. While I wanted to do the same, I gave Hartley a moment with Vail and directed my attention to Sheldon and Oleander.

“How bad?” I asked

“It’s straight through,” Sheldon replied. “The bleeding has slowed. Alton is five out. The other vehicle was left in the road.” I waved him off. I already had my men there, assuming cleaning up was needed.

I nodded. Peering down at Oleander, I saw his color was fine, but his features were pinched. “Did you take anything?”

“Not yet.”

“He doesn’t like taking medication unless it’s necessary,” Sheldon supplied. It was something I should have remembered but had slipped my mind. Oleander didn’t drink or do drugs of any kind. The most we’d seen him take was acetaminophen.

“Alton will numb you when he gets here.”

“That’s all I need,” Oleander said. “I’ll be fine. Honest. But you might want to tell Vail I’m not dying.”

Looking up, I latched on to Vail. He had unshed tears in his light blue eyes. It was then I realized Vail wasn’t afraid of Oleander dying. He felt responsible.

Rounding the bed, I went to Vail and put my hands on his biceps. Hartley still held his hand. “It’s not your fault. None of this is.”

“I know it has to do with Gil. He sent them after me.”

“We’ll find out for certain in a bit, right?” I peered over my shoulder at Sheldon.

“Bound and gagged behind door number two.” There were four doors in this space. Reinforced, soundproofed. Two torture bays, as I liked to refer to them, and a bathroom plus the door that led from the room. The bays had hardly been used. The only time we did was when we needed to be here, which was rare. I typically handled shit elsewhere. But this had to do with Vail, and I wouldn’t take chances where he and Hartley were concerned.

Focusing on Vail again, I asked, “Are you okay?”

“Physically, I think so. I might have whiplash.”

“I’ll have Alton check you over. I also know a chiropractor who can adjust you. It’ll help.”

Vail released Oleander’s hand to place it on my cheek. “Jordan, I’m okay. The mental aspect will take some time, but I’ve been through worse.”

“I don’t want you to go through anything any longer. This shouldn’t have fucking happened,” I growled.

“It wasn’t Sheldon or Ollie’s fault. The car whipped around us. It was staged like Sheldon said. I just want Ollie to be okay.”

“Ollie’s fine,” the man said from the bed.

A door opened in the distance and shoes could be heard on the cement floor. Alton strode into the room a moment later in a pair of black slacks and a white button-down. He didn’t have a bag with him. Everything he needed was already in the room.

He went to the drawer and pulled out a pair of gloves and scissors, not bothering with greetings. None of us required it. “I hope you don’t like this shirt.”

“I don’t,” Oleander replied. “Nor the jacket I have to now get rid of.” I’d buy him new. Whatever he wanted for taking a bullet that might have been meant for Vail.

If Gil was behind this, which I was certain he was, like Vail said, he wouldn’t have wanted Vail gravely injured, just enough to make him be compliant. Rage still boiled inside me. Having Vail alive and well in front of me helped.

Alton put on the gloves then cut off Oleander’s shirt. He started pulling out the supplies he’d need to clean and stitch the wound, as well as numb Oleander. “Do you want something for the pain?”

“No, just numb me and be done.”

“Fine with me.”

Reghan and Raiden were somewhere in the house. I was grateful they weren’t down here. Whatever went on with Alton and Raiden didn’t need to be brought into this.

I stood with Vail and Hartley while Sheldon gave me a rundown of what happened and how they were ambushed. The person driving the car they hit wasn’t alive after they got ahold of him, but the person in the passenger seat was who they grabbed. They found zip ties and duct tape in the car and used it on the man. Better to use theirs than waste mine.

The man in the second vehicle that ambushed them got away before they could get a photo of the rear plate. I didn’t keep cameras on my vehicles. They would only be used against me if the cops got their hands on them. We regularly swept our vehicles for tracking devices. The cops had tried and failed in the past to track us more than a few city blocks.

Alton finished with Oleander, who sat up and flexed his arm.

“It’s going to hurt when that wears off,” Alton said.

“I’ll be fine.” Oleander hopped down from the table and went to a tall metal cabinet along the far wall to sift through various sizes and styles of clothing and shoes. He pulled out a pair of sweats and a T-shirt and changed.

Alton examined Vail next and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Vail told him he felt fine. If the pain got bad, Alton asked us to call. There weren’t imaging machines here, but Alton could get Vail X-rayed easily if need be.

“I’m ready when you are,” Oleander said.

“I’d like to show Vail and Hart upstairs before we go further.” My body vibrated with the need to beat the ever-loving fuck out of the man within the other room. I would, but not until Vail and Hartley weren’t here to witness or be close to it.

Before we left the room, Vail hugged Oleander and Sheldon and thanked them for protecting him and Forest. Where the hell was Forest anyway?

I had the answer to that question when I entered the main house and found him looking out the front windows at the expansive lawn and falling snow.

“Are you all right?” I asked him.

“I’m fine.”

“My doctor would like to examine you.”

“I’m good. No need.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “You’ll allow him to check you over. You’re under my protection and therefore my care.”

“I’m not saying yes, sir, if you’re angling for it.”

A growl worked its way up my throat.

“Shut up, For,” Vail said.

Hartley hugged Forest and spoke to him softly to make sure he was okay.

Sylvan entered the room on soft footfalls. His fingers twisted in front of him as his eyes bounced from person to person. I strode toward him, stopping when I was a foot away and could block the others from his sight. “Okay?”

He nodded, his sandy blond hair falling over his eyes. “Just unexpected. I mean, I knew it could happen. It has before. But it unsettles me.” He was having a panic attack and didn’t want to voice it.

Sylvan was a slender man and shorter than me by a few inches. He was pale, likely from not going out in the sun enough. It was still winter. Irene mothered him when she came to clean. But he wouldn’t accept her food. There was a greenhouse on the property he liked to grow his own vegetables in when he could. He also made a weekly trip to the grocery store. Sylvan still left the house to run errands and go to appointments; however, he didn’t linger when he was out. The house was a safe space for him.

“Would you like to show Vail and Hartley around?” I asked softly. “They’re my partners and some of the kindest men you’ll ever meet. They didn’t know this home existed until today. I’ll have my guards stay back so you can have breathing room.”

He nodded. “I’d like that. And yes, I’d be happy to show them around. I baked muffins this morning. Maybe they’d like some?”

Sylvan had a mind that could concoct wild stories that sucked his readers in and made them feel like they were part of the tales. He was confident in his words, but in real life confidence wasn’t present. When it came to kindness, he was a sweet man who found me when I could have used someone who didn’t view me as the mafia boss and that alone. Or maybe I found him. Either way, it worked out for the best. I was able to provide a home for him and he gave me stories when I had to cover my tracks.

“I think they’d enjoy that.”