Obsession (Middleton #1)

19. You’ll Never Guess

Chapter 19

You’ll Never Guess

HUNTER

“ W e got some information.”

I look towards Parker as I step into a secluded room in the basement of the club, which is covered from top to bottom with plastic. Parker and Lars moved Steve and his kidnapper buddy to this location almost a week ago, and now they’re hanging by a rope that is tied around their wrists in the center of the room. Their clothes are a bloody mess, and Steve’s head is lolling forward, which lets me know that he’s out.

Parker strips himself of his blood-stained gloves and throws them into the trash bin, a cheerful smile on his face. “It took a damn week, but I got it. You’ll never guess whom your old manager works for.”

“Who?”

“He works for Johnathan.” I toss Parker a look of confusion and then stare hard at Steve as I continue to listen. “Steve was planted in the club to report everything he saw.”

Johnathan.

I haven’t heard that name in a long time.

“But he barely knows anything,” I say, damn near speechless. “And I’m surprised Johnathan would be this bold to make a move like this.”

Parker shrugs. “The man had the balls to steal twenty million from you and walk away. Why does he spying on you even surprise you?”

“I wasn’t out for that fucker’s blood the first time around,” I say, my tone hard. “But that’s all changed now.”

The betrayal I faced at the hands of the man I once used to trust implicitly still stings, but I haven’t destroyed him for two reasons. First, I blame myself for being asleep at the wheel and allowing this to happen. And second, because I haven’t been able to find the motherfucker. But planting a snitch in my club after he’s blatantly stolen from me? I can’t let that ride. This time, I want Johnathan’s blood on my hands.

I hear footsteps and then see Vaughn step in, staring at the sight of Steve. “Well, is he dead yet? Bullets in the groin never end well.”

“No,” Parker replies lightly. “But he might as well be.”

“Did he admit how Johnathan approached him?” I ask Parker.

“Johnathan?” Vaughn says, his voice shocked. “That fucker came back?”

“Steve met some woman around three years ago. Johnathan sent her. She drugged him, probably fucked him, then made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Your boy here said she’s been at the club more than once.”

“Who is this woman?”

“We looked at some footage, but we need more time. We didn’t find anything yet,” Lars says.

“He said that she asked him for information on your business dealings and personal life, and, most importantly, she wanted to learn everything she could about any weaknesses you have.”

Vaughn snorts, “Weaknesses? Hunter?”

However, I realize this is not at all funny when I see the still look on Lars’s face.

“What is it?” I ask him.

“He wanted to get a sample of your DNA, boss,” Lars answers, his Danish accent thicker than usual today.

“My DNA?” I go still, my attention turning to both Parker and Lars. “For what?”

“It took me an hour of working him to get it out of him, but Johnathan wanted to compare the sample with someone else’s. Some girl. Steve said he managed to see a picture once. He said that the girl was pretty young,” Parker says.

I freeze, and my voice is careful as I ask, “What else did he say about the picture?”

Lars watches me carefully, then replies, “He couldn’t recall her features aside from her ashy blonde hair, but he did say that there was a distinctive scar on the inner side of her right wrist. He remembered because she was holding something in her hand–”

I’m no longer listening. My mind has gone blank.

A scar on her inner wrist.

It’s not possible.

A memory of a burning room, the flames shooting to the sky, the screams of the only two people I held dear to me echoing in my ears.

That night from fifteen years ago is still etched in my brain, no matter how much I try to forget it. My hand curls into a fist as I mutter, “It’s not possible.”

But what if it is?

The reason Johnathan’s betrayal had been so particularly painful had been that we had grown up together on the streets. We hustled people and ran scams together as children, trying to feed ourselves, simply trying to survive. We joined the organization together and worked our way up the ranks. It had been a bitter pill to swallow when he, my most trusted right hand (really more like my partner), had stabbed me in the back. But if Lena – If Lena survived, would it be so far off to imagine that he would try to use her against me? She would be my one weakness.

“Wake him back up,” I snarl, fury and hope flickering through me. “I want information on that girl.”

Both Parker and Lars nod in understanding.

“And get the doc back here to patch him up again so he doesn’t die.”

“What about the other one?”

“I don’t care about him. Just make sure Steve doesn’t die, then get ruthless if you have to. I want information. If he still doesn’t talk, then tell me. I have other methods of making people talk. Squeeze every bit of information you can get about Johnathan’s whereabouts. That bastard wouldn’t send someone in here if he wasn’t completely assured of his loyalty. And find that damn woman!”

I storm out, trying to get a hold of my raging emotions.

Then I think of Lena.

Precious Lena with her sweet, angelic smile.

“If that is you, I’ll find you,” I vow to her silently.

Vaughn follows me, “Hunter.”

“Not now,” I growl.

But he steps in front of me, snapping, “It has to be now. Who is that girl Parker was talking about? If Johnathan has her or knows something about her and she’s a weakness, then I need to know. If you fall because of her, we all fall with you.”

He looks tense, and I glower at him. “I wouldn’t let that happen. I’ll handle it.”

I’m about to walk away when he says, tersely, “Are Lars and Parker on tap to eliminate this girl in case–“

I won’t let him finish his sentence. Whirling around him by the front of his shirt, my voice icy cold. “No one touches a hair on her head. Not until I know for sure.”

“Then tell me who she is!” He shoves me, furious. “This is the second time I’ve seen you lose control like this. I’m just trying to help you.”

I open my mouth, but then I snap it shut, recalling Johnathan’s betrayal. I have a hard time trusting people now, but Vaughn knows me too well, and he steps toward me.

“I’m not him, Hunt. You and I are like blood brothers. You should be able to trust me. I’ve never given you a reason not to.”

I stare at him, trying to sort out my emotions, and then I say with great difficulty, “I can’t talk about it today. Give me a few days.”

I expect him to argue back, but he takes a step back. “Fine. Take a few days. I’ll stay with Parker.”

“Maybe you should go home to your wife.”

“If you’re not talking to me, then I’m not talking to her.”

I shake my head at Vaughn’s lame attempt at a joke. Grateful that he’s not pushing me, I take the elevator to the top floor of the club and walk directly into a private room that overlooks the bar. From the one-way mirror, I see a familiar figure behind the bar, talking to Gage.

It’s her.