Savage Love (Savage Trilogy #3) - Lisa Renee Jones Page 0,50
the coffee table, too, right there beside my hat and right between me and Tag. Adam is on the couch between our chairs. Since we don’t plan to stay around to clean up our mess, Adam and I are both wearing gloves, playing cards but the cards are not what entertains me. It’s watching Tag sit there, his mind racing as he tries to figure out how to get the fuck away from me. In my mind, I’m tormented by what is happening with Candace. I need to hear from her.
The sound of my cellphone rings and adrenaline surges through me with the hope of good news and the fear of bad but I’m an emotionless canvas. Tag still smirks. He knows I’m on edge waiting. I eye the caller ID that reads Adrian and with a steady hand I do not feel, I answer the call.
“Rick.”
At the sound of Candace’s voice, relief washes over me with a force I have never felt in my life. “You okay, baby?” I ask, my eyes meeting Tag’s and delivering a message: now you die.
“I’m fine.” She gives a nervous laugh. “But you can no longer be an asshole to Adrian. He tackled Alejandro. He saved me.”
A muscle in my jaw begins to tick. “That King Kong motherfucker came after you?”
“Yes, but Adrian handled him. Rick, your father—”
I cut her off. “Not now, baby. I have something I need to do. I’ll see you at the airport in a few. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
I disconnect and set the phone down. “She’s safe,” I say, my eyes burning holes in Tag. “He came at her. I know you didn’t have time to tell him you were in trouble. Why did he go after her?”
“I’m not a fool. I know your fucking tricks, Savage. He tried to call me. I told him if I didn’t answer, or call him back in fifteen minutes, to kill her.”
“You know what comes next.”
“You should know that I’ve arranged a large sum of money to be deposited into Alejandro’s account if she dies in the next five days.”
I don’t ask how he would manage that. This is Tag. He’s not lying. He knew I’d beat him, at least in life. He wants me to suffer in his death. I repeat my words. “You know what comes next.”
Tag doesn’t mince words. “You’re going to kill me and he’s going to kill her.” He laughs.
I pick up the gun and shoot him between the eyes, grab my hat, and then stand up. “Alejandro is next.”
We exit the house and walk toward the Porsche 911, and officially a chapter of my life is gone, over, done. I dial Adrian. “Where’s Alejandro?”
“They arrested him.”
“There’s a price on Candace’s head. Get her on the fucking plane and lock her down.”
I hang up and Adam and I climb into the car. I toss my hat in the backseat and by the time I crank the engine I have Asher on the line. “Tag’s dead. His men are dead. Any update on the general?” I back us out of the driveway.
“Radio silence right now. I’ll let you know when I know. No red flags.”
I shift us into drive and idle. “Tag left a price on Candace’s head. Alejandro is an assassin. He was arrested. I need to know exactly where they took him.”
“Drive toward the hotel,” he instructs. “I’ll find out and call you back.” He disconnects.
I gun the accelerator. “Tag could be bluffing,” Adam states, but it’s really a question.
And I answer. “No.” That’s all I say. That’s all he needs to hear. He doesn’t ask again. I don’t even bother to tell him that Asher’s locating him. He’ll know. That’s how we operate—like a fucking team that would live and die for each other. When I was with Tag, we were exactly what Alejandro is: a killer. Nothing more. Nothing less. No one wants one of those killers coming for them and yet, one of those killers is after my woman.
I whip us onto the highway and my cellphone rings again. “Bad news,” Asher says. “The cops are dead. Alejandro is missing. A manhunt is underway.”
Alejandro will know we’ll go to the airport. He may even guess that we’ll go to the nearest private strip to our location which was that party. I exit and do a hard U-turn to drive the wrong way down the access road. I have to get to Candace before he does.