“I can tell you I don’t appreciate you breaking into my apartment while I’m in the shower.”
His smirk disappeared and rage filled his eyes. He lunged and grabbed her by the throat. Squeezing, he lifted her off the floor.
“I own you. Don’t you ever forget.” His hot breath and snarled words shot through her like a bullet.
Panic filled her chest as her oxygen was cut off. She tried to suck in a breath but couldn’t. She struggled against his hold and clawed at his ironclad grip, trying to escape. Her vision smeared and blurred and impending doom swamped her body.
This must be what death felt like.
He released his hold, and she crumpled to the floor.
His gaze roamed over her body before meeting her eyes. “I’ll be needing you to come in tonight.”
“But…” She coughed and sucked in deep breath and grimaced at the fire burning in her throat.
“No buts. We are shorthanded. Looks like another girl won’t be making her shift. It’s tourist season, and I need to fill the place.” He glared at her. “And be sure you’re real nice to the customers. You need to be incredibly accommodating. If you know what I mean.”
His heavy boot steps tapped against the wood floor and he slammed the door behind him. Alone on the floor, she stared up at the ceiling. Desperation circled around her like a shark.
If she didn’t get out of New Orleans soon, something bad was going to happen. And if Big Mike found out she’d been with Lucien, he would kill him.
She wouldn’t let Big Mike hurt Lucien. She would protect him regardless of what happened to her.
***
“Fuck.” Barrett stared at his cell phone after hanging up with Lucien.
“What?” Ryker asked. “Was that Lucien? Did he find out something?”
“Apparently this is targeted to our state.”
Ryker was the only other Guardian besides Lucien who knew what was going on.
“It seems like I’ve pissed someone off.” If they were targeting his Guardians, it meant they were targeting him.
Ryker gave him a thoughtful look. “They know how much your Guardians mean to you. They are trying to hurt you, and they know the best way to do that is to hurt your Guardians.”
“If someone has a beef with me, they need to fucking man up and take it out on me instead of acting like a pussy and going after my men.”
Ryker nodded and then frowned. “Unless there is something more at stake.”
Barrett let Ryker’s words marinate for a while.
He stepped around from his desk and walked over to the wall. He pressed the camouflaged button in the wall. The wall slid back, revealing a secret chamber. It was loaded with weapons and ammo, along with a large digital map of the United States displayed on the wall.
He placed his hands on his hips and studied the map. His emotions were all over the fucking place. He wanted to find the fuckers who were doing this and rip out their spleen, then castrate them.
“I fucking hate this, Ryker.” He turned and glared at the Guardian.
“I know, bro. This is getting way outta hand.” Ryker ran his hair through his dark brown hair and looked at the floor.
“It’s the not knowing that keeps me up at night. I don’t fucking know if my men are alive and being tortured or dead somewhere in the woods.”
“You’ll get whoever is doing this, Barrett. You always do.”
Barrett looked at him, his heart overflowing with outrage and heavy with helplessness. He was an atomic bomb waiting to explode. The fallout deadly.
“But how many of my Guardians do I have to lose before that happens?”
Chapter Eighteen
“What the hell is wrong with me? I spend one night with Catty and now I can’t sleep without her.” Lucien shook his head and took another sip of the coffee he’d gotten from the nearby coffee shop. After tossing and turning last night, he needed the hit of caffeine.
He was already pussy whipped.
He’d already gone by Catty’s apartment early that morning, but she wasn’t there, so he decided to try to old lady’s house. He didn’t like her going there alone, but he doubted she would listen to anything he said. When he got to Mrs. Willis’s house, he didn’t pick up her scent. He knew right away she wasn’t there, so he didn’t even bother knocking.
After updating Barrett last night on the latest info, Barrett had asked him if he thought he needed backup. Lucien refused. He didn’t want to lose another brother if whoever was targeting Guardians found a one in New Orleans.
He turned left and cut through Jackson Square, where a few people were milling about. It was early enough that the tarot card readers and the local artists were still setting up their stuff and settling in for the day. Soon curious tourists would be flocking around, eager to buy an original print from a local artist or get a glimpse into their future from a psychic. Half the fortune tellers were frauds, giving out false hope while sticking their hands deep into the pockets of the gullible. The other half were real. If people knew the truth, then they’d stay far away from them.