Nothing To Lose: A Grey Justice Novel (35 page)

“I don’t have a cat.”

“Dog, then.”

She laughed softly. “I don’t have a dog, either. I think it’s coming from your pants.”

His pants? His pants were on the floor. Why would— Oh hell, she was right. With a ragged sigh of deepest regret, he pulled from her warmth and lowered her legs until her feet hit the floor. When he was assured she could stand on her own, he twisted round and snagged his jeans that somehow were almost halfway across the room.

Phone to his ear, he barked, “What?”

“I need to see you and Kennedy immediately,” Justice said tersely.

“Your office?”

“No, my apartment.”

Nick shot a quick glance over at a naked, glistening Kennedy, still slumped against the wall, her breathing slowly returning to normal, a dazed look on her beautiful face. He ground his teeth and turned away from temptation. Any other time, he might’ve told the man whatever it was could wait until tomorrow. The stark urgency in Justice’s voice told him this wasn’t something that could be put off.
 

Closing his eyes, Nick took in a ragged breath and said, “Be there in ten.”
 

Chapter Thirty-one

For the first time in years, Grey wanted to kill someone. The violent life he’d left behind usually sickened him to remember, but right now he would have taken great pleasure in beating the ever-living shit out of Mathias Slater until the man lay bloodied and dying. Even then he doubted he’d feel any better, but at least the world would be cleaner.

Irelyn sat several feet away from him, the look on her face one he hadn’t seen in a long while. He didn’t like seeing it now but could do nothing but play the cards he had been dealt.

“I didn’t know, Grey.”

“I know you didn’t.”

“Do you want me to leave?”

The dull, emotionless voice sounded nothing like the self-assured woman Irelyn had become. Once again, she sounded like the scared young girl who had learned the fate of her many sins.

“No. Both Kennedy and Gallagher should know. It’s time to come clean with your source.”

“Are you going to kill him?”
 

Though her voice sounded only slightly curious, he knew better. Gathering up all the fury he had stored away for days like this, Grey said coolly, “No. You are.”

“What?” Shock flared in her eyes. She shook her head. “No, Grey…you can’t ask me to do that. You can’t.”

“I can, and you will. You knew this day would come.”

“But he can still be useful to us. There’s no need to—”

“There’s every need. He’s outlived his usefulness. We should have done away with him years ago. This time we have no choice.”

“Do you hate me that much?”

“I feel many things for you, Irelyn. Hate is too mild a word for what I’m feeling right now.”

“I—” She broke off at the sound of the buzzer announcing the arrival of Kennedy and Gallagher. Since Eli was otherwise occupied, Grey had asked them to come to his penthouse. If anyone saw them, they’d have to come up with a feasible excuse. Maybe he was getting soft, but he just didn’t want to deliver this news in a damn warehouse.

“Do you want me to tell Kennedy what I know about her husband’s death?”

“I’m leaving that up to you.”

“How thoughtful.”
 

Though the sarcasm was mild, he was glad to hear it. Despite his words and uncompromising position, he did have sympathy for what Irelyn faced. And the last thing he wanted to do was destroy her. However, she had known this time would come. If he’d had any inkling it would have come down to this, he would have had the man killed long ago. But then again, there were plenty of other hired killers more than happy to take his place. If there was one thing this world didn’t lack, it was assholes willing to destroy lives for money.

Kennedy and Gallagher entered, both looking as grim as he felt. Of course being called out of bed at one o’clock in the morning for a meeting was rarely a good-tidings event. And considering what he had seen on the infrared when they’d been in the closet, neither of them had been sleeping.

“Would either of you like coffee?”

Kennedy shook her head, but Gallagher went to the coffee service and poured two cups of coffee, liberally sweetening one of the cups. Yeah, he’d been around this block before…he knew bad news was coming.

Grey waited until Kennedy was holding her coffee mug and Gallagher had taken a seat beside her. He looked at them and said the words that twisted his insides. “Jonah Slater was murdered tonight.”

Nick breathed out a curse, knowing without having to ask what had happened. He caught Kennedy’s expression. She looked sad but slightly confused, too. Despite all that she’d been through, she was still an innocent about so many things. When this was over, just how much of that innocence would she retain?

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” she said softly. “I know you thought a lot of him, Grey. I’m sure Eli must be devastated.”

“Yes, he is.”
 

“Do they know what happened? Who did it? Another prisoner?”

Surprise and then a hint of compassion crossed the other man’s face. He gave Nick a quick glance, as if to ask him if he’d like to explain.

“Either his father or brother were responsible, Kennedy,” Nick said.

“What?” She moved her gaze from each person to the next as if to verify his words. “No, that’s not possible. No father or brother would have a family member killed like that, no matter how much they hated him.”

“Oh, get a clue, girl,” Irelyn snapped. “Are you really so naïve that you don’t know that families kill each other every damn day? It’s the world we live in, and if you’re going to survive, you’d better get used to it. You can’t bury your head—”

“That’s enough, Irelyn.” Justice’s hard voice slashed like a knife. “Kennedy doesn’t need a life lesson from you.”

“She needs it from someone.”

“No, she’s right to tell me that, Grey. If Mathias or Adam were responsible for this, then I am stupidly naïve. I just cannot fathom such evil.”

“How’s Eli taking it?” Nick asked.      

“About the way you’d expect. He feels like he failed his little brother.”

“So where do we go from here?” Kennedy asked.

“This changes nothing,” Justice said. “I’m sure Adam will approach you soon for a job. When he does, express your sympathy for his brother’s death but don’t go overboard. Adam has you pegged as an ambitious, cold-hearted bitch. Showing too much compassion—something he can’t comprehend anyway—might make him reconsider his opinion of you.”

“Should I go to the funeral?”

“Yes. That would be expected. And Eli needs all the support he can get right now. I’m sure he’d appreciate your help.

“There’s something else you need to know,” Justice went on. “As you’re aware, Irelyn has a source.”

Comprehension came quicker this time. “This is the hit your source told you about,” Kennedy said. “But why couldn’t he tell you it was going to be Jonah?”

“He didn’t know who it was at the time,” Irelyn said. “By the time he learned the name, things were already in motion. I had no chance to talk to him before it was done.”

“So does this source work for the Slaters in some way?”

“Yes and no,” Justice said, then shot a glance at Irelyn.

Nick was surprised at the glimpse of vulnerability in the woman’s eyes. Even though she was as beautiful as a porcelain doll and he’d occasionally seen evidence of a real person beneath her careful façade, he’d sure as hell never thought to see her looking so fragile.

“My source is a contract killer,” Irelyn said.

“A hit man?” Nick asked.

“Yes, he does that, too, but his specialty is orchestrating murders. I knew he was going to set one up for the Slaters, but as I said, he often doesn’t get told the target until the last minute. Since I can’t let on that I’m fishing for information, I have to be as subtle as possible. Jonah’s murder took place before I knew it was going to happen.”

“He’s the one who arranged Thomas’s murder, isn’t he?” Kennedy’s voice, soft and without inflection, brought immediate silence to the room.

“Yes,” Irelyn answered in an equally soft voice.

“Did you know he was going to have him killed?”

“Not until it was too late.”
 

“How did he set it up to look like a robbery?”

“Do you really want to know?”

“Yes…I think I need to.”

“I don’t know all the details. He learned about the young man’s release from prison.”

“His name was Miguel Ruiz.”

“Very well. He learned about Ruiz and how close he was to his family. He told him to follow your husband. That he would be stopping at a grocery store in the evening. Your husband wasn’t to come out alive. He threatened Ruiz’s family.”

“I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t he go to the police…tell someone?”

“My source…he’s incredibly adept at discovering his mark’s weaknesses and using them to achieve his goals. Perhaps he knew Ruiz didn’t trust the police.” Slender shoulders lifted in a slight shrug. “I don’t know.”

Nick narrowed his eyes on Irelyn. “How the hell would he know Thomas would be going to a grocery store?”

Irelyn shook her head. “Again, I don’t—”

“It’s my fault,” Kennedy said.
 

“How was it your fault?” Nick asked.

“Almost from the moment I learned I was pregnant, I started having these wild cravings. Thomas stopped by the grocery store almost every night to pick up whatever I was craving that day. It became our little joke.” She swallowed a small sob. “Some joke. It got him killed.”

Before Nick could dispute that, Irelyn beat him to it. “Don’t be ridiculous. If it hadn’t happened in a grocery store, it would have happened somewhere else. Your husband was marked for death the moment he launched his investigation into the Slaters.”

“But how did anyone know about his investigation?” Kennedy asked. “He never even told me or Nick what he was doing.”

“The Slaters have eyes and ears everywhere. If he did research on his computer, made phone calls at the station…” Justice shrugged. “That’s one of the ways they’ve been able to keep their nose clean for so long. They have a lot of people looking out for their interests.”

“And now they’ve gone so far as to kill a family member.” Kennedy shook her head. “Just how screwed up do you have to be to do something like that?” She turned to Irelyn. “This source you have. What good is he if he doesn’t tell you anything in time?”

Justice leaned forward, blocking Irelyn from view as if protecting her. “Irelyn was doing her best to find his target. Even though Mathias is as cold and heartless as death, I don’t think any of us even considered Jonah. The thought of a father arranging his son’s murder…” Justice shook his head as if still trying to wrap his mind around the concept.

“Why now?” Nick asked. “Jonah has been in prison for almost three years. And from what Eli said, neither Mathias nor Adam has visited him in all that time. What did he do to piss them off?”

“I’m responsible for that.”

They all whirled at the sound of Eli’s voice. If a person could remain alive after getting the life knocked out of him, that man was Eli Slater. His face had lost all color, and his eyes were sunk into his head.

“It’s not your fault, Eli,” Justice said. “Jonah was a grown man. He made his own decisions.”

“I should have found another way to tell him about Teri.”

“What happened?” Nick asked.

With zombie-like movements, Eli moved farther into the room. The instant he reached a chair, he dropped into it as if his legs could no longer hold him.

“He insisted on knowing the details of her death. Like any sane man who learned that the woman he loved had been killed and in such a sadistically vile way, he went ballistic. We both knew Mathias had eyes on him at all times. He screamed into the cameras that he was going to kill the old man.”
 

He shook his head. “The thought even went through my mind that Mathias would do something, but I convinced myself that even my father wouldn’t go so far as to kill his own child. I thought he might have him beaten to teach him a lesson. I forgot who I was dealing with…should have known…should have done something.”

“What could you have done?” Kennedy asked.

“Hell if I know. Found some protection for him. Supplied him with a weapon.” His hand made a weary swipe down his face. “Help him escape. Anything other than just sitting on my ass and letting him get killed.”

The room grew silent again. Kennedy looked around at all the sad, serious faces. This was wrong…so very wrong. How could one man be responsible for so much destruction and get away with it for so long? And not just get away with it, but also thrive. He was evil incarnate and had to be stopped.

A new resolve swept through her. “The only thing to do is continue what we’re doing. Once I start working for Adam…move into his house, have access to his computer, if there’s anything to be found, I’ll find it.”