Chapter 42
AXEL’S POV
I DIDN’T WANT to discuss this in front of Avery. Her cars might be sharper than I gave her credit for, and I wasn’t about to give her free ammunition against me. Leading Ryan outside, I stopped just past the doorway, shutting it behind us.
“Break the news to me,” I ordered, my patience hanging by a thread.
Ryan hesitated, which immediately put me on edge. He wasn’t the type to stall unless the situation was beyond repair.
“I halted the delivery,” he started. “The trucks offloaded as usual–four total, all taking separate routes. But the one using the Cold Wing route was intercepted by the DEA”
I exhaled sharply. “Okay?” The Cold Wing and Blue Fox routes were my easiest to maneuver. We’d given them those names to keep them separate from the actual transport paths. If a shipment got caught, I always had contingencies.
Ryan didn’t react to my casual response. His body became rigid instead.
“It wasn’t just the materials that were apprehended,” he said grimly. “There was a girl’s body in the truck, Axel. And it gets worse – someone had carved ‘MedixGen‘ into her stomach.” He paused, studying my reaction before adding, “I’m talking gruesome, Axel.”
Something in my stomach twisted.
Ryan continued, “Someone wanted to make sure fingers pointed at us.”
“What?” My voice dropped to a dangerous whisper.
“And the driver–they took him in for questioning, confiscated the truck, and started driving it back to their station,” Ryan added. “But before it got there, the truck exploded.”
A slow, suffocating silence filled the space between us.
Ryan swallowed. “Six officers dead. Three more in critical condition.”
I clenched my fists so hard I felt my nails dig into my palms. My body moved before I could think, my fist connecting with the concrete wall beside me. Pain shot up my knuckles, but I welcomed it, anything to keep from snapping someone’s neck right now.
“A bomb? A fucking bomb, Ryan?” I turned to him, eyes burning.
“We checked the trucks before departure,” Ryan said, shaking his head. “Everything was clean. The materials were offloaded into them right before transport. We didn’t miss anything.”
“So who planted it?” I demanded.
Ryan hesitated again. “We don’t know.”
I stared at him, my pulse pounding against my skull. Ryan never ‘didn’t know.
He met my gaze with unshaken resolve. “We can’t pin this on Bruno without proof.”
I gritted my teeth. I wouldn’t doubt if this was done by Bruno since he has grown greedy. But, he was smart enough not to be reckless like this. But this? This wasn’t a business move. This was a message..
“Has this hit the media?” I asked.
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Ryan shook his head. “No. Detective Harrington took over the case and shut it down from the press. He wants to keep it contained.”
I let out a sharp breath. “Shit. You know what this means?”
“All eyes are on us,” Ryan answered.
I ran a hand down my face, my fingers pausing briefly on my eyepatch. “How the hell did my company’s name end up on a dead girl’s body on that truck? How did you miss a goddamn bomb?”
Ryan didn’t answer.
The silence made my blood burn.
“Get out,” I snapped. “Clean up this mess.”
Ryan gave a short nod before walking away, his shoulders squared.
Once he disappeared, I pulled out my phone and dialed Logan.
He answered on the first ring. “Sir-”
“You were supposed to tip me off before this even happened,” I growled, cutting him off.
“I was about to call you,” he said quickly.
“Not fast enough,” I snapped. “Why do I keep you in that position if not to prevent situations like this?”
“Sir-”
“Excuses.” I didn’t have the patience for them. “Listen carefully. I don’t want to hold onto Harrington anymore. He’s bitten off more than he can chew. Have someone take him out and make it look like an accident.”
The line went silent for a few seconds before Logan cleared his throat.
“Sir… we can’t do that.”
I went still. “What?”
Logan exhaled. “All eyes are on Harrington right now. If anything happens to him, it’ll raise too much suspicion. He can’t disappear or die–at least not yet.”
I clenched my jaw. I knew he was right. I
would only accelerate my own downfall “dn’t like it, but I understood how this worked. If I went after Harrington now, it
“So what do you suggest?” I asked.
“We stick to the plan,” Logan said. “Your wife makes an appearance, plays the devoted, lovesick spouse, and the heat shifts. Right now, that’s the best move we have.”
A bitter taste settled in my mouth. I wanted Avery gone, yet here I was, needing her alive more than ever.
“Fine,” I said, my voice calm despite the fire raging inside me.
I could hear Logan’s relief through the phone.
“Everything will be set up. You just have to sell it.”
“I won’t mess up,” Logan said flatly.
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Chapter 42
“I know you won’t, I let out, more of a warning than affirmation. “See you tomorrow? I hung up
My head was buzzing with too many things at once. I needed to do something–needed to hit something, break something If I went back to Avery right now, I’d end up doing more damage than necessary.
I turned back to the entrance of her cell. Through the transparent space on the door, I saw her curled up on the bed, her body steady.
I exhaled sharply. Not tonight.
But someone had to pay.
I mentally went through my list of prisoners. There was one in particular–someone whose luck had run out
A slow smirk crept onto my face.
I turned on my heel and signaled Devon, one of my guards. “Keep an eye on her
He nodded.
And I walked away, my mind set on the last man out of the group of sinners left in my dungeon
