Mom had surgery to remove the bullet from her shoulder, and she’s sleeping now. Her doctor told me she’ll be fine after some rehabilitation. Alisha hasn’t fared as well. She’s in a coma in the ICU, and we don’t know if she’s going to pull through. Galen has been moving between her room and here, waiting on news of his cousin.
“You should sleep,” Bry says, handing me a blanket. “You look beat.”
“I’m okay.” I drop down beside Caz, resting my head on his shoulder as Galen plucks the blanket from my fingers, draping it over my bare legs. “I can’t sleep until I’ve seen that he’s okay with my own two eyes.”
“Your love is endearingly nauseating,” Bry admits, stifling a yawn and stretching his arms up over his head.
“Still jealous, Eccleston?” Galen smirks, flopping onto the chair beside him.
Bry flips him the bird, and warmth spreads across my chest for the first time tonight.
Everything is returning to normal, and it’s going to be okay.
The door creaks as it opens, revealing two very tired men.
“Hey.” I sit up straight as Diesel and Howie enter the room. “I wasn’t sure if you’d make it.”
“Sorry it took so long,” Diesel says, gratefully taking the seat beside me when Theo vacates it. Howie sits beside Bry while Theo pulls another chair over. “There was a lot to discuss.”
“We can do this later,” I offer even though I’m dying to find out what’s going on.
Diesel grins. “It’s cute you think I don’t know you. I’m here because you won’t sleep until you know the truth.” He presses a kiss to my head. “And I wanted to check up on the punk. I already checked in on Giana. How is Saint doing?”
“He’s good. Just out of surgery. Doc says he’ll make a full recovery.”
Diesel smiles, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. “I’m happy to hear it.”
I can tell he means it, and I don’t hesitate to fling my arms around him, hugging him tight. Tears prick my eyes, and a sudden flood of emotion accosts me. I ease back, holding his worn-out eyes in place. “Thank you, Diesel. For everything.”
“No thanks is necessary. It was a team effort.” His lips pull into a tight grimace, and remorse glimmers in his eyes. “I’m sorry for all you went through tonight. I wanted to tear into the room the second that bastard put his hands on you.”
“But you couldn’t,” I blurt, not wanting him to beat himself up over this. “I understand, and it’s fine. I’m fine. I don’t want to dwell on it.” I take my time locking eyes with Caz, Theo, and Galen, because this message is for them too. “He didn’t break me, and we’re sure as shit not going to let what he did tonight in any way affect our relationship. He’s defeated. Gone from our lives. That is all that matters.”
One by one, they nod.
“I’m glad that sick motherfucker is dead,” Howie hisses. “I only wish I’d been there to see it.”
“Saint did us proud,” Caz says.
“About that.” Diesel sits back, rubbing a hand over his head, stifling a yawn. “We told the FBI Saint shot him in self-defense after he stabbed him. It’s best Saint corroborates that story when the FBI arrives tomorrow to question him.”
“Consider it done,” Theo says, lifting his eyes from his tablet.
“So, what happened with Randall?” Galen asks Diesel, leaning forward on his elbows.
“Did you know he was corrupt?” I add.
“I’d become suspicious, but it was more of an instinct than anything solid until I met with Doug, the new FBI agent assigned to the case. They had been investigating Randall for some time, and they knew he was dirty, but they had nothing concrete to charge him with. They knew he was knee-deep in this shit with the commissioner and The Sainthood. They were hoping either Giana or Diego would find something they could use to tie them all together. I wasn’t approached, because they weren’t sure if I was involved or not.” He pauses, cringing a little.
“Apparently, your dad had vouched for me, but after Trey was murdered, they couldn’t be certain I hadn’t been involved, so I was deliberately shut out,” he explains.
“Is it true Homeland and VERO killed my dad?” I didn’t have time to process that revelation during the showdown in the ballroom, but it’s been playing on a loop in my mind ever since.
“The FBI believe so although they have no proof. They intend to question Randall about it. He’s a selfish prick, and he might just throw his police and Homeland buddies into the fire to save his own ass.”
“They must’ve known Dad had the files.” I tug the blanket up, covering my shoulders, suddenly icy cold.
“Doug believes they did and that they approached your dad asking him to return them. When Trey denied all knowledge, they killed him. Or perhaps Homeland believed then that he didn’t have the files and they had to kill him as they’d drawn attention to themselves, or they suspected he was lying and they murdered him before he could do anything with them.” He shrugs. “It’s all supposition, but our guess is it was something like that.”
Caz slides his arm around my shoulders. “I’m sorry, queenie.”
Diesel quirks a brow, and I smile. “My status has been elevated now I’m a married woman,” I explain. Diesel rolls his eyes, but it’s in good humor.
“Where is Randall now?” Theo asks.
“In FBI custody although I’m not sure if he’ll remain there,” Howie says. “You wouldn’t believe the politics.”
Galen snorts. “We’d believe just about anything at this point.”
“Is he going down for this?” I ask.
Diesel nods. “Most definitely. The recording from the ballroom and the Leydon evidence are enough to put him away, and as soon as the FBI has a warrant to search his home and office, I expect they’ll find more to charge him with. Plus, we have operatives willing to testify that he had planned to take everyone out tonight.”
“I thought as much,” I admit, yawning. Caz nudges my head toward his shoulder.
“We were prepared for it,” Diesel explains. “We brought Howie into our confidence last night, and we had a separate team lying in wait. As soon as Randall and his men swung their weapons on us, our guys moved into position.”
“He was outnumbered, and we took them down,” Howie confirms.
“It’s why we were late to the party, so to speak.” Diesel grimaces at his bad joke. “We wanted to ensure they were in custody and off the grounds.”
“What will happen to the commissioner?” I ask.
“He’s being taken in for questioning, and he’ll be charged too,” Diesel supplies.
“And what about the girls?” Caz inquires. “What’ll happen to them?”
“They’re being looked after, and they’ll be sent back home in time.” Diesel skims his gaze around the room. “You did good, guys. You’ve done a great thing.”
“What about The Sainthood?” Bry asks, his leg tapping on the ground.
“Most of the members in the ballroom were killed, including all of the current serving board members. The FBI already has warrants to search all of their businesses and properties and permission to seize their assets.”