“You . . . called . . . Declan . . .”
“After Luciana was cut up. I didn’t have anyone else to turn to.”
Kylie rubs her fingers across her jaw. “He gave you his number?”
I nod.
“And you called that cold bastard?”
“He told me to—in case of an emergency.” I frown as she begins pacing the room.
“Freaking terrific. I don’t understand any of this.”
I step in front of her, blocking her from preceding forward. “Neither do I.
“But I bet he was laughing all the way to Shelby knowing he had the perfect ploy for getting me to resurface. You.”
Disappointment, more than anything, washes over me. I believed him. Trusted him. Opened up to him. Gave a piece of my heart to him. My body.
“Why would he use me to get to you?”
She shakes her head. “It’s complicated.”
I fold my arms across my chest.
“It’s better if you don’t know.”
“That’s what he said, I mutter. ” Unbelievable. I give her that I’ve-got-all-day look and hold my ground. What do I have to do . . . say . . . to get a straight answer out of her? “Okay, then. Who is Jaxson?”
I watch as she cups her stomach as if I’ve landed a sucker punch and stolen the breath out of her. “My lover. They think I set him up to be killed,” she whispers in a voice so low, my ears strain to hear her.
“Who thinks you did this?”
“The organization I work . . . worked . . . for. Remember the money I was bringing home to Mama? Did you really think I was running wild while earning that kind of cash?”
I frown, remembering how expensive Mama’s treatment had been. The hassle Kylie’d gone through arranging for alternative care even after National Insurance denied us. There’d been a steady supply of pills, right up until Mama passed away. And my sister’s telling me she paid for it all by doing what? Jeez, I’d been so relieved over the possibility of how a different type medication might help Mama that I allowed my sister to easily brush me off and downplay where the money was coming from.
“For the longest time, I protected you from them. Never mentioned you. Didn’t offer up any personal information about you. I prayed Hayden wouldn’t dig too deeply and if he did, he’d leave you alone. Now everything is spiraling out of control. Hayden will never let Jaxson’s murder go unanswered. He already believes I’ve been talking about his goddamn organization and the ranch located just outside of Shelby. I was late. Jaxson was murdered. And now you’re in danger, too. God, how I wish you never returned to Shelby.”
“And Declan?” I manage. Oh God. Oh my God.
“He’s the most ruthless out of all of us. Jesus, there’s probably a hit out on me.”
“A hit. Like an order to kill?”
“Yeah. I can only hope they’ll want to talk to me first.”
“And Declan . . . used me . . . to get to you . . . to kill you.”
“God, I’m praying they’ll question me before . . . but they’ll have to catch me first. Declan will do anything to get the job done.”
“That bastard.”
Kylie’s mouth drops open for a split second. But I’m too upset to keep my hurt hidden from her.
“Madelyn. Did he . . .”
“He never hurt me,” I cut her off. “But I can’t say that’s true for the five men I watched him gun down,” I add, reinforcing in my mind who he truly is.
“Four.”
“What?” She comes to a halt before me and I stare at her in confusion.
“I took out the fifth guy. It’s unlikely Declan would have gotten off a fifth shot before taking a bullet.”
“You were there?” And she shot a man? I blink, then blink again. Who is this person?
“I doubt Declan’s figured it out yet. Probably thinks it was another one of us.”
“Us. Someone from your former organization?” My head is spinning. So many secrets. So many lies.
“But that Prick Novák wasn’t with them.”
“Novák?”
“From the compound outside of town? The leader of the Pricks that gunned down our father.”
“I thought the mob did that?”
“He did. I’m going to find that asshole if it’s the last thing I do and finish what’s been started. I owe Jaxson this much.”
Oh my God. What has she gotten herself involved in? I always understood she had a preoccupation with the compound outside of town, but she never confided in me why. I blink, trying to comprehend what she’s told me, all the while watching the desperate flash of pain cross her face.
“How can I help you, Kylie? What can I do?”
“Stay alive.”
“Uh . . . I plan to.” I swallow hard. “By avoiding Franco. Evading Declan. Anyone else I should be concerned about?”
“My boss. Former boss . . . that Bastard.”
“Hayden?”
She nods. “He’s ruthless, a master manipulator, answers to no one. Clever and cunning. I’m struggling to keep one step ahead of him. Then Declan shows up with you . . .” Her tone is ripe with fear.
“I’ve shared too much.” She snorts. “And I’ve already been accused of being a tattletale.” She grabs me by the arms and shakes me hard. “Keep quiet about what I’ve shared with you. My confiding in you puts you in even more danger, Madelyn. Understand?”
Understand? That’s what she’s asking me? Everything I believed, everyone I knew—my own blood, my best friend, my knight in twisted armor—is a lie.
“Let’s get out of here.”
I place my hands on my hips, to stop them from shaking more so than to give my sister the impression that I’m squaring off with her. “Can’t you sit down with your boss and reason with him? Tell him the truth?”
She sighs. “You never change despite the clusterfuck you’ve been exposed to. It breaks my heart how you’re so defiantly optimistic.”
“Running is a form of avoidance.”
“Damn right it is.” She rolls her eyes at me. “Next you’ll have me on the phone with Dr. Phil.”
“You can’t run forever. You’ll have to stop sometime.”
“I’ll stop after I find Novák. For now, running is all I can do.” She snatches hold of me and tugs me into a fierce hug.
“I’m a traitor on the run.” She sucks in a breath. “And now, so are you.”
24
Declan
I’m in perfect range for a clean shot. The motel room I’m holed up in sits across the narrow parking lot and is a few doors down from Madelyn’s room. There’s a neat tear in the window screen, big enough to fit the barrel of my gun through. The large heating unit on the adjacent roof casts enough of a shadow to conceal it from eyesight. No secondary exits, it’s the front door, that’s it. The perfect setup for a hit.
Shit for luck on Kylie’s behalf.
Flicking my wrist, I glance at my watch. What the hell is taking her so long? Shelby isn’t exactly Oklahoma City. With the mob in town, one occasional murder isn’t uncommon. But my gunning down four of Novák’s men—with a questionable fifth mystery shot—is sure to have caused a law-enforcement ripple effect throughout Shelby.