His to Take (Wicked Lovers #9)(86)
Author: Shayla Black

Bailey touched a hand up to his big shoulder. “Wait.”

She knew the minute he called the others, the danger would only become more real. She’d been living in a bubble these past few days. The last twenty-four hours had almost felt as if she’d started a whole new life. But her past had collided with her present. If she wanted a future, she had to bust out of her cocoon and meet this head-on.

Joaquin led her back to the bed and cuddled up beside her before he reached for his phone. “It’s not quite four. I’ll wait an hour, but no more. My gut tells me that time isn’t on our side. McKeevy is on the hunt.”

And because she knew what the sick killer had done to her father, seen what he had probably done to the victims Joaquin had been trying to save, she couldn’t disagree. His offer of an hour of peace sounded like utter bliss. But he was right. The price of waiting now might be too steep.

“Never mind. Go ahead and call.”

Joaquin nodded and dialed Thorpe. Fifteen minutes later, he, Callie, and Sean entered the club. Hunter and Logan were right behind him. Apparently, Axel had never left.

The group gathered in the main dungeon, still dressed in the trappings of Thorpe’s party, as Joaquin explained Bailey’s dream to the others. As soon as he mentioned the McKeevy connection, the room went dead silent.

“It’s a dream,” Hunter pointed out. “That doesn’t mean it’s true. Otherwise, Logan would have giant Tootsie Pops licking him while he sings One Direction songs.”

“Hey!” Logan whapped his brother on the shoulder. “I would never sing shit from a British boy band.”

“But we all know you’d be more than happy to be worshipped by lollipops,” Thorpe drawled.

“Can we focus?” Joaquin growled. “Everything that’s happened in Bailey’s dream before now has been substantiated as fact.”

“But isn’t it possible the suggestion of this picture”—Thorpe held up the photo of McKeevy—“somehow made her incorporate him into the dream?”

“Anything is possible,” Joaquin conceded with clenched teeth. “But—”

“The dream has always felt more like a memory,” Bailey cut in. “And I’ve always known I was missing pieces. I still am. The whole middle just fades away from me. McKeevy being there, though, fits.”

Joaquin nodded. “The torture is up McKeevy’s alley.”

“He didn’t employ his gruesome routine on any Aslanov but Viktor,” Sean pointed out. “The rest of the family was simply shot.” He winced Bailey’s way. “Sorry.”

She shook her head. She mourned the loss of a family, but she didn’t remember them.

“Maybe he was in a hurry. Maybe he got interrupted. Maybe . . . we don’t know,” Joaquin insisted. “It wouldn’t be the first time the asshole dusted someone without taking them apart first.”

Bailey frowned. What was he talking about? Who? She made a mental note to ask Joaquin later.

“The truth is, as soon as I saw the picture, I knew he was familiar and frightening. I had no doubt I’d seen him, then my dream supplied the answer,” she told Sean. “I know this all sounds insane, but I’m telling the truth.”

“It all fits,” Joaquin insisted. “LOSS has been seeking Aslanov’s research for about fifteen years. If they thought the scientist himself had kept a copy, they would have paid him a visit, threatened his family, and tortured him to extract its location. They also would have hunted Callie, hoping she knew something, before they eliminated that loose end. Only they could never find her until it was too late. That would have really pissed them off, especially McKeevy.”

“I’ve been thinking . . . ” Sean scrubbed a hand down his face, then looked at Callie. “I think we should postpone the wedding.”

She shook her head, her dark ponytail brushing her shoulders. “Those bastards have defined my life for too long. I’m not letting them take my future away, too.”

“Lovely . . .”

“We can protect her.” Thorpe crossed his arms over his chest. “You’ll be right beside her. I’ll be right beside you.”

“Tara and I are coming,” Logan swore. “I’ll help your guys secure the perimeter.”

“Unless Kata goes into labor, we’ll be there, too,” Hunter assured Sean. “I’ll do everything I can to keep Callie safe. Hell, most of the Oracle team will be in the pews, and you know Jack is a scary motherfucker when it comes to anyone threatening women. We’ll lock the place down and use it as the perfect opportunity to catch McKeevy.”