Chapter 31
Her mind couldn’t process what happened, it was so fast, so gruesome that she had to force herself to look down at the body lying on the ground. Blood on his head, well, from his head, slowly pooling around him, some brain matter, too. The Hellhound was dead. Her ears were ringing. A bullet.
Zoe turned to see Hector coming from one of the openings to her right, a gun aimed high, scanning the area. Zoe took a step back, then another. Her hands had red on them, and when she touched the wet on her face, there was more. Her entire body revolted, and she took two steps before reaching a corner and emptying her stomach. It was mostly heaving as she hadn’t eaten anything in hours, but the violence at the club, and the man killed a few feet in front of her, were taking a dire toll, both to her body and her sanity. In shock, Zoe screamed when Hector approached and touched her back.
“Hey! Hey! It’s me, Hector. You’re okay, you’re safe. We need to get out of here, Zoe.”
He moved to her side, but she was too stunned to do anything but kneel on the cold concrete, looking at the crimson splatters on the back of her hands.
Hector moved, and he shoved a blue piece of fabric before her face, blocking her view. She looked up at him. He had given her his t-shirt. Blinking, still not understanding, he started gently wiping her face and neck. He took each of her arms and erased what had happened the best he could. When she remembered where that blood came from, and attempted to turn, he blocked her. “Don’t look back. Never look back, Zoe.”
Stuffing the t-shirt in the back of his pants, he put his army coat back on and zipped it up. Again, with great care, he brought her to her feet and ushered her outside. As she moved, thoughts started circulating again in her brain.
“How did you know where to find me?”
Instead of answering, he pulled her to an entryway partly hidden with a bush where he had stashed his bike.
“Let’s get out of here first, and I’ll answer questions later.”
“And the bar? Do you know what happened there?”
Grim, he took his phone from his pocket and shook his head. “I’m waiting for news. Gabrielle had called me to get there, but I wasn’t in the neighborhood. When I arrived, I saw you running after that guy. So, I followed. Don’t even think about going to the bar. If the police haven’t been called with SWAT, other gangs may have gone there too.”
Another punch to the gut. Without waiting for her agreement, he sat her behind him and revved the engine. “My apartment. Take me to my apartment.”
Hector nodded, and they were off.
A thirty-minute ride had the advantage of clearing her mind and pushing the ugly images from the dead man away. She would sort it out later, now, her thoughts were only on what happened at the bar.
Zoe was off the bike as it slowed to a stop and would have fallen on her face if Hector hadn’t held her back. Not wanting to wait a second longer, and not asking for permission, she put her hand in Hector’s pocket as he was turning the key from the contact, and not waiting for him as he yelled, jogged to her apartment, dialing Gabrielle’s phone.
Hector was hot on her heels, shut the front door, and pushed the button before she could stop him.
It rang, and it rang. Each time nobody answered was like someone twisted her gut. Finally, the call was answered.
“Hector?”
Swallowing hard against the tears flooding her throat, her answer sounded more like a croak. “It’s Zoe. I’m with Hector.”
“Thank God! I was about to give him hell for taking his sweet time! Where the hell were you, Nazario? And you, Zoe? We were out of our minds with worry!”
“I got out safely, Hector arrived in the nick of time, as usual. How are you? And the others?” She couldn’t get the names past her lips.
“Apart from a few bumps and bruises, we’re all okay. Liam was a little bit less lucky. He arrived with the SWAT team as the situation got under control here, but outside, another firefight started. He got shot. Lazarus went to the hospital with him. Kai is there too. Archer is with me and Lance. It will be hell with the police. We’re trying our best to keep it contained from the media, so far so good, but we have a contingency plan to make sure all our names are kept out. Especially yours. Stay where you are for now. Beatrice was trying to call you before you trashed your phone.”
“How did you know? How did Sam find me?”
“He was coming back from the Planetarium when he saw the Aston Martin and you behind the wheel. He suspected something and followed you, calling me along the way. You seem to always have the right man at the right time saving your ass, Zoe. I wouldn’t rely on that for the long-term if I were you. Lance is pissed at you for using that sedative, you know. You better buy him a few boxes of cream donuts if you want to be on his good side again.”
“And Archer?”
This time Gabrielle hesitated. “He’s... shaken, I think. I don’t know what he thinks, he left as soon as the fight was over. He’s now talking to the police. When our mighty SEAL finally woke up and went to help him, Archer was almost free of his bonds. And as per Lance, he was way beyond furious and said that he didn’t know if he would ever forgive you for what you’ve done. I’m sorry.”
Zoe nodded, even if Gabrielle couldn’t see her. What could she say? It was a risk she’d agreed to take. And she’d lost. “You said Beatrice wanted to speak to me?”
“Yeah, she wants a full account of what happened from the moment you went to Archer’s penthouse until you decided to trust Finch’s word.”
At the name, Hector reacted, but she shook her head.
