“Fuck. What happened?” I demand.
Rage heats my blood as I step forward to meet him, Lachlan and Finn covering me. I wrap an arm around him, half dragging him to the car before I deposit him into the backseat, keeping the door open to shield us as I crouch in front of him. He slumps against the seat, still out of breath, his brow furrowed.
“What happened?” I ask again.
Connor winces. “Came to check on our stock, just like you asked me to. I brought a couple men with me, but just as we were wrapping up, someone opened fire on us. They took down Vince and Michael. We shot back, but they were too fucking fast. They got a jump on us.”
He trails off, his eyelids drooping.
“Don’t shut your eyes,” I say sharply, snapping my fingers in front of his face. He blinks, his gaze wandering before it locks on me.
“Don’t yell at me.”
“I’m not fuckin’ yelling. Can you hear?”
“Ringing in my ears,” he mutters. “Annoying.”
“Shit.” I press my fingers against his jaw, turning his head to look. There’s some blood by his ear, but I don’t think it’s damaged. It looks like he was grazed by something.
“Did you get hit?”
“From behind. Coward bastard.”
Connor winces, and I lean back, looking around the door. Finn and Lachlan are sweeping the area, looking for any sign of the attackers.
“It’s clear,” Lachlan finally announces, stepping back toward us. “They’re gone. Two of ours dead, but no sign of anyone else.”
“This should never have happened,” I growl.
Lachlan shoves his hair back from his face. It doesn’t hold. Strands fall over his forehead, framing his eyes as they glint like emeralds.
“Damn right it shouldn’t have,” he says, his voice rough and low. “No one knew we were using this warehouse.”
“What the fuck was this about?” Finn snaps. “How did they know? Did they know Connor was here? Was this a deliberate attack on him?”
Fuck. If that’s the case, this just got a hell of a lot more serious.
The Assembly isn’t made up of angels. When the separate families or criminal organizations have disagreements, they go after each other from time to time. But they’re usually all low-level attacks, shit between sellers and buyers. Small businesses vandalized, some lackey’s family threatened. A well-placed symbol. Money lost.
This is not that.
This is huge. Killing Connor would be a major hit. No one in their right mind would do this to a family in the Assembly. No family would do it to one another.
Our father was an exception. One that never should have been made.
Whoever did this, it has to be someone with nothing to lose. Someone who doesn’t give a shit about the rules.
Dmitri wouldn’t pull shit like this, as much as I hate the fucker. He’s the head of his family. If he were caught doing this, he’d be killed. The Assembly would take pleasure in it. He would die, leaving his family syndicate broken for good. Willow’s so strung out, she couldn’t lead them if she wanted to.
So it’s not him. But who else could possibly have something to gain by nearly killing Connor?
My jaw clenches as a name burns into my mind. A name that’s haunted me ever since my father’s death.
Antonio fucking Donovan.
* * *
Rose
