Big Easy Temptation (The Perfect Gentlemen #3)(110)

“What’s that?”

“She said to tell you that she doesn’t give up on her friends. Even when her friends are being call-dodging assholes.”

Connor lowered his gun. “Yeah, that’s Gus.”

“You were the one who shouted out the warning before the shooting started at my apartment.” It must have been Gemma.

She strode through the door and slammed it shut. “Yes. Since Captain Awesome came back, I stepped up my surveillance, and you’re lucky I did. Nice job on the balcony there, Romeo.”

Dax stood up. “My sister sent you?”

“Your sister is smarter than the rest of you. She figured out something was wrong the minute blondie here decided to turn twelve kinds of bitch.” Gemma moved, looking out the blinds. “We need to get out of here.”

“So you moved your whole family here because Gus asked you to?” Her brain was still reeling.

“My husband and kids are actually my brother, my niece, and two nephews. They’re good cover. Their mom walked out and I stepped up to help. Now let’s go. The NOLA PD is coming. I think they’ve had this place staked out for weeks.”

Holland frowned. “Why would they come here? We’re out of their jurisdiction.”

And why did her uncle care enough to have Morgan’s cabin watched?

A few items that hadn’t made sense previously slid into place.

Her uncle had called and told her the bullet casing matched another crime. He’d known within hours when that kind of thing could take days. He’d also known the assassin was Russian. Again, something that could take much longer to confirm. But he hadn’t known a name? Bullshit.

“Why were you trying to pull up the police reports on Natalia Kuilikov’s death?” she asked Connor.

His face went stony. “I wanted to see if they’d found bullet casings at the nursing home. As far as I remember, there were none.”

Connor Sparks wouldn’t make a mistake like that.

“Holland? Are you all right? You’ve gone white.” Dax was suddenly in her space, his hands supporting her waist.

“You think my uncle had something to do with this.” Though she felt Dax’s hold, she couldn’t lean into him.

Connor’s jaw tightened. “How else would he know? Who convinced you to betray Dax? Was it really the man representing the Russian mob?”

After seeing that man in the prison parking lot, she’d driven straight to her uncle’s and he’d had the file ready and waiting for her. He’d had those damning photos sitting right there. Why would he have kept them in his office, right at his fingertips?

She forced herself to think, to shove aside the emotion and look at the evidence. But all she could surmise was that her uncle had been involved with the initial investigation.

She looked over at Peter Morgan, who had struggled to his feet. “After the call girl tipped off the police— Wait. That wasn’t planned?”

Morgan shook his head. “No. Suddenly the NOLA PD was involved and simple blackmail was no longer an option. I started panicking then but played along, identifying Hal in the video. I wasn’t sure what else to do when the cops showed up at my door and started asking questions.”

“Who interviewed you when you talked to the civilian police?”

She believed him now. Everything was making sense. After all, he’d be out money if his blackmail scheme got exposed to authorities and then the press.

Morgan’s eyes had widened. “A big man showed up. Kirk. Are you related?” He took a step back. “You’re here to kill us all, aren’t you?”

She held up a hand. “I’m not.” Then she turned to the man she’d once loved. “Dax, I’m so sorry.”

His jaw had tightened. “Your uncle? He killed my father?”

“I don’t know, but I think he was somehow involved. And he’s on his way.” She reached for her phone and turned the recorder off, handing it to Lara. “You have to get this out of here. Connor, take your wife and Dax and run. I’ll handle my uncle.”

Lara clutched the phone. “I don’t know which way to go. Point me in the right direction and I’ll get this back to the city, but I think Connor should stay and back you up.”

“No one is going anywhere,” Connor said. “Let’s find a place to hide you and Morgan.”

“How long do we have, Special Agent?” Dax asked, his hand on his gun.

Holland tried not to think about the fact that he could barely look at her.

Gemma shook her head. “Not long. The good news is he’s only bringing two squad cars, but every one of those men will be his. You’ve got another two minutes or less.”

Connor nodded. “Do they know I’m here?”

“If he had someone staking out this place, the most they could have reported were that two men and two women entered the premises, but it may have been too dark for that. The windows on your SUV are tinted right? Maybe they couldn’t see anything.”

Holland nodded. So they’d have to take their chances that the NOLA PD didn’t know who was here and what they were up against.

“Once they arrive, I can guess where they’ll take cover,” Gemma continued. “If that helps.”

It was the only chance they had.