Page 30 of Toxic Devotion
HE WAS being followed. He had been for two days. Why? He wasn’t sure. So far, there hadn’t been an attempt on his life but that could change in an instant. He was supposed to be heading home to Marco but as long as someone was tailing him, he wasn’t going anywhere near Baltimore. He was staying as far away from Marco, Alicia, and Dante as possible. Which was why he was heading south. Toward Langley.
He’d already given Marco a heads up and he knew Rome would be on high alert. As much as they butted heads, he didn’t doubt Rome’s ability to keep Marco safe. He didn’t have to worry about the Serranos.
He’d called Ty on a secure line and the man was ready for the trap they’d be laying for the two men tailing him. He wanted them alive. He wanted to know who the fuck was gunning for him.
He turned into an apartment building and made his way up the stairs in search of the apartment he knew Ty would be waiting for him in. He pulled out the key Ty had handed him in a drop-off two hours ago and used it to unlock the door to the apartment. He stepped inside and made his way down a narrow hallway.
“Ty?” he called out.
“In here.”
He followed the voice and stepped into a large kitchen. Ty was standing behind the island, looking down at thephotographs he had spread across the counter. Next to them was a secure laptop as well as two unopened beer bottles and a gun. He walked closer, giving Ty a nod when he looked up.
“I’ve already run them through every database I have access to,” Ty said, motioning at the pictures he’d taken of the men following Neil. “Nothing.”
Neil sighed. “Just like the first two.”
He didn’t like it. Not one fucking bit. Whoever was after him had some serious resources which made him even more confused about the lack of attempts on his life between the first and this one.
“Let’s hope dumb and dumber has some answers,” Ty said though the weak smile on his face told Neil he wasn’t holding out hope. Neil wasn’t either. The men were likely just hired for the job, their information extremely limited.
Footsteps had him whirling around while Ty grabbed his gun off the counter. The man appearing in the doorway, slowly stepping out of the shadows, had his heart picking up speed. Marco’s lips twitched but he didn’t smile, gaze moving from Neil to Ty while Rome stepped into the room behind him.
Neil put a hand on Ty’s gun and pushed it down, his emotions warring inside him. As much as he loved seeing Marco, he didn’t want him in danger.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“He insisted,” Rome said, gaze dark as he glared at Marco.
Marco shrugged. “Did you honestly expect me to sit on my ass while someone’s trying to kill you? Again?”
Neil dropped his head back with a groan. Fuck. Yeah, he should’ve known.
“If you’ll recall, I did quite well the first time,” he said and raised a brow.
Marco shook his head. “Doesn’t matter.”
“Friends of yours I assume?” Ty said, brow arched at Neil. There was something beyond caution in the man’s eyes. There was curiosity, which was dangerous because Ty loved unpacking a good mystery and Marco was not a mystery he needed Ty to solve.
“Something like that,” Marco drawled, gaze clashing with Neil’s.
Rome snorted, the sound coming out almost startled as if he’d tried to hold it back.
Neil crossed his arms and leaned back against the island, brows furrowing as he cocked his head to the side.
“How did you find me?”
Marco shrugged. “You weren’t exactly making it hard.”
He shook his head, a smile creeping onto his face.
Ty leaned close and kept his voice low as he said, “Now, I might not be too versed in domestic criminals, but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen his face in a file or two.”
As much as he wanted to snap at Ty, he recognized that this was his mess, not Ty’s.
“Probably,” Neil muttered. “Which is why you’re gonna forget you ever saw him.”
Ty lit up in a smile that meant Neil was about to wish he could smother the man without feeling guilty for killing him.