I WOKE BEFORE ROSSLYN WITH a newfound purpose. We were going to have a baby. We were going to be a family and no one—no one—was going to threaten that. I didn’t give a fuck who I had to kill, but someone was going to pay for the threats placed against her.
I left her sleeping peacefully in bed as I climbed out careful not to wake her. Her hand was resting on her belly protectively, and it warmed my heart. Things were going to change from this point on, and I welcomed that change. I hadn’t expressed how excited I was over our new baby, but once everything settled, Rosslyn would know just how much joy and happiness she’d given me with those two simple words.
I’m pregnant.
Leaning over her, I placed my lips against her belly then kissed her on the forehead. She had sighed sweetly in her sleep before turning on her side away from me.
I called Mac on my way out of the condo to make sure he was at his post, watching Rosslyn like a hawk, and then I jumped in my Jag and made my way to my office. I needed to inspect the letters. I’d missed something. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I’d definitely missed something. I had a fresh purpose now—fresh eyes—and I was going to devour those letters until something—anything—popped out at me.
The club was quiet in the early morning hours, the place clean and ready for the following night thanks to my damn good employees. I took the steps to my office two at a time, and when I got inside, I went straight to the hiding place where I kept the letters.
My eyes scanned each letter carefully, the words mixing in my mind like a puzzle, until something stuck out at me.
That sentence moved over my brain.
I’d taken life. Twice, actually. I was responsible for the lives of Rosslyn’s parents, but no one from her past would be returning for revenge. Not to mention, only a select few people even I knew I was in the room and that was Rosslyn and me. The rest of the ones who knew were dead.
Vick.
Vick knew, but she was gone. Dead. And while Rosslyn had pulled the trigger, I also considered myself responsible for her death.
The letter was referring to Vick’s life. The more I thought about it, the more that made sense.
Things were slowly coming together—the puzzle pieces fitting as I continued to scan the letters repeatedly for more clues.
Vick.
The Boogeyman.
Vick.
What did those two have in common?
And then it hit me like a bolt of lightning and memories of my past came crashing over me.
“Come the fuck on, Sebastian,” Vick whispered as she disappeared over the side of the fence.
She was faster than I was, but still clumsy, which was why I never let her do jobs by herself. She wasn’t ready, even if she thought she was.
I lifted myself up over the fence and fell to my feet beside her.
“You’re getting slow.” She grinned over at me.
“Fuck you,” I said, standing up and dusting off the knees of my pants. “Let’s get this shit over with. I told Anthony we’d be back in two hours.”
Memories of Anthony, one of the biggest drug dealers on the streets, moved over me in waves. I’d worked for Anthony growing up. I’d stole for him. Sold drugs for him. And he’d always made sure Vick and I were taken care of as best as possible.
He ran the streets in my old neck of the woods, and people feared him. Everyone except Vick and me. I looked up to him, but Vick just used his love for her to get whatever she wanted out of him.
Another memory moved over me.
“Be careful who you try to steal from, fuck face,” I growled, pressing the gun deep into the man’s temple. “I should kill you, but I’m going to let you go because I know this isn’t your corner. Get your ass where you belong or I’ll have Anthony blow your fucking head off. Got it?”
They kept coming to me, one after another.
“Who’s Anthony?” Rosslyn asked after we’d almost been mugged.
“Just a guy I used to know,” I answered.
But did I really know Anthony?
Sure, he’d helped me out on the streets, but he was just another common criminal—another person out for himself.
I knew things about him. Things like he was seven years older than I was. He lived on the streets growing up and built his crappy empire from nothing. He was a foster kid like Vick and me, which was why he’d always helped us out. Also, he was crazy about Vick, another reason why he was so willing to help us out.
But the biggest thing of all that I knew about Anthony was his intimidation strategies. I’d seen him place a gun to someone’s head many times and he’d always say the same fucking thing.
I’m your worst nightmare. Just call me the boogeyman.
It was Anthony.
He was the one behind the letters.
A life for a life.
He was blaming me for Vick’s death.
Took him long enough.
But it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that I found him and put a stop to his bullshit. And the only way I was going to do that was to go back to where I’d come from.
The streets.