A consistent beep filled the room. Greg slowly opened his eyes, needing to find the fucking sound and wreck it. His head pounded, his body ached, the last thing he needed was that fucking alarm bothering him.

“Hey, no, no, lay still.” Blake’s commanding voice was followed by his hands pushing Greg back to the bed by his shoulders.

“Blake?” Greg blinked, bringing the focus in. His older brother stared down at him, concern written clearly across his face.

“Who else were you expecting? Your fairy godmother?” He tried to crack a joke, but it didn’t penetrate the worry in his eyes.

Greg grimaced when he tried to move, and more pain blossomed in his side.

“Man, stop wiggling around. You have two broken ribs, a gunshot wound to your foot and your damn arm. Just stay still for a minute.”

Greg nodded, sinking back into the pillow. That was a good idea. If he didn’t move, the pain wasn’t so bad. He closed his eyes and waved away Blake when he started fiddling with the IV. Greg couldn’t care less if it was tangled in his arm, he just needed to get that beeping out of his head.

“Stop that fucking beeping machine,” Greg growled and shoved Blake again.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to touch stuff.” Aubree’s sweet voice floated into the conversation.

An immense wave of relief washed over Greg. They were safe. All three of them were safe. Next came the head-pounding realization.

“Where’s Nora?” He bolted up in bed, ignoring the pain in his side. “Where is she?”

Aubree looked at Blake then to Greg.

“Greg, she wasn’t with you,” Blake answered. “We were waiting to ask you.”

“Bernie! We have to go.” Greg started to swing his legs over the side of the bed, but Blake held him back.

“Whoa, no. Just wait. You can’t go anywhere. You were fucking shot, Greg! Shot!” He pointed to his arm. The throbbing in his foot reminded him well enough he’d been shot twice but it didn’t matter. He had to get to Nora before something horrible happened.

Bernie hadn’t tracked her down to keep her safe. He had another game to play.

“Nora’s not safe,” Greg announced.

“Okay, I get that, but you aren’t going to get as far as the elevators in your hospital gown and messed-up foot.” Blake and his damn logic. Greg didn’t have the luxury of waiting to heal. Nora was in danger right now.

“How’d you find me?” Greg asked. He hadn’t gotten back to his car to get his phone. The last clear memory he had was of a boot coming straight for his face.

“I got a call at The Bar. Said where to find you,” Blake said, his arms crossing over his chest.

“Where’s Bella?” Greg looked to Aubree.

“She’s fine, Greg. She’s with John and Julie.” Aubree placed a hand on his chest.

“They came home?” Greg asked.

“When I couldn’t get straight answers from you and the stories about Nora kept playing on the news I asked him to look into it for me. After John talked with you, they came straight back, Greg. She’s tied up in some nasty business,” Blake explained.

“She doesn’t know anything about the Santinelli business.”

“I know she doesn’t. But that doesn’t make her less tangled up in it. Julie has Bella at a safe house, which is exactly where my wife is heading once John gets her to pick her up. Then you and I are going to find Nora. You can’t do this one on your own, little brother.”

Greg nodded. He was right. Going up against Bernie and whoever else was behind this fucking mess was more than one man could handle on his own. He wouldn’t let his ego get in the way of keeping Nora safe. He’d already failed her by letting her go, now he needed to get her back.

“I know that look,” Aubree laughed, patting his chest. “This isn’t your fault. I’ll get the doctor. You two can bully him into giving you whatever they need to, so you can get out of here.”

“No, you’re staying in here with Greg, and I’ll go talk to the doctor.” Blake wiggled his phone in the air. “Just got the text John’s on his way up to get you. You just stay put.”

“I’m not—”

Blake’s glare cut her off.

“I was going to say I’m not going to argue.”

Blake laughed. “Right.”

John showed up in the doorway a minute later. “I have a man downstairs waiting. He’ll take you to the safe house. Don’t do anything unless he gives the okay, Aubree. I mean it, no heroics.”

Greg suppressed a laugh when she rolled her eyes.

“Whatever. Just get me to my little girl, but I thought you were taking me.”

John shook his head. “No. I’m staying with these boneheads. They’re going to need all the help they can get going up against Bernie Santinelli.”

“Santinelli? He’s one of them?” Greg asked. Nora hadn’t told him that. Though he shouldn’t be surprised given how hard it had been to get simple truths from her.

“Yeah. Though he goes by a different name. Took his mother’s name or some shit. But he works beside the head of the family. From what I found, he’s been living up in Wisconsin working a different branch of the business.”

“Which branch?” Greg asked with a heaviness building in his stomach.

“Sex trafficking. There’s not enough to tie him to anything solid enough to take him down but he’s being watched,” John explained.

“Trafficking. Nora said he was friends with her dad, almost like an uncle to her.”

“Well, let’s hope he has the same feelings toward her,” John said with a nod.

Sex trafficking.

The men at the flower shop had said they had business with Nora.

Fuck.