“Thank you for accepting me, Keagan.”
“There’s more than just acceptance in my heart Sergio, much more.”
“Good because I am never letting you go.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
It was late or early, depending upon how you looked at it when Josef came to Nik with his findings. After so many years working, the Imperial Club Nik was used to the late-night but would much rather be in bed with his beloved. Walker had turned in around midnight, but Nik had something pressing on his mind, and he had to figure it out.
He laid his concerns out to Josef earlier in the evening and asked him to look into it and see if there were any connections or reasoning for his uneasiness. Josef met him in the rooftop garden.
“Come and sit.” He told him as he entered. “Show me what you’ve found.” Josef came over with his computer tablet in hand and took a seat next to him. Nik handed him a whiskey once he was seated and comfortable.
“Thanks.” He said before taking a long sip and then set it aside. “You were right about the guys; that was no random attack.” Josef began and opened the tablet to several CCTV feeds. He pointed to the one on the right. “That’s Greenfield, no first name just goes by Greenfield. He’s a hired killer who doesn’t kill for fun or satisfaction only for cash. I didn’t recognize the guy on the left, but Kristof knew him from his time working for Ramsey. He didn’t know him personally but said he did what was called cleanup for Ramsey.”
“A cleanup man and a hitman working together.” Nik voiced as he referred to the tablet screen and pointed to the man lying at their feet. “Carlson Bendel was not their mark, but they thought he was. He looks very much like Keagan Hahn, height, weight, and facial features. A bit rough perhaps, but they figured he’d been hiding on the streets for a few months.”
“Yes, it seems very likely they thought he was Keagan.” Josef showed him the video of the two checking the wallet and then tossing it on the body and walking away. “They bludgeoned him to death so that it would look like a mugging and not professional.”
“The danger for Keagan did not end with Cruise and Jason,” Nik stated.
“Ramsey?” Josef queried.
“Keagan witnessed a murder that resulted in an order for his death. With Cruise and Jason eliminated, the order should have ended, but it didn’t. Someone else made the order. For now, they think he’s dead, but when they discover they killed the wrong man, Keagan will be hunted once again.” Nik verbalized his thoughts as he worked out the situation with Joseph.
“Keagan told Sergio that Cruise called the man Jerod. He described him in his late twenties. They seemed friends until Jason ripped out his throat.” Josef added as he scrolled through the information Nathan had compiled.
“Cruise was doing a job for someone else.”
“Do you think it’s Ramsey?” Josef through that out once more.
“Yes, I think so.” He said slowly. “Find out if Ed Massey is still in that convalescent home or if he’s passed.” Josef focused on his tablet, and in a few seconds, he had the answer.
“He died four months ago. Listed as natural causes.”
“Was there a death notice for Jarod Massey?”
Josef paused and searched the records. “He died in an apparent automobile accident three months ago on the same day that Keagan saw Jason kill a man named Jarod.”
“Ramsey’s clearing the way for a takeover. Ed, although incapacitated, was in the way as was Jarod.” Nik drank his whiskey and looked out over the city. “Jarod had his supporters interested in letting him take the reins of his father’s interests. That would have cut Ramsey's influence in half.”
“They couldn’t outright eliminate him without drawing the ire of th0se supporters, so they hired it done by an outsider and arranged it to look like an accident,” Josef said, and Nik nodded and finished his whiskey.
“Keagan knows the truth, and if it gets out, Ramsey will be in for a world of shit,” Josef added.
“The support that he enjoys now would very likely turn on him.” Nik agreed. “What’s important right now is that Keagan is protected.”
“Sergio took him to one of Kash’s rentals, thinking it would help relax him since he does have some lingering issue with vampires and the Hadden Coven,” Josef told him.
“He needs to be brought back to the Center and placed under coven protection until we determine exactly what’s going on. I know Sergio is a competent guard, and this is no slight on his capabilities, but he needs to bring Keagan here.” Nik stated, and Josef reached for his phone to make the call just as it started to ring.
“He’ll do whatever necessary to ensure the safety of his beloved. But we have a little time considering they think Keagan’s dead.” Josef commented as he opened the call. “Yes, Killian, what is it?”
…
Keagan woke around three and needed the bathroom bad. Sergio had him wrapped up tight in his arms, and Keagan was loathed to leave the warmth and comfort of the cocoon, but he had to go. He tried to slip out without waking Sergio, but that didn’t happen. As soon as he moved, Sergio snuggled him closer and tucked his nose against the side of Keagan’s head.
“Where are you going?” He said in that sexy sleepy tone. Keagan turned and kissed him softly on the lips. He stared at his amazing lover, wondering how he got so lucky and marveled at the man’s impressiveness. He was the combination of every dream man Keagan had ever imagined, handsome, strong, kind, considerate, and, in
