Chapter 12 Loose Ends
Pierce stared at the man across the table, watching blood drip from his split lip onto the concrete floor.
"I'll ask one more time," Pierce said, his voice dangerously calm. "Who sent you?"
The man spat blood. "Go to hell."
Pierce's fist connected with his jaw before he could blink. The crack echoed through the warehouse.
"Boss." One of his men stepped forward. "We got what we needed. He's one of Rodrigo's."
Of course he was.
Pierce straightened, rolling his shoulders. His side still ached where Elena had stitched him up two weeks ago. Two weeks that felt like a lifetime.
"Get rid of him," Pierce said, walking away before he could do something he'd regret.
Outside, the night air was cold. Chicago in late winter was brutal, but Pierce barely felt it. He'd been running on autopilot for days now. Meetings. Fights. Violence. Rodrigo's crew getting bolder.
And through all of it, he couldn't stop thinking about her.
The penthouse was too quiet when he got back.
Pierce poured himself a drink, something expensive he couldn't taste, and stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the city below.
Somewhere out there, Elena was probably lying awake. Staring at her ceiling. Fighting nightmares he couldn't protect her from.
He pulled out his phone, scrolling to the folder he shouldn't have.
Surveillance photos. Dozens of them.
Elena leaving her apartment building. Elena at the hospital, smiling at a patient. Elena at the grocery store, looking exhausted but still somehow beautiful in that effortless way she had.
He'd told himself he needed to make sure she was safe. A loose end to keep tabs on.
But he was lying to himself.
He couldn't stop looking at her. Couldn't stop wondering if she was sleeping better now that he was gone. If she'd thrown away the note he'd left. If she ever thought about him.
Probably not.
She was smart. She'd probably celebrated the day he left.
His phone buzzed. Xander.
Need you at the club. Now.
Pierce downed his drink and grabbed his jacket.
The club was packed, music pounding so loud it rattled his chest. Pierce made his way through the crowd to the VIP section where Xander was waiting.
"What's so urgent?" Pierce asked, sliding into the booth.
Xander gestured to the tablet in front of him. "Rodrigo's men hit another one of our shipments. Third one this month."
Pierce's jaw tightened. "How much did we lose?"
"Half a million, give or take."
"Damn." He said frustrated.
"Yeah." Xander leaned back, studying Pierce with an expression that made him uneasy. "You've been distracted lately, boss. The crew's noticed."
"I'm fine."
"Are you?" Xander took a sip of his drink. "Because from where I'm sitting, you've had men watching some random doctor for two weeks. Want to explain that?"
Pierce's expression went cold. "That's not your concern."
"It is when it affects the crew." Xander said firmly. "Rodrigo's getting bolder, and you're wasting resources on a woman."
"She's a loose end." The lie came easily. "Making sure she doesn't talk. That's all."
Xander didn't look convinced. "If she was just a loose end, you would've handled it by now. You don't leave loose ends, Pierce. You cut them."
Pierce's hand tightened around his glass. "Drop it, Xander."
"Just saying." He shrugged. "Whatever she is to you, it's making you weak."
"I said drop it."
Xander raised his hands in surrender. "Your call, boss."
Pierce left the club, his mind racing.
He wanted to pull off the surveillance, should let Elena go back to her normal life without his men watching her every move.
But every time he tried to give the order, something stopped him.
He told himself it was just until Rodrigo's attacks calmed down. Just until things settled.
All of which were lies.
Back at the penthouse, he poured another drink and pulled up the surveillance feed on his laptop.
Elena's apartment was dark. She was probably asleep.
Or trying to be.
Pierce watched the empty screen for longer than he should have, his chest tight with something he didn't want to name.
He'd done the right thing by leaving. She was safer without him.
So why did it feel like he'd made the biggest mistake of his life?
His phone rang.
Pierce answered on the second ring. "What."
"Boss, we got a problem." It was Michael, one of the men he'd assigned to watch Elena. "Rodrigo's crew. They approached her tonight. At the hospital coffee shop."
Pierce was on his feet before Marcus finished talking. "What did they say?"
"Nothing direct. Just asked questions. Casual stuff. But they were feeling her out."
Pierce's blood ran cold.
"Boss" Michael hesitated. "They know who she is. Someone talked."
"Pull everyone," Pierce said, his voice deadly calm. "I'm handling this myself."
"Boss, are you sure..."
"I said pull everyone." His voice was harsh. "Now."
He hung up before Michael could argue.
Pierce grabbed his jacket, his gun, his keys. His mind was racing, calculating. Rodrigo's men approaching Elena meant she was already a target. Meant staying away hadn't kept her safe at all.
It had just left her vulnerable.
He'd been so focused on protecting her from himself that he hadn't seen the real threat. Rodrigo would use her to get to him. Would hurt her just to prove a point.
And Pierce couldn't let that happen.
He was halfway to his car when his phone rang again. Different number.
"Yeah."
"Mr. Diego." The voice was unfamiliar. Male. Smug. "We need to talk about your little doctor friend."
Pierce's hand tightened on his phone. "Who is this."
"A friend of your brother's. We've been watching her. Pretty thing. Lives alone. Works late. Very predictable routine."
"If you touch her—"
"Relax. We're not animals. We just want to talk. Maybe ask her some questions about you. See what she knows."
"She doesn't know anything."
"That's what we're going to find out." The man paused. "Unless you want to save us all some time and meet with Rodrigo yourself. Work this out like professionals."
"Tell Rodrigo if he goes near her, I'll kill him myself."
The man laughed. "Somehow I don't think you're in a position to make threats. We know where she lives. Where she works. We know everything, Diego. And unless you play nice, we're going to pay her a visit. See how much she really means to you."
The line went dead.
Pierce stood there in the parking garage, phone still pressed to his ear, rage boiling through his veins.
They'd threatened her. Used her as leverage.
Because of him. Because he'd been stupid enough to let himself care.
He'd tried to do the right thing by leaving. Tried to keep her safe by staying away.
But it didn't matter.
She was already in danger. And it was his fault.
Pierce got in his car and headed toward Elena's apartment, his jaw set, his mind made up.
He'd left to protect her. Now he was going back for the same reason.
Because Rodrigo's men had made a fatal mistake.
They'd threatened the one person Pierce couldn't walk away from.
And now they were going to pay for it.
He parked down the street from her building, watching the windows of her apartment. The lights were off, but he knew she wasn't sleeping.
She never slept.
Pierce pulled out his phone, staring at her number. The one he'd memorized but never called.
He could text her. Warn her. Tell her to pack a bag and disappear for a while.
But that would just make her a runner. A target on the move.
No.
If Rodrigo wanted to use Elena to get to him, Pierce was going to make damn sure they regretted it.
He put the phone away and settled in to watch.
He'd left once. Told himself it was for her own good.
He wouldn't make that mistake again.
Not when her life was on the line.
Not when every instinct he had was screaming that she was his to protect.