Page 9 of Brutal Truths

“Because he…” Cort draws in a breath, his gaze settling on the brooch. “He said Sofia shouldn’t have kept it. That she should’ve returned it before leaving London. Said that it would’ve been better for all involved. Told me the brooch was a curse—something that would come back to haunt her one day if it fell into the wrong hands.”

Her? Who? Izzy?

A shrill ringtone cuts through my thoughts, interrupting us. Reaching for my phone, I remember Lane was to ring me when he got to Izzy’s place in Oxford. “About damn time. What took you so long?”

“This whole mess has properly gone tits up. What I’m about to tell you is going to piss you off.”

Chapter 3

Aiden

Tits up doesn’t even begin to cover it. Every word from Lane’s mouth sharpens my temper, making me wish I were alone so I could let it loose. Instead, I keep a neutral face and give nothing away.

The three fuckers we’re after seem to have a talent for leaving a mess in their wake.

“Remember, don’t shoot the messenger.”

I exhale through my nose. “Just tell me.”

“When I pulled up to her driveway, the gate was broken. Not just a little broken, either—it looked like someone drove a fucking tank through it.”

Fuck. This is bad.

“So I parked my truck on a side street and we worked our way back.” He lets out a heavy breath, then pushes on. “Fuck, man… the closer we got, I knew we were about to walk into a shitshow. The backdoor was busted wide open, and the alarm system blown to fucking smithereens. We made our way inside through the kitchen. I swear, it looked like a war zone—cabinet doors hanging off their hinges, pots and pans scattered, knives buried in surfaces, with bullet holes in the walls. Like Arma-fucking-geddon.”

I spin my chair away from the men in front of me, putting my back to the room. With each passing second, my temper edges closer to snapping.

“The rest of the place didn’t look much better… then we walked into the library.” Lane cuts off, and for a second I think the call dropped.

When he comes back, his voice is low and tight. “Marty was in there. Tied him to a damn chair. Someone beat the ever-living shit out of him. His head was lolling to the side. I honestly thought he was dead.”

“Christ, bet he’s livid they got the jump on him like that.” My fist tightens, every muscle in my body coiling, ready to unleash on these arseholes when we find them.

“He is. He looks like death, but he’s pissed and ready to hunt these fuckers down.” Lane’s voice stays flat, all business. “After I convinced him I was a friend and not foe, I cut him loose and we went searching for Ryan. Found him in a back bedroom, completely out of his head with rage. He’d woke up to three men standing over him. Two held him down while the third put a cloth over his mouth. Thought it was Marty taking the piss with him for eating his leftovers. It took Marty several minutes to calm him down and explain that it wasn’t him but his twin, Marvin. He’s still out of it from the drugs they injected. Bastards left it sticking out of his thigh. His wrists and ankles are torn up from how hard he struggled. But he’s stabilizing fast. Adrenaline kicking in. He wants payback.”

“Tell him to get in line.” As I’m about to add more, another call comes in. “Hey, got to go. Teddy’s calling.”

“He’s calling me too. I’ll switch over.”

We switch over to Teddy’s call. He waits only long enough to know we’re both there before filling us in. “You aren’t going to like this. Marvin must have clocked I was onto him and legged it.”

“Fuck.” I kick the cabinet in front of me. “Find him.”

“That’s not all.” Teddy’s voice lowers, tightening at the edges. “I was about to have the nurse page your lady when Dr. Grieves, her supervisor, and that other young doctor she works with, Dr. Fletcher, walked out of the OR wing. I stopped them, told them I was a relative of Dr. Hilbert’s and wanted to speak to Dr. Lopez about her condition. Grieves lost it, going off about how she’d done a runner for the last time and that when he found her, she was finished. Before I could press him, he stormed off. Fletcher hung back long enough to say that wasn’t normal, and after all that went down with her guards, he was concerned. Before I could say shit, Grieves yelled to get his arse moving or he’d sack him too.”

“The four of us are heading there now,” Lane says, his voice cutting through the noise. A series of loud bangs—car doors slamming—carry down the line, followed by muffled voices. “Tell me where to meet you, Teddy.”

Teddy’s voice comes through tight, breathless. “In the main lobby.”

Pauly’s voice cut in next. “I’m hacking into the hospital cameras now.”

This is where being an undercover informant becomes a problem. “Fuck… give me a second to think.”

My pulse kicks hard, pulling me to get to Oxford. I need eyes on Isabel. But moving now means explaining to Silas why I have men outside the family reporting to me.

I can spin it. Say I put people I trusted on Isabel because I didn’t trust her guards. Using Doyle men would’ve raised questions with her family. He’d likely accept that, given where things stand between us.

“I’ll call as soon as I know anything. We just pulled up.”