Free Honored: An Alpha Mob Romance (City Series Book 4) by B. B. Hamel

fear mounting in my chest. For some reason, I had a horrible feeling.
    “Things have changed, my friend. The good news is, you’re off the hook for the time being.”
    I blinked. “So you’re not killing the girl?”
    He laughed again. “That’s the bad news. The bitch got spooked and called the cops. We don’t know why or what she told them, but she has to be taken care of today. Max is on his way, so don’t you worry your pretty little head about it.”
    My heart skipped a beat as I stared at myself in the mirror. Max was on his way to Ellie’s apartment, and he was going to murder her. That ruthless fuck was going to kill the girl in her own apartment.
    I didn’t hear what Colm said next, and I didn’t care. I dropped the phone and ran into my office, grabbing the gun from the other night, plus my jacket and my keys, and then I raced through the main bar and outside into the piercing morning daylight. My hangover still lingered at the edges of my brain, but the fear and adrenaline coursing through my veins were slowly burning it away.
    I unlocked my car, threw the door open, and jumped in, starting the engine. I pulled out fast, driving like a maniac. I blew through a stop sign, took a hard right turn and barely missed a pedestrian, and sped west. I gritted my teeth as I got caught at a red but slowly rolled through it anyway.
    Max was on his way. Max was on his way to kill her that very second, and I was ten minutes away at least. If I was lucky, I could cut that in half, but would I be too late? From what I knew, Max had been staking her out for the past few days in that stupid fucking van, stalking her like an asshole. She had probably spotted him, and it had scared her, which made her call the cops.
    What were they thinking? If Ellie was going to talk to the police about what she had seen, didn’t they realize she would have done it already? Colm was paranoid, insane with trying to hold on to the Mob. He was willing to make reckless and stupid moves, and it was going to get him and everyone else killed. Worse, it was going to get Ellie killed.
    I pressed harder on the gas and zoomed through the streets, weaving around slow cars where I could and cutting down side streets when I was blocked by traffic. I silently prayed that a cop didn’t see me, because Ellie was dead if I got pulled over. Frankly, I wasn’t even sure if I would stop for a cop; maybe they’d be able to help stop Max.
    My wheels screeched and sent up smoke as I pulled a hard right into Ellie’s neighborhood, flying down the street. My hands gripped the wheel as I blew through two more stop signs, coming up to her block. Up ahead, parked in the middle of the street with its doors wide open and emergency lights flashing, was a black van. It was missing its license plate, but I knew exactly who owned it.
    I was too late. I was too fucking late. Max had gotten there before me.
    I slammed on my brakes and jumped out the door, the gun already in my hand. I flicked off the safety and jumped up her stoop. The building’s front door was locked, so I shot it off, using three bullets, but I didn’t care. I didn’t have time to sneak in. I kicked the door open, wood splintering all over the place, and jumped inside.
    My heart was going to break through my chest.
    I couldn’t be too late. I couldn’t be too late.
    As I barreled up the steps, there were no thoughts in my mind other than the overwhelming need to save her life.

Chapter Ten: Ellie
    I sat at my kitchen table, looking at the Saturday morning light filtering in through the windows. I sipped my coffee and sighed, feelings of shame and anger still lingering from the night before.
    The cops came pretty fast. But by the time they arrived, the van had already pulled away, and it didn’t show up again. At first, the two officers were pretty kind to me; they came into my apartment, sat down at my table, and listened to me as I told them about this mysterious van following me around. They