When Day Breaks

CHAPTER 33

SWANNY was waiting impatiently in the lobby with his teammates, checking his watch and muttering under his breath. He didn’t like leaving Eden, no matter that the threat to her had been eliminated. His gut wasn’t quiet. It was going off like a mofo.

Deciding to fuck it and risk her disappointment since she wanted to surprise him, he turned to stride toward the elevator just to ease his screaming gut when Hancock stormed through the entrance to the hotel, his features creased with rage and . . . worry.

It was the worry that stopped Swa

“Where the fuck is Eden?” Hancock demanded.

Typical no greeting, no pleasantries. That wasn’t Hancock’s way and, well, it wasn’t Swa

“She’s in her room finishing dressing for tonight’s launch party,” Swa

“Son of a bitch!” Hancock swore. “You left her unguarded even for a few minutes? What the hell kind of operation are you ru

At that, Swa

“Well, since you obviously eliminated the threat to her, it doesn’t make a hell of a lot of sense that you’re freaking the fuck out,” Joe drawled, staring pointedly at Hancock to let him know that KGI was well aware of who got to Sanchez.

Hancock swore again. “He wasn’t the threat. He never was.”

“What the fuck are you saying?” Swa

“Short version,” Hancock clipped out. “Eddie had it all wrong. He thought the mother and daughter were killed when their mission went FUBAR. He assumed it was the son seeking revenge after I took out the father after he killed Eden’s mother. But it never made sense to me. If he was seeking revenge, a wife for a wife, then why wouldn’t he have killed Eden then? Wife for wife, daughter for daughter.”

Swa

“Let’s get to her room,” Hancock barked. “I’ll give you the rest on the way up. I want to make damn sure she’s safe because the threat to her has not been eliminated.”

At that, Swa

As they piled into the elevator, Hancock continued.

“The daughter survived. It was only thought she was killed in cross fire. It’s not the goddamn son after Eden. It’s the daughter. It explains how inept the attempts on her life have been. This isn’t some hired assassin after Eden. The daughter is coming after Eden herself.”

“Son of a bitch,” Swa

“Because I thought you’d keep doing your goddamn job,” Hancock snapped. “I came straight here after taking out the son and his security. It was there I found correspondence from his sister and him begging her not to go after Eden. To stop the cycle of revenge and retribution. In all of this, it appears the son is the only halfway intelligent one. I didn’t discover this until after I’d taken him out. I fucked up. I admit that. I should have made him talk because he didn’t deserve to die. He tried to talk his sister down, but she’s batshit crazy and is obsessed with making Eden and Eddie suffer and taking Eden out. She wants Eddie to know, to see his daughter suffering, and that may be the only goddamn thing that gives us time to find her before she kills Eden.”

The blood in Swa

They rushed off the elevator, guns drawn, and when they got to her suite, Swa

The door wasn’t completely closed, a maid’s cart partially obstructing the entrance. He shoved it inside, gun up, his team flanking him as he burst into the room.

“Eden!” Swa

They rushed in, spreading out quickly. Swa

“She’s not here,” Hancock yelled. “Fan out. We have to search the hotel from top to bottom. Go, go, go!”

Somehow Hancock got paired with Swa

They ran to the basement floor and used the access key provided by hotel security to open the door leading to the stairwell. As they rounded the corner where the elevator stood, Hancock let out a vicious curse.

Swa

Son of a bitch. The crazy-ass daughter had gotten into Eden’s room by posing as a maid and used the key card from the cleaning lady she’d shot and killed.

Swa

What bothered him the most and filled him with overwhelming panic was how she got Eden out with no issue.Eden was trained in self-defense. She could handle herself in a bad situation. So the only way someone would get her out of a hotel with no one knowing and without one hell of a fight was if Eden had been drugged.

Thinking back on the hotel room, there was no sign of a struggle. Nothing had been out of place. Just the maid’s cart, and the door had been left ajar. She had to have been drugged. It was the only explanation.

With a maid coming in, Eden being Eden would have been nice and welcoming, never suspecting a maid could be a danger to her. Especially since Swa

Stupid fucking idiot.

This was his goddamn fault. He’d never get over his complete idiocy. Never would be able to make it up to her even if he got the chance, and he prayed he’d have that chance. That he’d find her before it was too late. He couldn’t entertain any other option or he’d lose his mind.