The Assassin's Blood: The Confradia Assassins 3

Chapter 23: The day after

Declan

An excited knock on my door wakes me from my troubled dreams this morning. Throwing back the covers, I rise from the bed and rub my hands down my face to clear the haze of sleep from my mind. I didn't sleep very well after Santana left my room last night. All I could do was think about the taste of her sweet lips and the feel of her warm, wet folds beneath my fingers. I open the door squinting when the light of the windows permeates the room. All I want to do is get back into bed and sleep for a few more hours. Hunter, on the other hand, looks as fresh as a daisy, which adds to the misery of my day. Clearing my throat, I lean my shoulder on the doorway and sigh. "What do you want, Hunter?"

Hunter's smile widens as he takes in my ragged appearance. I'm sure my hair is all over the place, and my eyes are swollen. "Damn D, you look like shit! What happened to you?" I let out an exasperated breath, run my fingers through my hair, and utter with my most threatening voice. "You have ten seconds to tell me what you want, or I'm going to kick your ass back into your room and smother you with a pillow."

Hunter visibly gulps but doesn't back down. "Sorry, D. It's just Connor, and I woke up earlier and looked through the files on the drive. You wouldn't believe what we found?" I raise an eyebrow in annoyance. "And what did you find?" He sputters and points to the hallway. "It's a game-changer. We've found something that is actually going to break shit open in Kazik's case." He claps his hands together excitedly. "Anyway, we need you. Put some clothes on and meet us in the office." Taking a deep breath, I nod my head and move back into the room.

Gazing at Connor, I gesture to the screen. "Do you know what you have here?" He looks at Hunter before he nods. "Yeah, Hunter told me that you've been trying to find this Christoph guy for a while." I rub my forehead in amazement. "That's an understatement kid. This is a freaking gold mine you've walked into." Hunter point to the names on the screen. "See this? These are the names of the women that Christoph and Perroni have helped transport out of the country." Hunter and I turn Connor towards the screen, trying to make him see the gravity of what he has dug up. "Look, Connor, I can't tell you much, but my agency has been searching for this man, Christoph. And the information you've uncovered is very valuable." I look at Hunter and gesture to the screen. "Have you told Priest about this yet?" Hunter shakes his head. "Not yet. We thought you'd like to see this first, but we can tell him now. He's downstairs with Santana eating breakfast."

I come to attention at his words. "Priest and Santana are together?" He nods his head with a sly grin. "Yeah, I ran into her after Connor woke up and took her downstairs, where Priest was making breakfast." Without another word, I walk out the door and make my way down the stairs. I have to say that I'm not happy at the sight that greets me. Santana and Priest are both sitting side by side in the kitchen, talking and smiling. They look very intimate, and the possessive side of me is raging. I can't let them see how jealous I am at that moment. It's not fair to either of them. Before I step into the room, I clear my throat and give them a polite smile. Priest isn't fazed by my façade, but Santana's smile fades, and her posture becomes stiff. It's almost as if a light went out in the room. Priest gestures to a chair near his and slumps back with a smile. "Declan, you're finally awake. Pull up a chair and have some breakfast with us." He points to the large wooden table occupying the center of the kitchen. The kitchen is set up to serve the employees of the body shop. Priest owns several properties but spends most of his time here, so he makes it very homey.

Hunter is one of his tenants. When he's not in Maleah's house, he's here. Taking a seat across from both of them, I reach for a plate and eat. Santana ignores me and continues to eat while Priest takes a sip of his coffee and lays it back down on the table. "Have you spoken to Connor and Hunter yet?"

I pour some coffee into a cup before I answer, "Yeah, they've found some very interesting information in that drive relating to a case we're dealing with." Priest's head snaps up. "What?" I smirk and take a bite of my toast. "Yeah, you might want to go upstairs and check out what they found. Also, I suggest you call Reaper and Savage and tell them to meet us here."

Not needing further encouragement, Priest rises from his chair and makes his way to the office. Before he goes, he leans close to Santana and says, "Thank you for your company, Santana. Let me know if you need anything else." Santana blushes shyly and smiles. "I'm the one who should be thanking you, Priest. You've been a very accommodating host. Especially considering that Connor and I were sprung on you." Priest waves her comments away. "It's not a problem, San. I'm glad you're here. I just hope we can help you get your life back on track." Before Santana can say more, Priest steps out of the room.

My jaw aches at the thought of their comfortable banter and his use of her nickname. I've never wanted to hurt someone more at that moment. And what infuriates me more is that he gave me a knowing look before he stepped out of the room. The bastard knows exactly what he's doing to me, and he's getting a great deal of pleasure out of it.