The small skull with a grim reaper outline is the background for the text. Drake made it look amazing. But it’s meaningful to me. Or at least it was. Drex didn’t just have the generic DD put on my inner wrist. He gave me something special, something that meant something to him.
“It’s weird how they treat me differently here than they did there,” I sigh. “Things might have been different for Drex and me if everyone hadn’t acted like they wanted me dead all the time.”
He snorts while rolling his eyes, driving slower when the rain starts to pummel the Mustang.
“It’s because there, you were suspicious. You were new to the group, and Drex kept you hidden away most of the time, from what I heard. At my place, you’re out in the open, I’m neutral ground and happen to value my life. In other words, if they talk about shit in front of us and you leak it, I have to suffer the same fate as you.”
I’m not even afraid when he announces that, because I know Drex wouldn’t allow anything to happen to me. I wouldn’t talk, and he wouldn’t let them just assume I had.
But then something does hit me pretty damn hard.
“Holy shit,” I blurt out, and Drake slams on the brakes, sending us skidding across the road while the rear fishtails.
“What?” he barks when he regains control of the vehicle.
“No. No. Nothing in the road.”
“You don’t say something like that when a man is driving in the rain! Damn it, woman. Are you crazy?”
“Maybe a little crazy, but that’s beside the point. I just realized something. Cecil.”
He curses as he leans up on his steering wheel to see better.
“What about him?”
“Cecil disappeared for a ‘family’ thing right before all the fed issues and he hasn’t come back. The guys have been pouring in to replace their appointments they had with him.”
“I fucking know that. Bastard. You have any idea how hard it is to pencil in a bunch of impatient assholes when you have a six-month waiting list?”
“Yes, I do. I’m the one penciling them in for you, but it’s easier since all the Hell Breather appointments have been cancelled. That’s not the point.”
“What is the point?”
“The point is that Cecil heard all the same chatter you did. They talk, but not about specifics.”
“The ones talking don’t know specifics. Only Drex’s and Herrin’s inner circles know the details of shit.”
“Drex was on the phone one day when we were at his house—before the big bang incident—and he alluded to the fact the mole was someone without the details. Cecil is out of town. General pieces of information have been spilled… Cecil is the mole. Not one of the crew.”
He slows the car to almost a stop, pulling off on the shoulder as cars go by. As soon as he puts it in park, he turns to face me.
“You realize an allegation like that could get him killed. What if you’re wrong?”
“I didn’t say I was going to call Drex and tell him. I was just working it out. It makes sense. Any chance Cecil was in trouble with the law and would rollover on the Death Dealers to get out of a sentence?”
He purses his lips. “Cecil has a bad habit of gambling. If anything, he’s in trouble with loan sharks. Not feds.”
My stomach roils. “Loan sharks like Benny works for?”
His eyes widen, and he curses again. “But why would he leak to the feds instead of leaking to Benny?”
“He would have leaked to Benny. I heard Drex mentioning that Benny’s crew had info they shouldn’t have. Even you told him the Hell Breathers knew about the cars and stuff.”
“Drex talked a lot in front of you. That’s not common. You shouldn’t be telling me this stuff, because he trusts you.”
“And I trust you,” I remind him. “You were willing to risk your own life to keep me safe from the Death Dealers once. I doubt you’re going to try and get them to kill me now.”
He shrugs like I have a point, taking this all too casually.
“Benny would want Drex out of the way if he wants that business. Think about it. It’s less risky, it’s obviously profitable, and if they had a warrant and could raid at the right time, all those details would be filed as evidence—client lists, equipment, basically a how-to guide to take over. I know Drex has an FBI informant. Benny probably has one of his own, or knows someone who does. It’d be the smartest way to get that info without starting a war.”
He blows out a long breath while sagging back in his seat.
“That’s fucking beautiful. You should be in charge of all shady shit from now on. But you’re forgetting one simple thing.”
“Which is?”
“Benny Highland has the IQ of a fucking dog. He wags his tail and chomps his teeth. He doesn’t have the brain power to launch something this massive into play. This is something Drex would be capable of if the roles were reversed, but Benny is a fucking dumbass.”
True.
I sink down in my seat, playing over the variables in my head.
“I’ve been trying to figure out where I fit into this entire equation from the beginning, and none of it has ever made sense. Benny hasn’t bothered with me since Drex got me. It really was as simple as handing me over as a gift for peace and information. There was no masterful plan behind the action, so I see how that would contradict him crafting up something so elaborate.”
He seems to be thinking as he stares out the windshield, taking in the rainy road ahead. After a beat, he finally speaks again.
“Cecil… I wouldn’t put it past him. He turned on me when he took half my client list. He definitely wouldn’t hesitate to turn on the Dealers if someone promised to keep him safe. Especially if he owed a lot of money to the wrong people.”
Just as I start to concoct another theory, my body is jolted hard, and the sound of glass shattering is barely audible over the roar of some vicious engine. My breath catches in my lungs as the sensation of weightlessness hits me, and it’s then I realize the car is flipping as everything blurs around me.
Drake yells my name, but I’m jarred again as the seatbelt catches me, anchoring me to my seat like a heavy arm slamming into my chest and clamping down against my waist as a roar and the sound of whining metal fight for dominance. The taste of blood settles in my mouth, and my ears are ringing when the car finally skids to a halt on its roof.
Grass and mud is all I see as my body tries to relax in my upside-down position. Everything aches.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around what happened when my eyes see a few pairs of boots come into view, walking toward my side.
My head jerks toward Drake, but he’s upside down and hopefully just unconscious, because his eyes are shut and he’s not moving. I look around for anything to use as a weapon, but nothing is in sight other than random, useless things.
Someone kneels in front of the shattered window at my side, and my lungs freeze with my heart when a familiar face dips into view.
“There you are, Eve. Been looking for you.”
Chapter 16
DREX
I glance at my phone, wondering why Axle hasn’t called yet. Eve should be home by now. She should have been home an hour ago, actually. I’ve asked for daily updates since that little surprise nearly pushed me over the edge.
I swear I will fucking castrate Drake—that motherfucker—if he even thinks about taking her to his house. I’ve been ready to beat the hell out of him since I found out Eve was working for him. The only thing keeping me sane is that they’re only alone for the short trips to and from work. The rest of the time, I have eyes on them.
Cursing, I get out of bed, stretching and groaning. It’s been a long fucking day, and I’m not used to being up so much during the actual daylight hours. Unfortunately, I don’t sleep much anymore.
Finally, I get sick of waiting, so I call Axle. He answers almost immediately.
“Gotta call you back, man.”
“The hell you do. What’s going on?”
“Seriously, Drex, I can’t talk right now. Got blues all over and trying to get close enough to find out what happened.”
A prickling sensation assaults my back like thousands of tiny needles are all jabbing in at once.
“Axle, what the fuck?” I growl, while grabbing a shirt to pull on.
“Don’t come out here, Drex. Just stay put. We’ll call you the second we can get close enough to talk to Drake without blues noticing us.”
Bile rises to my throat as I sling my door open, carrying my boots in my hand as I jog down the stairs.
“Axle, where are y—”
All the background noise cuts out, letting me know the line just went dead, and I refrain from slamming my phone against the wall. He just kept saying Drake. Not Eve. Which is either good or really fucking bad. Why wouldn’t he mention Eve? Is she home safe? Is… I can’t even think of the other option. No fucking way is she dead. Hell to the fuck no.
I got her out of here. I have people watching her until I know for certain she’s safe. I did everything right—everything that was best for her even if it has been fucking killing me.
“Rush!”
He pushes off from the wall when he hears me, and he tilts his head. “Grab one of the dark tinted cars and some keys. Probably best if I don’t drive right now.”