After four hours, we come up with… not a fucking thing. By the time we leave the meeting room, I’m exhausted and cranky. Snake never returned, which means he’s off getting drunk or fucking someone up. He’s going to end up putting more people in the hospital than me. Not that the ones he’s finding don’t deserve it, but still. He’s a loose cannon and a problem waiting to happen.
All because of a girl.
One fucking girl.
The second I walk into my room, I’m reminded why Snake is all kinds of fucked up.
Eve is smiling from the bed as she closes a laptop, and I watch as she sits back on the pillows. Her smile slowly falls when she takes in my expression.
“Do I want to know what’s wrong?” she asks.
“Any chance you’re a secret assassin on the run from a mob father?” I ask her.
Her eyebrows go up, because we’ve not yet told her about Sarah. Yeah… Not an easy conversation to have. And she didn’t overhear it the day all hell broke loose. Fortunately.
“I watched the Godfather once, but that’s as close as I’ve ever gotten to the mob. No assassin skills either.”
The only reason Sarah would have kept that a secret from Snake was because she was doing something shady. I’ve told Eve shit I never thought I’d tell anyone.
Maybe Snake was right… Maybe Sarah is the one we should be looking harder at.
“Why are you asking me something so random? Don’t tell me I’m already back under a microscope?” Eve groans, drawing me back out of my own head.
When I look up to see the worry creasing her forehead, I force a smooth grin and wink at her.
“The only thing you’re going to be under is me, baby. No worries,” I say coolly, moving toward the bed.
She bites down on her bottom lip as I slide in beside her, and she throws a leg casually over my waist.
“Not tonight. I need a minute to heal, since we didn’t stop until early this morning.” She smirks like she’s toying with me, but I half believe she might really need recovery time.
“What were you doing?” I ask her, pointing at the laptop.
She tenses, and that immediately has my eyebrows raising.
“Are you going to be suspicious of me if I don’t tell you?” she asks.
“No. But this works both ways, Eve. You can’t be suspicious of everything I say and assume I’m being suspicious of you.”
She blows out a breath while dragging the laptop into her lap and turning it back on.
“You’re right,” she says softly. “But don’t get mad when I show you what I’m doing.”
My eyes narrow on her, but she stares at the screen while my laptop finally cuts back on. I shift my gaze to it just as she opens a spreadsheet she’s working on.
“Fuck,” I groan, seeing all the timelines she’s created.
“I’m trying to find out what the feds have to do with the equation. It’s driving me crazy, Drex. And in case you’ve forgotten, Ben and his followers pissed me off too. I’d love to be the one to piece this all together, and since you won’t let me help you, I’m doing it on my own. It’s not up for debate.”
I miss the days she cowered when I raised my voice instead of glaring at me like she’s daring me to try and fucking argue. Maybe I should find out if she stole my balls or some shit.
Someone knocks at the door, interrupting our stare-down, and I answer without looking away. “It’s open.”
I hear the door open, but I continue staring at Eve, who doesn’t have a flicker of submission in her eyes right now.
“Am I interrupting that game to see who blinks first or something?” Rush’s voice has me finally turning to face the door.
“What’s up?”
He glances at Eve then back to me, and he holds up a folder. “Forgot to give you this downstairs. It’s everything that PI you hired found on her, in case you wanted to get caught up to speed.”
“On me?” Eve asks, causing me to groan again.
“No, babe, not you,” I grumble.
“Sorry,” she mutters from behind me. “Stopping now.”
My lips twitch, but Rush just looks confused.
“Folder?” I prompt.
He flips me off while bringing it to me, and I take it from his hand. Loud roars of engines carry up and through the open door, and I set the folder down on the table.
Something every kid has learned is the sound of their parents’ vehicle pulling up. I know the sound of my Pop’s bike, and he shouldn’t be here right now.
“Fuck,” I grumble just as Rush jogs out to go see what’s up, then I turn to face Eve. “Stay put. I’ll be right back.”
Leaning over, I brush my lips over hers, and she runs her hand across my cheek while sighing against my lips. Since I don’t know what Pop wants, I shut the door and lock it on my way out, ensuring no one can touch Eve. Hopefully I’m just being paranoid, but I don’t like the feeling in my gut.
Just as I walk down the stairs, Pop and twelve of his guys walk in from the hangar.
“To what do I owe this unannounced visit?” I ask, keeping my voice even.
“Last I checked, this is my place.”
Actually, it’s mine. But I don’t point that out.
He walks right up to me, and judging by the look in his eyes, I’m not going to like whatever he’s about to say.
“Just got back from a sit-down with Benny and his heads,” Pop tells me, staring me down like he’s waiting on my reaction.
Sledge never organized that meeting with Benny for me. We got sidetracked. Looks like Pop did it and is announcing his shady shit for all to hear.
“Without me,” I state flatly. “Your VP.” It’s not a question. It’s me pointing out the blatant disrespect in his admission.
Several of our guys bristle. Whether they’re loyal to Pop or not, you never go have a fucking sit-down with another club without your VP, especially when it involves his girl. This was mine to deal with anyway. Not his.
“It’s my club,” Pop growls, casting a glance around at everyone in the room. “Maybe you’ve forgotten,” he says, bringing his eyes back to me. “Maybe I’ve given you too much freedom with me splitting up the club to expand our reach. Maybe you’re just getting a little too big in the head to remember your place. Regardless, it is my decision that matters. Not your ego.”
A coldness settles over me, and a dark smirk emerges on my lips. “That’s how you’re going to play this, Pop? Very well. What did this sit-down bring to the table? Is Benny going to turn his son over? Are the Hell Breathers having a civil war? How did this benefit us? I’m genuinely curious what was said.”
Pop’s eyes turn to angry slits as he takes another step closer, but I don’t flinch. I know what he’s going to say, and all hell is about to break loose.
It’s time to see what guys are on my side.
Chapter 32
EVE
Unable to resist, I unlock and open the door, walking out onto the steel platform in front of the staircase and look down at the standoff below as Herrin and Drex stand toe-to-toe.
Drex looks eerily calm, while Herrin looks murderous. This can’t be good.
Silence is almost deafening as the entire room full of men below stare at the father and son. Something tells me this isn’t just a typical family dispute.
Rush looks up, catching my spying, and he narrows his eyes at me. I don’t move. I’m sick of being in the dark and coddled like I’m too fragile. I chose Drex. I chose this. It’s time to prove I can handle whatever this world has to offer.
“Benny wants to form an alliance,” Herrin finally says through clenched teeth. “A large portion of his men have joined his son’s mutiny. He was oblivious to it until a number of his guys went missing after you started declaring war without my consent. An alliance is smart on our part, considering Ben wants what we have—our business secrets.”
Drex’s business secrets. Not Herrin’s. Something tells me that not even Herrin knows how Drex and the guys create the shady cars.
Drex crosses his arms over his chest.
“That’s all this meeting yielded? No stipulations? No promises you shouldn’t have made?” Drex asks him emotionlessly.
Herrin continues glaring. “Tongue, boy. Don’t make me cut it out.”
A ghost of a smile actually appears on Drex’s lips after hearing his father’s threat. It’s a scary smile. Not a pleasant one.
Rush’s eyes meet mine again, and he silently implores me to get out of the line of view. I can almost hear him screaming in my head that shit is about to go down. But I stay fixed in place, watching, listening, waiting…
“We just had an assassin in here that you weren’t aware of. Obviously I don’t trust your judgment as much as I used to,” Herrin says, confusing the hell out of me. Drex’s faint, scary smile turns dark and defined.
“My judgment is the one in question? I’ll play along. As far as Sarah goes, I’m not concerned about her. She could have killed anyone in our crew at any time. But—”
“Of course you’re not concerned,” Herrin says, but I’m still stuck on the Sarah thing. Assassin? A freaking assassin? No way. Sarah is too sweet to be a killer. “Whatever her name is, she’s now a Death Dealer enemy. She knows too much, since your boys don’t shut their holes around their women.”