Resisting Ryann(2)

“Not in the van!” Marcus yells. We all swerve to the right, then he slams his fist into Gage’s side. “You trying to get us killed?

“Shit! I was messing with him!” Licking the blood from his mouth, which, fortunately for him, was the only contact I’d made. “The dude just started trippin’!” He flips down the visor, and his gaze falls on mine. The others pick up their guns, warning me to calm down. I sit back and close my eyes, rubbing the space between them. I’ve blocked out his words before, but this time it was different. “Don’t tell me it’s the whore who’s got you in a tizzy. I thought you said you didn’t have one?” I don’t answer him; I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did. As far as my father knows, Reese isn’t a concern of mine anymore. My lack of sleep must finally be taking a toll on me.

“No one cares,” Warren replies. The rest of the guys chuckle. “You better watch your back, Gage.”

“Or what?”

“Come on. You jealous?” Marcus says with a smirk. “We got other things to worry about.”

He watches me in the mirror, and a twisted grin appears on his face. I feel my jaw clench, then I press my lips into a tight line and fold my arms, resting my head against the back of the seat. It’s too tempting to stare him down, so I close my eyes and try to clear my mind. The bastard isn’t worth my time.

He snickers as though he can read what I’m thinking. “Believe me, Ryann … the feeling’s mutual.”

We pull up to an abandoned warehouse, never meeting my father in the same place, therefore lessening our chances of getting caught. Like always, I’m the last to know the location. Nobody trusts me at this point, but that’s smart. They shouldn’t. One by one we climb out of the van and make our way around the back. My father and the rest of his entourage are already here. There’s a woman standing by his side, maybe a hooker. All I know is that I’ve never seen her before, and she can’t be much older than Reese.

“You’re late,” my father says. His two overweight bodyguards step forward. I raise my arms, and they pat me down, checking to see if I’m wired. It’s an occurrence I’ve become accustomed to.

“You can blame your son for that,” Gage replies, tipping his head in my direction. Man, I’d love to knock whatever’s left of his teeth down his throat.

“Luke?”

I respond to my father, “We couldn’t find him.”

“And his wife?”

“We tried. She said she didn’t know anything, and I believe her. Then dipshit over here got a hard-on and wouldn’t leave her alone.” I glance at Gage. “It took some convincing for him to finally realize the feelings weren’t mutual.”

My father purses his lips, while the rest of the guys laugh. Gage raises his gun. “You lying sack of …”

“Put it down, Gage. There’s no need for violence,” my father says calmly before his eyes flick to mine. “You two need to start figuring out how to get along,” he says, pointing between us, “or things are going to get messy.” Gage scowls, and I drop my gaze to the floor. “Samuel owes me a lot of money. We don’t have time for this crap; you need to find him. Understand?”

We look at each other and nod, neither of us meaning it. Pretending to be my father’s puppet takes practice. While most of them have it down, I’m still getting the hang of it. Every guy is in this for himself. If getting along with Gage will earn me a gun, then that’s what I’ll do. You can’t trust anyone in this business, and I can only do so much using my bare hands.

“So what’s the plan, boys? The clock is ticking.” He looks at his watch.

“We go back, get the wife and kids. Kill ‘em off one by one. If he cares about his family, he won’t have a choice but to give us the money.” Gage grins, and that’s when I snap.

“Are you really that hard up? ‘Cause if you’re looking to get off, I can think of several other options. A couple of them being a willing participant and your hand.”

Gage strides toward me. “I’ve had enough of your mouth, damn it! I could have ended you back at the apartment.” He turns to my father, pleading, “You said he was dead to you. How about I make it official and put us all out of our misery?” Marcus and Warren hold him back. I stay where I am, craving the confrontation. Let him come.

My father tilts his head, and I see the evil lurking behind his eyes. “Do you know who my son is, Gage?” he asks. I groan under my breath. I don’t want him turning this into a show. These are people’s lives that we’re messing with. When Gage doesn’t respond, he says, “Tell him, son.”