Ultimate Vengeance (Wanted Men Book 4)(19)

“They’re mafia,” Steve ground out, making Angela roll her eyes.

“So? And the boys who hang out on the corner are thugs. No difference except their skin color and bank balance. They’re a family.”

“I can’t picture those boys chopping off someone’s hand for stealing from them, Ang.”

It wasn’t just Angela who gaped at him over that naïve remark.

“No,” Justin drawled. “They’d just shoot the stupid bastard. Or circle him and lay the boots to him until he stopped moving. All of them have their ways of dealing, Steve. These guys spook you because they put themselves above you socially. They’re not street thugs and that’s intimidating.”

He chuckled, and Sacha saw again this different side of Justin that sometimes came out. It wasn’t often, but when he let his guard down, he was nothing like the composed lawyer she’d initially gotten to know so well.

“You should have seen the arrogance in that group,” he went on. “The leader, even as pleasant as he was, knows he has the world by the balls. You don’t get an attitude like that without earning it.” Justin dropped his solid body down on the couch with a crooked smirk on his face. “Power is a cozy partner. Now I get why my brother, of all people, has such respect for them. They’re…impressive.”

“Careful. They’re gonna draw you in, and you won’t find your way back out.”

Sacha buried a smile in her mug and took a sip of her tea. Steve was so dramatic. Justin, on the other hand, sounded unconcerned.

“Ugh,” Angela groaned. “You have to set some time aside and purge yourself of all the Hollywood crap, baby.” She grabbed her husband’s solemn face and smacked a kiss to his mouth. “Jot it down. Maybe we can work it into a screenplay and my brother can shop it around L.A.” She dropped a comforting pat to his chest, then went to get Justin the beer she’d promised.

Already feeling so much better than she had when she’d come up here, Sacha was never more grateful for her friends. She and Angela had hit it off the first time they’d met. Sacha had come to look at the apartment, and by the gentle way Angela had treated her, Sacha had known the other girl recognized heartbreak when she saw it. When it was time to fill out the paperwork, and Sacha had given the name Sarah Brighton, Angela had lifted her head and given her a look filled with sympathy.

That bad, huh? Fake names always jump out at me. You’re not a Sarah any more than I’m a John. But that’s okay, girl, I’ll cover for you. Just tell me he’s not going to show up here waving a gun around because I have a bun in the oven, and momma bear is roaring good and loud already. Plus, my daddy has a bad temper and a lot of friends.

He will not come for me. I…I am also…carrying a bun.

Angela had gone crazy at hearing Sacha’s bumbling reveal, squealing about fate and sisterhood. From that moment on, Sacha had held dear the closest friendship she’d ever had with another woman.

Steve was more reserved. He was from a small town in Idaho, and Angela claimed his move to New York to deal with big-city criminals wasn’t the smartest thing a man with his imagination could have done.

And Justin, well, hers and Justin’s friendship had grown beyond the two of them interacting because they were friends of friends. He was the type of man-friend every woman should have. He’d grown up in a wealthy family, but there was something rough about him under the surface. Something he’d kept well hidden until recently. The better she got to know him, the more she saw his darker side. She’d overheard him on the phone once, talking to his brother in an aggressive, raw manner that had made him sound as if he was someone else entirely.

Angela appeared before her and pointed to a chair. Sacha sat, and her friend dropped down. Not on the floor but right on top of Sacha’s feet.

The touchy-feely used to freak Sacha out. But sensing a free-spirit, she’d soon gotten over it. The first time she and Angela had taken a walk around the neighborhood, they hadn’t made it to the end of the block before Angela was looping their arms together. Embarrassingly, Sacha had looked at her as if the girl had groped her breast. Angela had just laughed and tugged her along. No worries, girlfriend. I don’t want any part of that gorgeous booty. I just like the contact.

“I heard Justin whisper some shit about you leaving.”

Steve and Justin both gawked at her.

She waved them off. “Seriously. You guys think you’re being all covert. We hear and see everything.” She gave them a look. “Eeeverythiiing.” She winked at Sacha when she faced her again, growing serious. “You’re not going to allow a man to drive you away from your life. I know that, and after a goodnight’s sleep, you will, too. You didn’t show up at my front door with nothing but misery in your bags, and climb your way out of the ashes just to give up now. Uh-uh. You’re also not separating Tanner and Lekzi because then we wouldn’t be able to eventually plan that wedding we’re going to make sure they have. And I know you’re not separating me from you.” She slapped the outsides of Sacha’s thighs that were twice the size of her own. “So that means, the boys are going to cover your smokin’ ass legally, and we’re going to fortify you emotionally. You’re not alone this time, and if you can bring yourself to do it, you’re going to lean on us because that’s how we do it around here.”