6. Eva
6
EVA
I stood at the head of the table, surrounded by the team leaders. They all looked equally confused as to why they were here. This wasn’t easy, but I would not let Cash’s company fall to pieces. Even if he never came back, what he built would live on. There were good men and women who worked here, and they deserved the best.
“I think you all heard by now about what happened between Cash and Fox. I—” I really didn’t know what to say. Their boss lost his mind and now needed a replacement?
Thankfully, Lock got to his feet, taking over for me. “We all heard, Eva. We’re behind you, no matter what you need.”
I nodded in gratitude. “Thank you. I appreciate that very much.” I took a deep breath and forged ahead. “Well, we can’t let the company fail. Everyone needs a job and there’s so much to get done to get back on track. So, I’m appointing Lock as temporary CEO.”
“What?” Eli and Thumper both shouted.
“Why him?” Eli barked.
“Yeah, no offense, but I don’t want to have to fill out a spreadsheet for every job,” Thumper muttered.
My lips twitched in amusement at their outrage. “Did you want the job?”
“No,” Thumper grumbled.
I turned to Eli. “You?”
He scoffed, shaking his head. “Are you kidding? I want less work. You just gave us more.”
“That’s what I thought.” I glanced at Jack and Chase in case they wanted to put up an argument, but they both seemed content. “I figured you wouldn’t want the position, Jack. Office life doesn’t seem to suit you.”
“Not even a little.”
“And Chase, you just got your team back together. This isn’t the time to rework things.”
“Agreed.”
“So, now that we’re all in agreement?—”
“Hang on,” Max muttered, stumbling to his feet. “What about me?”
My jaw dropped as I took in the pink Hawaiian shirt, the straw hat, the cigar he wasn’t supposed to be smoking in the building, and the obvious reek of alcohol. He was doing better with not drinking, but he wasn’t ready by any means to lead the company.
“What about you?”
“You didn’t ask me.”
“There was a reason for that.”
He puffed out his chest, looking quite adorable as he pretended to be hurt by his exclusion. “Not that I want to run this company, but you could at least ask.”
Biting back a grin, I put on my most serious face. “Max, the company is in trouble. Will you lead us through these dark times and carry us through to the light?”
He tore off his sunglasses, revealing his bloodshot eyes. “I’m gonna have to respectfully pass. But I would like to put in a request for a new plane.”
“Request denied.”
“Figured,” he muttered, sitting down. “Should have taken the job. I could have gotten whatever fucking plane I wanted.”
“Now that we’re all in agreement, Lock, I would like you to take the lead on rebuilding the clientele. I think we all know Cash pushed aside jobs recently. We need to get back on track with that. Max, since Fox is in the hospital, your team is out of the rotation for now. Maybe work on…not being drunk all the time.”
He saluted me and leaned back in his chair, puffing on his cigar.
“I will be leaving for about a week to head to Pennsylvania. I’m hoping I can enlist the help of Knight and persuade him to find Cash and get him to work his shit out.”
“If Fox failed, what makes you think Knight will be able to do it?” Jack asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. He’s his brother. Even if they don’t know each other, maybe he can do or say something…”
Jack raised his head slightly, his eyes narrowing on me. “You didn’t ask any of us to do it.”
“Because you all worked with Rafe. Cash wouldn’t listen to you. If anything, he’d be more angry that you haven’t given up everything to go with him and take revenge. I doubt it would do any good.”
“But you know he’s right,” Jack continued, shocking the hell out of me.
“Excuse me?”
“Cash is right.”
“In what way?” I asked, getting my back up against the wall.
“They took something from him. I’m not talking about Rafe. I’m talking about his choice. If he had been able to save Rafe, he would have walked away, no questions asked. But they forced his hand. Zavala wanted to send a signal to Cash that no matter what he did, he was more powerful. That’s why it had to be a public display. That’s why it was so gruesome and horrible.”
“Zavala is dead,” I pointed out.
“But the people who backed him are not,” Jack continued. “Rafe won the battle, but whoever is behind this will win the war if Cash walks away. That public execution was not just about Cash. It was about every single fucking person on the planet. No man or woman can touch Zavala, or the people who fund him.”
“IKE fucking touched Zavala,” I spat.
Jack nodded, but I got the feeling he was only appeasing me. “They will rebuild, and they will be watching. Cash dared to interfere in their business, and if he doesn’t fight back, they will come for him. It may not be right away, but they will. They will come for all of us.”
His statement sent chills down my spine. I didn’t want to listen to his words. Even if he was right, Cash didn’t leave for those reasons. He left because he was crushed by the guilt of not being able to save his brother.
I cleared my throat and turned back to the rest of them. “Either way, Cash is not here and we need to rebuild. Lock, if you would please take over, I would greatly appreciate that. Rae has all the codes to Cash’s office.”
I nodded to them and they all stood, filing out of the room. I snagged Jack’s arm on the way out and kept him back. Once the doors were closed and we were alone, I turned to him, my anger rising to the surface.
“You’re going to tell me right now what you meant when you said they forced his hand.”
Confusion flitted across his face for just a moment and then he cursed, taking a step back. “He never told you.”
“Obviously not.”
Sighing, he turned from me, rubbing his hand along the back of his neck. “Eva?—”
“Don’t you dare even think of lying to me or telling me it’s not your story to tell. He is my husband, and if he’s going through something this horrible, I need to know what it is.”
When he faced me again, his eyes were filled with pain. “Did he tell you how Rafe was executed?”
“I—He said he was burned.”
“At the stake. Tied to a fucking stake and burned alive.”
The anguish in his eyes told me it was really fucking bad.
“Cash tried to stop it, but he was too far away. He watched it all through his scope, taking out anyone he could, but there was nothing he could do for Rafe. Nothing except?—”
“Tell me,” I whispered, pressing a hand to my stomach as acid churned inside. I closed my eyes, not wanting to hear any more, but needing it at the same time. Cash said he had pulled the trigger, but this was so much worse than I had imagined.
“There was nothing he could do but put him out of his misery. He was fucking burning alive and Cash had to watch from a distance. There was nothing he could fucking do for him. Eva, he’s the one who pulled the trigger and killed his brother.”