Chapter 57
CHAPTER 57
NORTH CAROLINA
K aydon fidgeted with his cuff links. The suit felt stiff, scratchy, and completely unnatural.
“Do you know how long it’s been since we’ve worn normal clothes?” he asked the room.
Seth looked miserable, tugging at his collar like it was trying to strangle him. But, Kaydon doubted he had many reasons to dress up. Meanwhile, Bryson turned in front of the mirror, admiring himself from every angle.
“I look so naked,” Bryson muttered.
He meant the lack of tattoos.
They were supposed to be prepping as the evening’s entertainment—just bow ties, no suits—but, of course, Bryson had cooked up an alternative plan.
Big surprise.
Initially, Kaydon had refused. But Eric’s calm logic eventually wore him down. If they told Adria, she’d shut it down—and, as Eric had said, “This is in her best interest.”
“This must be what James Bond feels like,” Seth said, adjusting his sleeves.
Bryson slipped on the masquerade mask. “Could you recognize me? ”
Kaydon studied him, trying to look at him as a party guest might. Seth’s expertise in make-up had concealed the tattoos flawlessly. Kaydon tried not to think too hard about why Seth was so adept at hiding marks on skin, but with Bryson’s face covered, it would be nearly impossible to tell his identity with any certainty.
Still, Kaydon would have recognized Bryson under a paper bag.
“No,” Kaydon said. “But you look kinda hot.”
Bryson smirked.
Eric entered the room, his presence immediately drawing the group’s attention.
“It’s time,” he said, locking eyes with Kaydon.
Kaydon took a steadying breath.
Bryson turned to the group. “Let’s run it one more time. Kaydon, you’ll be at the back door. El’s contact gives you the file. Once you have it, get it to me.”
“Looking for a red coat,” Kaydon nodded. “Shouldn’t be too hard.”
“Seth, you run interference with Jonathan’s bodyguards. I only need a minute.”
Seth’s eyes lit up with anticipation. Kaydon could almost see the chaotic ideas forming in his head.
“Quietly distract,” Kaydon added, shooting him a look.
Seth’s grin fell. “Fine.”
Bryson continued, “Eric has guards on Adria. Jonathan won’t get anywhere near her. If we’re lucky, we’ll be in and out before she even knows we were involved.”
Seth muttered, “Since when are we ever lucky?”
Kaydon punched him lightly in the arm. “Hey. We are so lucky. Don’t jinx us before the big show.”
Kaydon waited by the back entrance. The estate grounds buzzed with motion. Staff weaving between deliveries, valets circling in and out with car after car. It was a logistical nightmare.
He didn’t envy Eric.
Secretly, he hoped Bryson never decided to throw parties like this. Kaydon already knew he’d be terrible at it. Not like Eric.
He admired Eric more than he let on. Calm. Steady, one step ahead. Even the night Adria was attacked. Eric had held it together.
But Kaydon had seen what lingered underneath. Eric blamed himself for being too late. And Kaydon felt that.
Leaning against the cool stone wall, he closed his eyes, trying to drown out the noise of the event. And the deeper noise inside his head.
But the images came anyway.
Callen’s office. Bryson, bleeding.
That day would haunt him forever.
It hadn’t been the first time Callen laid hands on Bryson—but it was the first time Kaydon truly feared Callen might kill him.
He remembered the sound of Bryson’s body hitting the marble floor. The way he’d crumpled. Silent. Lifeless.
For one awful, endless moment, Kaydon had thought he was dead.
That feeling had carved something permanent into him.
He vowed then that he would do better. Protect harder.
No matter what Bryson said, they were never going back to Callen’s.
It wasn’t happening.
Maybe we will come here.
Amidst all the uncertainty, the hopeful thought came to mind. They had found a new place, a better place .
The future wasn’t something they dealt with often. The past was always there. And Bryson and Seth were almost always down to dabble in the present. But the future.
They didn’t talk about it, and they sure as shit didn’t plan for it.
But here the future held a glimmer of possibilities. Things were different, in ways they never thought possible. Suddenly the future was manageable. Even Bryson, who always hated family business, saw things differently. Because of Adria.
Your friendly neighborhood criminal, as ridiculous as it sounded, it was true. It was Adria.
She donated money, she carved out community programs, and she listened. If there was a need, she was working on it.
His parents always used to say, “Y ou get more with honey .”
Through her above-board dealings, Adria had amassed quite a following. Instead of being isolated, she was more powerful than the Nine could have ever realized.
A swath of red caught his attention, and Kaydon’s mouth fell open.
“Kay!” her bouncy voice sang out into the courtyard.
Kaydon rearranged his expression. “El, I—we weren’t expecting you.”
Bryson was going to be pissed.
Elena wore a long-sleeve black dress with a red shawl and a vanilla envelope tucked under her arm. She looked alarmingly the same. Except, thank Christ, she had dyed her hair to a vibrant red.
Her eyes darkened at his words. “If any one of you thought I was going to sit on my ass while my father tries to kill my brother, I’ll rip off your balls, my brother included. ”
She stomped past him, muttering, “Call me at three in the morning, tell me you’re a sex slave. Think I’m gonna stay home.”
She waved her hands into the air, continuing to mutter to herself, and Kaydon fell into step behind her.
It had been almost five years since Kaydon had seen Elena. Silently, he did the math and decided she had to be about nineteen or twenty by now.
She had made some poor decisions as a girl, and no one but Bryson’s father had been shocked when she came home pregnant.
Kaydon knew then what Callen was capable of.
And yet you let Bryson stay.
What was he supposed to do? They were barely twenty themselves.
You are supposed to protect him. You failed.
Kaydon put a hand on her shoulder when they were getting close to the party.
“Give me the envelope. I can show you to a spot where you can wait. I’ll let Bryson know you’re here,” he said.
Elena gave him a sly smile that was so close to Bryson’s that Kaydon had to shake his head.
“You can have the envelope, but I’m not hiding anywhere,” she said, taking a black lace mask out of the parcel and putting it on. “I have a party to go to.”
Tossing it to him, she turned, and before Kaydon could call after her she disappeared around a corner.
Shit.
Now Kaydon could add Elena to the list of things he had to worry about today. And the list was long enough already.
Donning his own mask, Kaydon weaved through the party goers. The amount of people in Adria’s foyer and hall was unsettling. Especially because in an hour he was going to be out of this suit and naked in front of them .
He easily found her.
She stood out, wearing a ballerina dance suit with black stockings and thigh-high boots. Kaydon watched her press her hand against her middle. She did that sometimes. Pressed into herself, like she could hold herself together from the outside in.
He fought the urge to go to her. To hold her together while she fought the wars she was built to fight.
A hand gripped his bicep, and he tensed before the scent of evergreen hit his nose.
“That fucker is already talking to her,” Bryson hissed in his ear.
Kaydon could feel the envelope being pulled from his grip.
“Bryce, we have a probl—” he tried to tell him about Elena, but when he turned, Bryson was gone.