Chapter 31
B lake
I blew on the guitar pick, and the little shavings fluttered to the ground.
There were far easier ways to do this, but keeping my mind and hands busy was a priority.
Glancing at the clock, I only had a few hours left on my No Ren ban, and like I figured, nothing had changed other than my urgency to see her.
Ren had been steadfast in staying away from me. All I got from her was a curt good morning, and a cool stare that felt like she was crushing my soul. She didn’t smile, flirt, or wave hi, which made my craving to be near her stronger.
My therapist couldn’t even tell me if it was my addiction causing the feelings or if they were real. I was supposed to look inward and let my heart tell me, but there was no explaining it. I couldn’t put it into words.
My heart sputtered when she passed. It ached when I saw her kissing Myles, and it stopped altogether when I had to stay on the other side of the room while she smiled with Ivy and Chantry.
Ren had infected me, and my heart sang whenever she was near.
I’d started three different songs about her, and none of them captured how she made me feel.
I blew on the pick again. The little hole was almost large enough for the chain. Just then, the door flew open with a bang.
“Ouch. Fuck,” I growled, sticking my now bleeding finger in my mouth. “Asshole,” I grumbled. Myles’s grand entrance had made me slice my thumb. I glared at him as he stomped in and began fumbling through his closet.
“Ya gotta get dressed and in somethin’ half decent,” Myles said as I opened my desk drawer and pulled out a box of bandages.
“For what?” I tore one open and put a dab of antiseptic on it before wrapping my finger.
“Count Dick as Snowflake calls him, has summoned us to supper,” Myles said like he was in the middle of announcing a wrestler to the ring.
“Great.” Slumping back, I crossed my arms over my chest, then hissed and swore. The doctor said I was healing well, even if I wasn’t at a hundred percent yet, and should be good to start doing a light workout in a few more weeks.
“And before ya ask, I don’t know why,” Myles said, stripping down.
The last place I wanted to be was at Lawrence’s house.
I avoided it as much as possible. Just the thought of what he did down in that basement made me sick.
Maybe I just wasn’t cut out to be born into the mafia.
I quickly changed and was heading out to Nash’s truck with Myles in less than five minutes.
It felt good to be back with my boys as we pulled out. I hadn’t realized just how much I relied on them until Nash showed me the door.
“Anyone know what this is about,” I asked.
“Nope. But my father is strategic, so whatever it is, he wants to ask us together to gauge our reactions. So follow my lead, no matter what.”
“Fucking great.”
“Is Blake officially back,” Myles asked. Nash locked eyes with me in his rearview mirror.
“As long as Blake is good with taking a drug test every week for the next six months,” Nash said. It was fucking humiliating, but I got it. I’d put myself in this position.
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
“Then yes,” Nash said.
“Can I tell him about phase two?”
“Go for it.”
“To start with, do you have anythin’ ya can sell other than yer charm and body?” Myles smiled.
“Depends. What am I selling it for?”
“Nash just bought a building to turn into a club and use it as our base of operations.” Myles leaned back and smiled. “And he got the council to agree to no longer sending us on pick-up and drop-off runs.”
My mouth fell open. “Jesus, I’m out of the loop for a few weeks, and everything changes. How did you manage that?”
“I told you, I’m always thinking, but it really wasn’t too hard. I gave them a better option.” Nash glanced at me. “The details aren’t sorted, but they are looking at buying a bus line.”
“Buses? Huh. They would certainly hold a lot more, could park at any major location without looking suspicious, and they run all day and night. Could even go long distances if need be.”
“Exactly. It never made sense to me that we did runs in the first place. If we were caught, it would lead back to our parents and the council. That only puts our heads on a chopping block. I get my father not caring. Myles’s dad would find that amusing, but not Liam’s or your parents’.
” Nash turned and drove through the gates of his family’s home.
I always hated this place it screamed, douche.
“The drivers don’t even have to know what’s going on, which keeps everything very anonymous and off any agency’s radar. ”
Nash parked and turned around in his seat to look at me. “Remember, follow my lead, and if he forces you to answer a question before me, just say you don’t know. What’s going on with our drugs going missing? I don’t know. I don’t care what he asks, shrug and say, I don’t know.”
“We’ve got it. This isn’t our first rodeo with your father,” Liam said. “Unless, of course, there is something you’re not telling us?”
“No, I just don’t like it when he surprises me like this.
It always feels like a fucking trap.” He pushed open his door, and we all followed suit.
He wasn’t wrong. Lawrence didn’t blow his fucking nose without it having meaning.
He probably got up on Sunday to shit at the same time so he could keep an eye on something or someone.
That was how he was wired, and we were all just pieces on one of his chess boards.
The front door to the mansion opened before we reached the top step, and a girl I didn’t recognize stood there. Again, that didn’t surprise me. Lawrence went through help like people used toilet paper.
The food smelled incredible as we entered the large dining hall.
I still remembered the look on Ren’s face when she walked in for Thanksgiving and the tongue-lashing she’d given Lawrence.
I feared for her if she did that too much.
She didn’t want to draw his attention. Bad things happened when you did.
“Boys, good to see you. Please have a seat.”
We had no sooner sat down when Myles’s father, Owen, walked in with Lip. By the look on Myles’s face, he hadn’t been expecting to see them. There was a glimmer of terror in his eyes when he saw Owen holding Lip’s hand.
“Myles,” Lip squealed and jerked away from Owen as he ran at his brother.
I watched as Myles picked up Lip before I glanced at Theo. Being twins, we didn’t have an age gap, but I understood the bond. I felt like Theo’s outburst had finally given me an insight into my closed-off brother.
“Lip, yer up here with me,” Owen said, and Lip pouted.
“He can stay here, we don’t mind. Yer almost big enough to teach ya drive,” Myles teased and tickled Lip as he laughed.
“I’d prefer for him to sit here beside me,” Owen said.
Myles didn’t let his brother go. “And I’d prefer that he sat here with me. I don’t get to see him much.” Father and son stared off as we all held our breath to see what would happen next.
“Fine, he can sit with you,” Owen said, and Lip cheered.
Servers came in as soon as we were settled, but with each mouthful of the delicious food, I wondered when the fuck we could leave. The tension was thick, and my heart was pounding hard as the panic that hadn’t been present since my OD crept into my system.
“I wanted to ask you, Nash. When did you last see Devin?” Nash casually shrugged at his father’s question.
“Not since the night at the warehouse. Why?” Nash looked calm, and yet I knew him so well that there was something he was leaving out. I stabbed my prime rib and stuffed a piece in my mouth to keep busy.
“Oh really? I could’ve sworn you saw him after that,” Lawrence said, and Nash slowly shook his head.
“Why would I? No offense, Owen, but Devin and I don’t exactly get along. That’s no secret. So why would I go out of my way to hang out with him?”
“That is what I’m trying to figure out,” Lawrence said and turned his stare on Myles. “What about you? Your father says that you spoke to your brother last.”
Myles swallowed what he was chewing and gave the performance of a lifetime. I knew from the concerned look on his face that it was all bullshit. He would rather stab his brother than be concerned, but he was pulling it off well.
“I talked to him just before Christmas, but nothing since,” Myles said.
“Are ya sure, son,” Owen asked, glaring at Myles. “It would be a shame if someone you cared about was injured because of your lies.” Owen glanced at Lip, who was happily eating and completely oblivious to the fact that he’d just been threatened.
“Have ya lost yer mind? Ya keep askin’ me if I’ve seen Devin, but the answer remains the same because it’s the truth.
I fuckin’ hate him, and I definitely do not talk to him on the phone or keep tabs on his location unless I have to sleep under the same roof.
Almost being stabbed, beaten and used will do that to ya. ”
“That was so long ago. You were both kids and exploring your boundaries. Get over it,” Owen said, and Myles’s hand tightened on his knife.
“And don’t be using Lip to manipulate me. I can’t tell ya somethin’ I don’t know,” Myles growled, and Lip looked up at him.
“Are you mad?”
Myles ruffled the hair on his head. “Naw, just havin’ a loud conversation, but never mad at you.”
“And what about the rest of you boys? When did you see him last?”
Nash held two fingers up drawing everyone’s attention.
“Okay, that’s enough. Tell us why you’re asking.
You say you want us to take a larger role and have more responsibility, fine.
But trust goes both ways. It’s obvious that something happened.
So, instead of interrogating the people who will help you, tell us why you’re trying to find Devin? ”
Lawrence stared at Nash for what seemed like an eternity, then looked at Owen and nodded.
“We have it on good authority that a powerful family is looking for him.”
“Shit,” I said, and looked around at the other guys. I felt very out of the loop as I took in each of their poker faces. They were all lying. They did know, the fuckers.
“What did the idiot do this time,” Nash asked, disgust dripping from every word.
Owen slammed his hand down on the table as he stood. “Watch your mouth, boy. That is my son yer talking about, and he deserves respect,” Owen growled.
“What he needs is a pine box and to be six feet under.” Nash slowly pushed to his feet.
“And don’t call me boy, Owen. Your family barely holds second seat by the skin of your teeth, and I technically outrank you.
I deserve respect, I don’t need to garner it by threatening the life of a six-year-old who is my flesh and blood like you do.
Maybe it’s time that I taught you a lesson. ”
Myles tucked Lip under his arm as Nash and Owen stepped away from their seats.
“Both of you sit down,” Lawrence growled and slammed his fist off the table. “Right now!”
The tension didn’t defuse, and I gripped my steak knife a little tighter. I may not want this life, but I would fight to the death for my boys.
Headlights flashed in the windows. Lawrence stood and looked outside, his brow furrowing in obvious confusion.
The dining room door opened a minute later, and I stared at my father as he walked in. “Good evening. Boys, what are you doing here,” Dad asked, nodding in our direction.
“I invited them to dinner,” Lawrence said, before Theo or I could answer.
“That was nice of you but, it will have to wait. Lawrence. Owen, we need to talk,” he said.
“We are in the middle of a discussion.” Lawrence held out his arm toward us. “The boys were filling us in on Devin’s disappearance.”
“Oh, is that so?” My father looked at us and then Lawrence. “That’s interesting because that’s why I’m here.” My brow lifted. “And it’s going to be difficult for them to tell you anything.”
“Why is that? What do you know about my son, Ethan?”
My father laid a thin file down on the table. “One of the private investigators has been trying to reach you.” Lawrence picked up his phone and stared at the screen. “When he couldn’t get ahold of you, he called me.”
“So he has. What of it?”
“He found out that Devin is already in the Mikhailov’s custody. Devin is in Cali, and has been for some time.”
Owen slumped into his chair. “No, this can’t be happening.” Myles’s face darkened as he watched his father. “What do they want for his return?”
“Nothing. This is a warning to those who disrespect them. The table is not happy about Devin’s latest betrayal of trust and this could’ve just cost us our chance at taking a vacant seat and finally sit with all the major players,” my dad said.
He looked as mad as I’d ever seen my father as he glared at Owen.
“Fuck,” Lawrence said and then turned his angry stare on us. “We are retiring to the study to speak privately. As soon as you’re done eating, leave and take Lip back to his academy.”
With that, the three of them left the room. I looked around at the guys who were avoiding my stare. “Alright, out with it. What don’t I know,” I asked softly.
Nash’s eyes turned up from his food to meet mine. “Later.”
How could so much happen in a few short weeks? And why did I hate being left out when I didn’t want in on all of this in the first place? Fuck.
“Fine…so Myles, what are you doing tomorrow for Ren on Valentine’s?” Myles looked up, his eyes wide.
“Oh, fuck, Valentine’s.”