Chapter Twenty-Eight
Dean
“Baby girl?”
She stirred against me, her hand gripping my T-shirt tighter. I smirked down at her before meeting James’ eyes in the rearview mirror. We had been at it all night.
Haley told us everything she had seen and heard while she was at Collin’s mansion, including the confession from Kay.
Jeremy walked out when Haley conveyed Kay’s feelings for Collin, slamming the door behind him. He said he was going to Oasis. That was seven hours ago, and Dontell told me he hadn’t seen him. Casey was missing in action as well. Anyone would be a dumbass to think those two weren’t together.
The sun was rising over the city, peaking over the Arch and the river behind it as James drove us to Sullie’s. We were supposed to be meeting him and Dom, along with some other higher ups in the crew. It felt like a meeting Jer should be present for, but he had his own demons to fight.
His sister had sided with the enemy.
Haley tried to assure us Collin wasn’t the enemy, but James and I weren’t so convinced.
Gwen, on the other hand, she had that look in her eye.
The same look that she had when that fucker planted a bug in her flowers five years ago.
He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, preying on a nice girl like her.
My hand balled up into a fist in my lap.
I wanted to whoop his ass all over again.
“Is she out?” Red asked from the front seat, turning around to face us. She smiled at the sleeping woman on my chest.
“Yeah, she's exhausted. Traveling does that to her,” I said. I didn’t think Gwen had gotten a full seven hours of sleep in the last week. My internal clock was so fucked from the years I’d spent underground, I could sleep anywhere anytime.
“Stop talking about me, assholes,” my curly haired woman grumbled as she sat up.
I shot Red a look before we all got out of the vehicle.
Once inside the bar, we were greeted by the sight of Dom, standing behind a chair in the center of the stage. His large, dark frame towered over the man tied to said chair.
Fucking Kevin.
James cursed under his breath at the same time I did. The man’s face was bruised and swollen, thanks to my woman, but his knee was now wrapped in medical gauze, that leg elevated by a second chair. With a pillow. I raised a brow.
“Damn, Dom, going soft?”
The man smiled, his stark white teeth gleaming as he tied his dreads on top of his head.
“Looking good, Connors.”
The four of us spun to find a man in an electric wheelchair sitting next to a dark haired, green eyed older woman. They were sitting in the far corner of the bar, facing Kevin. The woman’s green eyes matched Kevin’s and the man’s beside her.
Ian Matthews.
He was dressed in a three-piece gray suit, an aura of power and leadership around him.
Ian looked nothing like the baseball player who was thrown through the bar window nine years ago.
His black hair was short and styled, his jaw clean shaven.
His upper body was toned, the fabric of the suit stretching over his form.
His mother was quiet, clutching the mug in front of her with both hands, refusing to look James and I in the eyes.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” James seethed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Haley stepped around him to gape at Kevin, ignoring his family in the corner.
“Kevin?”
“Hey, Hals. Long time, no see. You look good,” he said weakly.
“Shut the fuck up,” Gwen snapped at him, taking a step toward the stage.
One of my hands wrapped around her bicep, halting her movements. So damn feisty. She looked up at me, fury shining in her ocean eyes. I leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Be a good girl.”
“Ms. Davenport? While I appreciate you trying to whip my younger brother into shape, I kindly ask you to refrain,” Ian addressed her.
She turned to their table, folding her arms over her chest. “Ian,” she greeted.
He smirked at her. “Gwen.”
There he was. One thing I’d heard during my college days was that Ian Matthews was a cocky son of a bitch, on and off the field.
Then again, he had been trained in the art of baseball since he could walk.
The door to the kitchen swung open, and Sullie came through with a tray of food. His eyes quickly scanned the scene before him. Even though his facial features were warm, his brown eyes were on alert.
James cursed again, looking up at the ceiling. Haley slapped him lightly on the chest.
“Ms. Austen,” Ian drawled. Red stiffened and raised her chin to him.
“How do you know my name?”
“My father worked with your father.” The room fell deathly silent. Ian straightened his cuff links. “This was years ago, of course.”
“What do you know about my family?” she asked thickly. The three of us flanked her then, James coming to stand in front of her.
“You've been missing for a long time, Mr. Matthews. You wanna tell us why you're here?” The agent’s voice was calm, but no one missed the warning in his tone.
Ian chuckled. “As soon as you tell us why my brother is beaten to a pulp and tied to a chair.”
“You wanna match him, big boy? I can make you two look like twins,” Gwen threatened from Haley’s right side. I shifted to stand behind both girls.
“No blood in my bar, Gwen,” Sullie boomed as he came up to the table. He sat down two plates of food. “Enjoy, you two.”
Sullie looked at us. “A word?”
My eyes flicked to Dom, who was still standing behind Kevin, his arms now folded over his chest. He gave me a short nod, and I grabbed Haley and Gwen’s hands to follow Sullie back to the kitchen.
When I turned to look over my shoulder, James had his hands planted on the table as he leaned down to Ian.
“You address her again, I’ll slit your arrogant throat,” he warned.
Haley tensed, but I put my hand on her back and urged her forward. “Let’s go, Red,” I murmured.
Once we were all in the kitchen, Red quickly wiped her cheeks, regaining her composure.
Sullie leaned against the prep table, yanking off his white apron.
James stood by the door, keeping his eye on the Matthews family through the small window.
Gwen stood by Haley, took her hand, and looked to Sullie.
“Sullie, you know I love you, but what that actual fuck?”
I grunted in agreement.
“He showed up an hour ago with her—”
“—their mother,” Haley and Gwen said.
“She was sold to—”
Sullie held his hand up. “I know who she is, girls. You forget that I ran these streets long before Matthews did,” he said darkly.
“You know her?”
He nodded. “She stumbled in here one night in April of ’95, looking for drugs.”
“You don’t run drugs,” I noted, raising a single brow.
His eyes shifted to James. “Not anymore,” he said softly. Yeah, he was running something much bigger.
James shrugged his shoulders. “Not my department, not my problem,” he responded. The hesitancy in Sullie’s voice was strong, proving there were a lot of things that we didn’t know about the Crew’s past.
“And?” Haley softly prompted the bear of a man.
He shook his head. “My guy refused her. She was pregnant, and I assume it was with Kevin, judging by his age.”
“Jesus,” I hissed, running a hand through my hair.
“Anyways,” Sullie sighed. “They showed up an hour ago demanding the boy. I called Dom, and he brought him here. The other guy is dead, by the way.”
That “other guy” was one of the men we had brought back for questioning. All eyes shifted to Gwen. When I walked in there with her yesterday, the fucking asshole was bruised and bleeding.
She raised her hands. “Don’t look at me.”
“It was Jeremy,” Sullie said softly, sadness coating his deep voice.
My jaw tightened. Jermey was angry with his sister. Rightfully so. I knew he had to take his aggression out somehow.
“Christ.”
“Oh, fuck.”
“Poor Jer,” Red murmured. Gwen came to stand in front of her, her hands going to her friend’s shoulders.
“Hals, that man was the worst kind of monster,” she urged her gently, her thumbs rubbing her friend.
“I know that, but Jer—”
“My nephew is fighting his own demons, some that have nothing to do with my niece. How is she, by the way?” Sullie asked. Then it occurred to me that this was the first time Sullie had seen Haley since she was taken.
Haley stepped up to the big man. “She is perfectly fine, I promise.” He smiled down at her, wrapping her in his signature bear hugs. “I knew she would be. Kay is built from steel.”
“Back to the Matthews: does that look like a man who has been living in the woods for the last five years?” I asked, jerking my thumb to the door. Ian looked good. Confident. Strong. Nothing like the guy I pictured.
“Exactly,” James mumbled, pulling out his gun and loading it.
“James?” Haley pulled away from Sullie with wide eyes.
“Just a precaution, princess.”
I snorted. “Precaution, my ass.” I pulled out my gun and loaded the chamber. There was no such thing as being too prepared.
“No blood in my bar, gentlemen,” Sullie repeated.
“I was thinking the river,” I mused, looking to the agent. He pursed his lips in thought. Holy shit, he was considering it.
“Both of you, stop,” Haley and Gwen hissed at the same time. Sullie shook his head and looked at me. “Couldn’t he have been in the cabin?”
“Unless Armani delivers to the sticks, no,” I grunted, shifting on my feet. Gwen came up to me, her brow furrowed as she looked at James.
“Wasn’t Matthews’ bank accounts frozen after his death?”
James twisted his neck, cracking it. “Technically, the account would have been closed by the bank, or the money would be divided up and sent to the beneficiaries. However, the Bureau seized all the funds. That money was linked to countless sports gambling crimes.”
“Perhaps more,” Haley noted. We were all thinking the same thing: the rings.
“What if Ian is involved in the rings?” I asked the room, darkness settling on my shoulders as my gut twisted.
“Flesh does pay well,” James growled.
“Seems like Kev has been lying to us,” Sullie said, scratching his thick beard.