Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
EROS
Imotion for Jax to follow me while the girls eat a quick breakfast. I can feel him behind me as I head down the back hallway.
“I know,” he says before I can say a word. “But go ahead. I know you want to get it out. I’d be the same way.”
“I don’t like it.” Fuck me. I’m like a toddler pouting. This shit is hard. Too many conflicting emotions.
I’m not sure how to deal with them. I should probably talk to my Uncle War. He and I can be a lot alike. Interestingly enough, my immediate family is the most normal. Well, normal by regular standards. I often don’t believe I process information the same way everyone else does around here, though.
Damon is a smart-ass, while Jax is pretty levelheaded and more logical. Again, what others might find to be logical.
“I mean, I don’t think it’s her that people should worry about.
” He holds up his hands as though he knows he’s pissing me off.
“Let me finish. Jesus Christ.” Jax shakes his head at me.
“It sounds to me like the people around her are the ones that we should worry about. He’s not going to hurt her.
” I don’t think he is either. Physically, at least. That’s only a portion of my worry for her.
She’s been through enough, and I’m afraid he will hurt her emotionally.
Or that if necessary, my actions against him may do that.
Bonte can be quick-witted and laugh things off or pretend to not give a shit, but you scratch that surface, and I bet she’s got enough emotions for the both of us. She’s just gotten good at shoving that shit down because before now, what would be the point?
There hasn’t been anyone there for her to unload.
Bonte has kept everyone at a distance. As much as I’d like to keep it that way, to have her all to myself, I want her to have the life she wants, and that shit's a battle raging inside of me.
I just really fucking need for that life to be with me.
If I can give her all the other things she longs to have, she might overlook my overbearing, obsessive ways.
“You handle her life as though it’s mine.” I almost tell him to deal with it the same way he would Kinsley’s, but I know that’s not responsible. I’d throw his girl off a cliff to save mine, no matter how fucked-up that is. That’s just the truth. I know he’d do the same.
“I know.” Jax nods in understanding. “It might as well be your life.”
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me.” He smirks. “I’ll take a hug.” I give him a dead-ass stare that only has him still coming in for a half-arm hug that I return. My brothers may annoy me, but I would actually die for them.
“Oh, hugs!” Nix says, bouncing down the stairs. Does she live in that cheerleading uniform? “I want in on this.” I don’t try to stop her. It would only prolong this hallway meeting, and in the end, Nix will get what she wants. “See, was that so hard? I can be included in things.”
“You really don’t let shit go,” Jax says.
“I’ll fuck that dead horse up.” Nix bounces on her heels, punching the air. “Now, who am I riding with?”
“Mom.”
Nix narrows her eyes on Jax. “You want on my burn list?”
“No,” we both say at the same time. Her paybacks can be a pain in the ass. Nix might not be patient with much, but for a prank, she can wait months to strike. You don’t see that shit coming.
“Come on.” Jax puts her in a quick headlock before releasing her partly, keeping an arm thrown around her shoulder, leading her into the kitchen. I follow after them, going to my girl. She turns her attention to me.
“You good?”
I don’t want to lie to her, and I also don’t want her to fret. “Anyone needs to worry about being good, it's you, Hellcat. No boys' locker rooms.”
“Oh man,” she says sarcastically with a smirk. “But for you, handsome. I’ll give you that promise.” I sink my fingers into her hair and kiss her, not giving a shit who is around. You’d think this kissing shit would get old, but it doesn’t.
“Keep your phone on you,” I say.
“I will,” she tells me. “Promise.” I give her one last kiss before she is out the door. I turn my hand over, holding the clip I’d stolen from her hair. I bring it to my nose. Her scent lingers on it. I tuck it into my pocket, waiting for a beat before I head out to follow them.
I can at least be certain she makes it through the gates of Golden Prep.
See it with my own eyes. I wait another fifteen minutes, simply watching the vehicles coming and going.
Clocking the people walking by. Golden Prep is located on the edge of the city, but it is surrounded by gates that restrict access.
There are cameras inside and out. I know the place is solid, but now she's out of my reach.
It gives me a sense of not having control.
There is a range of different types of kids that go here. You have the wealthy and some rich buying their way in. Not that we’re much better. The school library is named after the Marino family.
There are a few students who have famous parents, so they got in, and then you have the other side of wealth and riches.
Last but not least are the geniuses or prodigy kids.
They got in free because they make the school look good.
It’s Golden Prep's way of fluffing their feathers.
They count on them to do some smart shit that will put them in textbooks.
I give one last glance around before I pull off and head toward the warehouse.
Our family owns a shit ton of them. The ones near the docks bring in killer money.
It also allows us to control which products are brought in and ensures that some of them remain off the radar or are protected.
It's not only drugs that people want shipped in.
There is a ton of stolen stuff that comes through here.
Controlling the docks in any major city gives you power in every direction. It's often how you can tell who has a chokehold on the city. It's a nice place to start if you're trying to get the feel of a new area.
This warehouse is one of ours and has been taken over by all my cousins and family. It's our place to meet up when we're in the city. Some just come here to work or fuck around playing video games.
The sensor gate opens when I pull up, so I don't have to stop. One of the big bay garage doors is open so that I can pull in it. We are trying to make the place seem forgettable and empty to anyone passing by. Inside is a different story. The whole place was vamped up years ago.
I already know people are here because it wasn't me who opened the bay door. When I put my SUV in park, I spot Mac. That's who I figured would be here.
"How's it going?" I ask when I get out of my vehicle and head across the open flooring. There are only two floors, which is pretty standard for a warehouse.
The bottom is where we have a lounge area and a kitchen against one wall. Across from the lounge area are a bunch of desks for anyone to use. Except Mac; she has her own, which none of us touch. We know better. One of us made that mistake in the past, and all of us paid for it.
The second floor has bedrooms in case any of us want to crash here.
They aren't used often. My place in the city isn't far from here, so I always head back home. I enjoy my own space, knowing no one will come a-knocking. Well, I did enjoy my own space until a hellcat and her cat took over my bed. Now I can’t imagine being in it alone again.
"Are you finding anything?"
"Yes." Mac's eyes don't leave the computer screen. "Putting it all into our server for you to grab right now." She clicks a few more buttons. "There you go." Mac drops back in her chair. "You know Naomi would be the best to look over all that if you're trying to get into Bonte’s father's head."
"Really?" Naomi can be very hit and miss when it comes to an assortment of people. She's not great at social cues, but she does understand them. That can hang you up when you're trying to feel a person out.
"Yep." Mac pops the P. "She's into all that crime junk stuff and serial killers. I mean, she knew who Bonte's dad was without having to look anything up."
That's a good point.
I’m not sure how much I want to pull others into this. Bonte’s father is a wild card. I don’t know what he’s capable of doing. Okay, I do, but I’m not sure who his targets are. I don’t know how he balances wanting to not truly upset his daughter and what he thinks is a threat to her.
It could be something as simple as insulting her, or it could be a true threat to her physical well-being. If he knew how upset she'd been with Damon and Kinsley, how would he have handled that? I know I want to blow up with Damon over it, and he's my brother who I care about most days.
"Did you get anything on Grant Richardson?"
"Yeah, that was an easy pull. That's on the server too. He's a douche." I sit down at one of the desks, firing the computer on. "He gets away with it because his family has money. Boys ruin everything. Like usual."
I grunt an agreement. Mac isn't wrong. If we go off history, that's always a safe bet to lean on.
See, I might be the same as Bonte’s father in some ways. All she did was mention that this Grant person was bothering her, and now I have to go through every detail of his life.
He is a little shit. I start to see that very early. Grant might be getting slaps on the wrist, but thankfully Golden Prep still notes them in his folder. I’m sure he has a pretty big one his family doesn’t know about.
Golden Prep intends for the folder to remain private, but they too are a business at the end of the day, and you never know when you might need information on a person to use against them and their family.
I’m sure it will be when they need a significant donation to build a new gym or to line someone's pocket.
It irks me that he hasn’t had to actually deal with any real consequences. He will escalate, and I think Bonte knew that, so she did what she could to get back at him. Bonte might be a hellcat, but she’s sweet too, even if she’s trying to hide that with a hard exterior.
Not sure if her clothes are a part of that to keep people away from her, but I don't get it. Even when she wears her "don't fuck with me" outfits, I see her the same way as when she's naked in my bed, and I want every part of her.
When I'm done with Grant’s folder, I click over to Golden Prep's security cameras. I lasted a whole hour before having to check on Bonte. Some may see that as a failure, but I view it as an accomplishment.
"These don't have views on every inch of the classrooms." I glance over to Mac. She merely shrugs.
"I don't know. I didn't go there." I didn't either. Both Naomi and Mac went to an all-girls school. A very prestigious one. "But that's what there is. I don't think there has been an issue before, but we never had a real reason to pull them up until these past few weeks."
I have a view of Bonte during her first class but not her second. I grip the back of my neck and squeeze. She's fine. My brothers are there, and everyone who's entered the school so far belongs there.
Though so had the media teacher.
Fuck it. I push back from the desk, coming to my feet. I still can’t help the fear that is simmering inside of me that something will happen to her.
"You're leaving?" Mac sits up straighter.
"Yeah." I grab my keys.
"I got donuts." Mac points over her shoulder toward the kitchen area behind her. "We could share one."
"You lost, Mac," I tell her, already heading toward my SUV.
"Damn it! I only needed five more minutes to win the bet!" she calls after me.
I ignore her and everything else. My solo focus is on Bonte. As it should be.