15. Cash
fifteen
Cash
M y eyes, which were just focused on Ali’s perfect, pert ass leaving the kitchen, snap to the table when the alert comes through one of my various tablets laid out. The sound echoes in the now quiet room as the high I was just on from my good morning snack, vanishes in a heartbeat. Grabbing the device, I swipe at the screen until I see just what caused the alert. One of our safe houses has been compromised. Luckily this safe house is on the other side of the city and one we haven’t been to in months, but that doesn’t stop the annoyance or the anger boiling inside me. My jaw begins to ache at how hard I’m clenching as I feel Ali move to behind us. No doubt wanting to see what the issue was. I can still smell her fresh fruity scent from her shower, which somehow causes me to feel a tad less tense as a group of men search the unused house room by room. They won’t find anything there. We never keep anything personal at any of our safe houses for reasons just like this.
The small bit of relief I had from Ali’s scent disappears just as fast as yet another tablet dings with an alarm. Riot picks up this one, turning it slightly to show me almost the exact same scene playing out on his. This time the tablet creaks in my hands, my grip tightening to the point of wanting to just smash the fucking thing. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and hold. This isn’t the end of the world. No, this is a chess game, and they have just taken their turn. Opening my eyes, I see the men clear the house before going back through to do a more thorough search. Finally, when it feels like my lungs are burning, crying for oxygen, I release the breath I was holding.
“Well, it appears James and Henry have made the first move,” I tell the room.
“So, what does that mean for us?” Ali asks, shifting so she can see my face better. The woman is still naked, standing there in all her glory with not a care in the world. A part of me wants to tell her everything is going to be fine, that I will hide her away so that no one else can touch her again, but I think better of it. Mainly because I have a feeling the woman might threaten to castrate me if I even brought up the idea of hiding her away. No, Ali is a fighter through and through, and that’s why she fits perfectly between us. Any other woman would have probably lost their shit by now. Broken down and just given up or even expected us to protect her, but not Ali. Ali wants to fight beside us, even when it isn’t her battle to fight.
“Now it’s time to figure out our next move.”
“How much time do you think we have?” Arsen asks. He’s watching the second tablet with Riot, and by the way, he is trying not to move too much; I know he’s still in a lot of pain. Even when he is trying to hide it.
“I think I’ll go get dressed now.” Ali calls out, already heading for the hall. I take a second to think about his question and not Ali’s sweet ass. We have a few safe houses spread out sporadically throughout the city. Most under other people’s names, but I know if someone looks hard enough, you can find them. Just look at the two houses currently being raided. I think about some of the places we have out of state or country that could be an option, but I immediately dismiss those. We aren’t running; we aren’t cowards like our fathers.
“We need to think outside of the box. At this point we don’t know what information James or Henry knows. Moving forward, we can’t trust anyone outside this house. Anyone can be bought, and we can’t take those chances,” I tell my brothers. I keep my eyes focused on the video as the scene plays out. The two houses that we were alerted to are being destroyed as they search for clues or information that could lead them to us.
Ali walks back into the kitchen, now dressed in a tank top and boxers folded at the waist. turning them into booty shorts. “We can’t forget my family was somehow involved now too,” she calls, heading to the fridge, grabbing some items, and placing them on the counter. She glances over her shoulder. “I’m guessing since we aren’t rushing out of the house, we have some time for a quick breakfast?” At the word breakfast, my eyes automatically drift to her now covered pussy. “Actual breakfast.” she adds, causing me to smirk.
“Yes. I think we have a few hours before this place could be compromised.” It’s the truth. I had us come here because it is one of the oldest houses we own. Well, that my grandfather owned. My father wouldn’t think about looking under the family name. I mean, my father supposedly seized all of my grandfather’s assets when he passed a few years ago. Or so he thought.
At that, she spins on her heels and continues to pull items from different cupboards, setting them out to use. But then what she just said clicks. “What do you know of your family’s business?” I ask right as Arsen grabs for a tablet, probably to look it up himself. She tenses for a second before shrugging.
“Honestly, nothing really. I thought my father was in real estate or something like that, but somehow I don’t think that’s 100% true.” There’s a short pause before she continues. “I didn’t have a great relationship with my so-called family. My mother was some dancer that Richard knocked up. Once she had me, she left me on his doorstep. It wasn’t bad when I was younger. I think his wife, Miranda, liked having a daughter at first. But then I started looking more like my birth mom. I became a reminder that my father was unfaithful. Around ten or so it changed.” She goes about cracking some eggs into a bowl while tossing some bacon into a hot pan.
“Changed how?” Riot asks, his focus solely on Ali. Her back is turned to us, but it’s obvious she’s tensed from the conversation.
“I was moved to the basement and given daily chores to do. If they weren’t done on time, I would be punished. Most days I didn’t eat because I wasn’t allowed to sit with “the family” during meals. Even the maids were told to treat me like trash. After a while, they fired the staff and made me do all the work. It wasn’t bad, unless I didn’t do it good enough or was seen. That was one of the rules. I wasn’t allowed to be seen. It got worse as I got older. They taught Ethan how to be cruel as well, but he just got creepier.” She does a full-body shiver at that.
“What do you mean by that?” Riot demands, his hands curling into fists as he glares at the back of Ali’s head. To her credit, she doesn’t flinch at his harsh tone, simply continues to flip bacon, and pops some bread into the toaster.
“He would watch me. For hours some days. There was one night, a few weeks before I ran away, that I woke up to him standing over me touching himself. I pretended to stay asleep, but after that I started sleeping with a knife under my pillow. The night I actually ran away, I overheard Richard and Miranda talking about someone willing to buy me for a price. That the guy would pay extra for virgins.” She finally turns then, glancing at Arsen, who looks absolutely murderous because it was his father. “So I ran and never looked back. The other night was the first time I’d seen my “family”- she air quotes- in years. I don’t know how involved in your guys’ world they are, but my father blames me for his supposed years of disgrace. He mentioned that they were in business with your fathers now, and with him now dead, I have no doubt Ethan will be gunning for me. You should have seen the look in his eye when I killed Richard.”
“He won’t touch you,” I tell her and mean it. She gives me a soft smile before turning back around.
“Regardless, I don’t think Ethan is as connected as your three families.” I glance over at Arsen as he scrolls through something.
“You were right about the Blacks being in real estate,” he finally says. “It looks like Ethan is as well. My best guess is they help provide places for stashes. Maybe even ways to launder money through banks. Buy and sell properties. They could be using Ethan to help find some of our places. It would make sense if he has access to land and property documents. I believe realtors can request information from the city. They could even have someone at the city hall who looks the other way.” I grab the tablet he was using and start reading through the information he found. Finally, something we can work with and another piece to add to the stack of puzzle pieces.
Minutes later, Ali sets a plate of food in front of me before grabbing the tablet and setting it to the side. “You need to eat.” I cock a brow. “Food.” She adds with a giggle before grabbing another two plates and setting them in front of the other two.
We all eat in silence, all lost in thought before yet another alert sound breaks the peaceful quiet. “We can’t waste any more time,” I say, standing and starting to pace. So many options race through my mind, but nothing settles. It still feels like I’m missing pieces. Things don’t make sense, and it’s causing my mind to race. My usual calm is now a raging storm of emotions, and I’m not sure how to settle it all because it’s more than just me and my brothers that I need to protect now. My eyes drift to Ali, who is watching me intently. Her. How can a small slip of a woman suddenly become so important to me? To us. I barely know her, yet I would be willing to kill for her.
I suppose we could just burn this entire city to the ground and call it good. That thought is quickly pushed away. Our fathers are like cockroaches lately, and I can’t risk them surviving only to show up later to ruin whatever we are creating with Ali.
“Can’t we just move to another safe house?” Riot asks, but I’m already shaking my head.
“No, if Arsen’s theory about Ethan is correct, it’s only a matter of time till they find the others. We’re lucky James isn’t smart enough to look under obvious names right away. There is no telling how bright Ethan can be.” I eye Ali at that but cock a brow in question instead when she looks like she wants to say something.
“So, I might know someone who could help us.” She chews on her bottom lip as she blinks up at me innocently.
“Do you trust this person?” I ask, and she snorts.
“Not as far as I can throw him, but he owes me,” she shrugs her shoulders before collecting the now empty plates and taking them to the kitchen.
“Him?” A scowl appears on Riot’s face.
I ignore him and turn to Ali before tossing her a burner. “Make the call.” Turning to the other two, I tell them, “Let’s pack up and make sure nothing is left behind. I think I might have an idea. One to even the playing field.” Riot continues to scowl in Ali’s direction, arms crossed over his chest like a pouting child, as Arsen slowly stands, wincing as he does. As I make my way to go get dressed and gather supplies, I hear Ali make the call.
“Hey, Shane, it’s Ali.”