Chapter 14 Zane #2
Dex sits back in his chair, looking me up and down. “He’s killed before,” he says calmly. He knew me from those days. “Let him make up his mind.” Dex looks at Gage. “We have bigger problems. Like, what are we going to tell Les?”
“You can’t keep this from her,” I throw in. She would kill us all.
Dex looks ready to argue; Gage lifts his hand. “He’s right. We can’t hide shit from her.”
“She’s not ready to know he’s back, Gage,” Dex argues.
“Leaving her out of the fucking loop leaves her in more danger,” Gage argues back. He’s right. Les needs to know everything going on, so she’s prepared.
“Gage is right,” Holden says softly, turning in his chair to look at us.
“Ha!” Gage says, pointing at Holden. “I’m right.”
Dex rolls his eyes. “That’s one person who agrees.”
I shrug. “I agree with Gage.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Dex mutters at Gage’s smug look. I’m guessing many people don’t agree with him. “You can’t stay here,” he tells me.
I run my fingers through my hair. “I’ll figure it out.” I have money to get anything I want, but I know Jay is watching my every move.
“He got smart. He’s bouncing the signal everywhere, so I can’t pin it down,” Holden says, snapping his laptop closed.
“So, that’s it?” I ask, looking between them.
“I said he got smart. I’m still better,” Holden says, standing up.
“Get your shit and come with us. You can figure out where to go later,” Gage says, gesturing to the back of the house.
I lift a brow. “You want me to come to your house?”
“Where else are you going to go, dickhead? Get your shit for a few days and let’s go.”
He has me there. Jay’s watching my accounts, he set my fucking truck on fire, and he’s watching my apartment. I don’t have a choice.
I gather some clothes, essentials, and my nonpolice department Glock. Shoving the Glock into the back of my jeans, I push everything else into the bag.
“Don’t worry.” Gage grins when I walk back to the living room. “Ryder’s not home.” I don’t want to admit the relief that gives me that I don’t have to face him until he finishes that sentence. “But Micah’s there.”
He slaps me on the back, laughing his way out the door.
If anyone hates me more than Ryder for my relationship with Les, it’s Micah.
I’d rather face Ryder. Les probably doesn’t know about the fight we got into after we broke up.
Micah and I beat the shit out of each other.
Then he pressed a Glock to my forehead, telling me if I ever stepped foot near her again, he would make sure no one recognized me.
As soon as my feet hit the sidewalk in front of Gage’s Range Rover, I stall, the hair on my neck standing on end.
Dex and Gage do the same, slowly looking around for the threat. A black SUV comes roaring into my apartment parking lot, semi-automatic hanging out the window.
“Get down!” I yell, shoving Holden back at the entrance to my apartment, into the corner beside the main door. I know Dex and Gage can handle themselves; I don’t know about Holden.
Between the three of us, we empty our clips at the SUV while they return fire before squealing out of the parking lot.
“You guys good?” Dex asks once we’re in the clear.
I look back at Holden, who’s still huddled in the corner where I’m guarding him; he slowly nods.
“We’re good,” I answer, stepping back out.
“We need to get the fuck out of here,” Gage says, tucking his gun back into the holster.
None of us needed to say who that was. It has Jay written all over it, stepping up his efforts to get rid of us.
We just finished filling Les in on what happened, along with Leo and Micah. We’re all waiting for her to fall apart. She doesn’t. I can see the real Les shining brightly in her eyes.
“He didn’t win,” she says from her spot on the loveseat between Holden and Gage.
Leo is sitting on the couch with Micah, who’s shooting daggers into the side of my head.
Dex and I took up the chairs. Ryder’s on his way back after Dex called and told him what happened.
Only for Les will I sit in the same room as Micah and Ryder.
“He didn’t, Pretty girl,” Gage agrees, squeezing her thigh. “Holden’s already got stuff running to track him down.” We already determined that the shootout was a warning. They could have killed us all, but we all walked away unscathed when we shouldn’t have.
“He can’t hide from me forever, Bright eyes.” He kisses her cheek and then disappears from the room.
Gage fills her in on the Viktor conspiracy. “Make sense,” she says. “He thought Jay would take me out of the running. Now he knows I’m back.”
“Why the fuck are you here?” Micah growls out at me like he’s been dying to ask.
“Micah,” Les warns.
“No,” Micah says. “You have no business being here. You here to fuck her over again? Is that it?”
“Micah,” Les barks, causing every head to whip in her direction. “This is my house. I can have whoever I want here.”
“He might have been there for you, but he always has a motive,” Micah says, standing up from the couch. “Just like he did when you were eighteen. Taking advantage of…”
“Enough!” Les says, exploding from the loveseat.
I see her spine stack up, the Queen finally making her appearance.
I knew it was just a matter of time; she just needed to be poked until she came back.
Too bad for Micah; he’s the one that poked her.
“You don’t come in this house spewing your hateful bullshit.
Zane was there with me, Micah. The whole goddamn time.
Now sit your ass down, shut up, or get the fuck out.
I’m not going to do this every time he steps into this house. ”
They’re staring at each other, neither willing to back down.
Micah finally flops back on the couch; Gage snickers behind his hand, earning a punch in the arm from Les.
She’s fucking glorious when she’s pissed off, and the fact that she’s taking up for me makes it even better.
Ryder picks that exact time to walk into the living room, and I know he can feel the tension.
He sits beside Leo on the couch, looking around the room.
She sits back down. “We’re going to get this out of the way now that you’re all here.
” She levels a look at Ryder and Micah. “Zane never took advantage of me. I chased him as much as he chased me. I don’t want to hear another word about it.
I’m sick of it. He’s here, and he’s not going anywhere.
We’ve worked past all that shit to move on.
It’s time for you to do the same.” My heart swells at her admission that I’m not going anywhere.
Does that mean she made up her mind where that concerned us?
Ryder holds his hands up. “I’m fine, Il mio sole.”
She looks at Micah until he nods. “Now,” she says, “I’m not hiding anymore.” She holds up a hand when all mouths open to argue. “I’m done hiding. We all stay close, none of us go out alone, and we go about our business.”
“Baby. That’s what we did last time,” Leo says gently.
“I had too much going on then. I wasn’t watching my back.
That was my mistake, and it won’t happen again.
” She looks around, daring someone to argue.
We all want to, but we know she needs this.
“Now that we know where the money’s coming from, we can put pressure on Viktor.
Ryder, have Ghost and Squid’s crews follow him everywhere.
If they get too much heat, tell them to back off.
Holden can keep searching. Dex, fill my guards in on what’s going on.
Tell Mani we’re on high alert.” They all nod at her directions, then she sighs.
“Gage, Leo, and Micah shut my businesses down.”
“What?” Micah asks in surprise.
“When they can’t get to me, they’ll go after the ones that work for me. I won’t risk them. Shut them down. Make sure they know they’ll still be paid.” I can see how much it hurts her to say that. Her father’s businesses are her pride and joy.
“Alright,” Micah agrees after a moment’s hesitation before leaving the room. Everyone starts filling out that she gave directions to; Ryder lingering behind.
He looks hard at me, then shakes his head, heading to Les. He kisses her on the lips and then disappears behind everyone else, leaving us alone.
I move beside her on the loveseat as soon as he’s gone. “You okay?” I ask.
She tucks into my side. “Yeah. I wasn’t full of shit when I said I was done.” She looks up at me. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me too,” I reply, pecking her lips. “What do you want me to do?” I’m more than capable of anything she throws at me. I refuse to hide from this asshole, either.
She turns to face me more. “We need to talk.” Dread instantly sets in the way she says that. I know I’m not going to like what she has to say.
“Go ahead.”
She moves away from me to the other side of the loveseat. “There are things you don’t know about me,” she says, rubbing her hands on her pants. “I know you know what I do. You worked for my dad.” I nod. I know what comes with the title she has. “That’s not all I do.”
“What are you trying to tell me, Beautiful?”
“Do you remember the picture you got with the figures in all black?” she asks, tilting her head to the side. I remember those pictures vividly; it was when this shit with Jay was heating up. I nod. “That’s Ryder and me.”
“Okay,” I say slowly.
She takes a deep breath. “I’m the Black Demon.”