Chapter 31
Killian
I’m sitting at the dining room table in the penthouse, looking around at the guys.
Hayden’s next to me on one side and Asher’s brother, Xander, is on the other.
Asher’s across from us, along with Landon, one of their friends who is helping them out, and Kaleb, another one of Asher’s brothers.
I know Ash isn’t happy with me, but I’m grateful he’s letting it go and giving me another chance.
I didn’t want to tell him that I knew who Mia was once I carried her out of Red, but I had to.
I know how fucked up it sounds that I took her…
but it’s not like that. I mean, it is. But they don’t know our dynamic.
Kaleb was honestly the only one who got it, and it was nice to have someone on my side. But I like Asher, and I respect him. I’m glad that he’s not firing me and that he’s still willing to help me.
His gray eyes are staring at me intently right now, and he sighs.
“I like you, Killian,” he says. “You remind me of this fuck.”
He gestures towards Kaleb, who grins.
“But moving forward, no more secrets,” he says. “I don’t like that shit.”
“I know,” I say, nodding in agreement. “I’m sorry.”
“We’re good,” he says. “Let’s talk about Angelo and what we’re going to do.”
“I talked to my brother, Maddox, last night,” I tell him. “Word spread fast in my family, and apparently, Angelo was pissed that we had the falling out. His newest plan was to take Mia from my family Christmas party.”
“What a scumbag,” Landon mutters, and Hayden nods in agreement.
I held nothing back from the guys – they know everything; all the shit with my dad, Jeremy, the marriage. The fact that Angelo was after Mia for years. There’s no point in hiding any of it any more. Not when I need their help.
“Hold on,” Kaleb says now, a contemplative look on his face. “What if you still went to the party?”
“Wouldn’t work,” I reply. “I thought about it. But it would be too obvious now. If I knew that was his plan before I cussed out my father, I could’ve made it work. He’ll know it’s a set up if I show up now.”
Kaleb nods in agreement, drumming his fingers on the table.
“What if we set him up?” Hayden suggests.
“How?”
“A party,” Xander replies. “If we actually threw a real party, somewhere legit…with a lot of people, we could make that work.”
“Not a bad idea,” Asher agrees, nodding. “Lure him out.”
“Christmas party?” Landon asks. “It’s too bad I don’t have Neon any longer. We could’ve had it there.”
“We can probably use The Heights,” Kaleb says, looking at Landon, and Landon nods in agreement.
“It’ll be open,” he says. “Dom didn’t rent the ballroom to anyone this month because he didn’t know when Ava would go into labor and he didn’t want to risk it.”
“I don’t want to bother Dominic,” Asher says. “Let him enjoy his time home with the baby and Ava, he doesn’t need to worry about this.”
“He has someone covering for him,” Landon tells him. “I can let Dom know we need to use the ballroom, and then I’ll reach out to Zac and he can set it up for us.”
“Alright,” Asher muses. “That could work.”
“Hold on,” I say quickly. “We don’t know that Angelo is going to take the bait.”
“True,” Asher says. “But do you honestly think he won’t? If he’s trying to get to Mia that badly, he’s going to do whatever he has to do.”
“I don’t think a Christmas party is the best idea,” Xander says now. “A Christmas party thrown together at the last minute? That looks sketchy.”
“Mason said Bianca’s birthday is this weekend,” Asher says thoughtfully. “What if we threw a party? Surprise party?”
“Not a bad idea,” Landon nods in agreement.
“You really think this could work?” I ask now, looking around at the guys.
“I think it’s worth a shot,” Asher says with a shrug. “I know you want to take out Angelo, Killian. But we need to be careful with how we do it. If he comes to us, it already looks bad for him. We need self defense on our side, and this way, we have it.”
I nod in agreement.
Asher makes a valid point.
“We should get Maddox and Reign in on this,” Hayden says, and I pause, thinking about it.
“Maddox, yes,” I agree. “John likes Maddox and feels comfortable going to him. I’m sure Angelo is already watching our every move intently, but I can have Mad slip something in to John if he sees him.”
Hayden nods, then he asks, “Why not Reign?”
I sigh. “I don’t like involving him in shit like this. He has little kids.”
“No word from Jeremy?” he asks, and I shake my head.
“I don’t know what Jeremy’s going to do,” I admit. “He told Reign he thought he might come home for Christmas, but now that he knows I’m no longer speaking to my father he doesn’t want to. He’s pissed at him, too. He might just stay in California for a little while longer.”
Hayden nods.
I shouldn’t be surprised that my father lied about Jeremy being in rehab, but it’s still such a shock to me every time I think about it.
When I talked to Jeremy, I could tell that he felt genuinely bad about everything. When all of this shit with Angelo is over and done with, I want him to come here. I’d love for him to actually go to rehab, but I know that I can’t force him to do it. He has to want that for himself.
I sigh, pushing thoughts of Jeremy away as I look at the guys.
“Alright, so we’re going to have a surprise birthday party for Bianca this weekend at The Heights?” I ask, and Landon nods.
“I’ll talk to Dom and Zac,” he says. “But yeah, that should work.”
“I don’t like the thought of Mia even being in the same vicinity as Angelo,” I admit, and Asher gives me a knowing look.
“I know,” he says quietly. “But we’ll all be there. I’ll have a shit ton of security, too. Everyone will be dressed for the party and spread out, minus a few people. It’ll look like security is minimal, but it won’t be. We’ll be ready and waiting for him.”
“What if we made it a themed party?” Xander asks. “Masquerade? It would throw him off.”
“It might throw us off, too,” Landon argues, and Xander shrugs.
“I know what Angelo looks like,” I cut in. “I’d be able to pick him out of a lineup, mask and all. I’m sure Mia could, too.”
“Let’s do that then,” Asher says.
He pushes his chair back, standing up.
“Landon, see what you can do,” he says now. “We’ll meet again before the party and go over the layout of the hotel. Nothing is going to be random at this party, and we’ll all need to be on our A game.”
I nod. I’m slightly nervous, but I also feel amped. I’m ready to take Angelo out. I pray to god that our plan works, and that he comes to the party this weekend.
I’ve had enough of him, and his days are fucking numbered.
All of the guys get up now and start heading towards the door. I walk them out, but I stop Ash before he goes.
“Asher.”
He turns to look at me.
“Thank you,” I say quietly.
He slaps my back. “Don’t worry about it.”
Then he turns and leaves.
I sigh, shutting and locking the door behind him.
When I turn around, Mia’s there, and she wraps her arms around my waist.
“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop,” she says. “But I still heard everything. Masquerade party?”
I nod, looking down at her. Then I kiss the top of her head.
“He’s a dead man,” I say, and she gives me a small smile.
“I hope this works,” she replies, resting her head against my chest.
“Me too, Kitten. Me too.”