2. Chapter 1
Eli
Iwoke up with a hangover the size of Vegas.
In my car.
Outside the building, Ryker and Ash live.
My face in the elevator mirror says it all—it was a wild night.
Messy hair. A hickey the size of a plum on my neck. Traces of pink lipstick stains on the collar, and scratch marks across my chest.
I’m guessing I was happy back then. Or at least actively trying to be.
Too bad I don’t remember any of it.
The tension is still inside me like crazy. It won’t go away. Ever.
Before Ryker took over as the Pact’s leader, I was stressed, but now the stress has reached an entirely different level.
The sound of the elevator interrupts my thoughts.
Once, then twice, I knock, a throbbing pain in my temple. My foot taps the floor because right now all I can think about is popping a pill. If I don’t get one soon, my head is going to explode.
I’m about to knock a third time when the door opens. On the other side stands sweet Ash in black yoga pants and a sweatshirt that’s way too big. Ryker’s sweatshirt, I might add. She looks like trouble. And that’s exactly what’s in her eyes.
With a smile, I greet her, stretching out the syllables. “Hiiiii, Ashley.”
“You look like shit,” she says, equally charming as she looks, rolling her eyes as she does so.
I still don’t understand why she doesn’t like me. The air is thick with animosity.
“It’s nice to see you too. Is Ry here?”
Ash wrinkles her nose, but her features soften right away. “He’s here. And you’re late.” She opens the door wider for me, turns on her heel, and walks into the apartment.
Late? Maybe. But late for what?
I get the hint to make myself at home. Apparently, manners aren’t her strong suit. Without a second thought, I press her buttons, chuckling loud enough for her to hear. As I do, I slam the door behind me. To hell with my headache. This moment is worth it.
All three friends are sitting at the table set with breakfast. Theo, Ryker, Ashley. The only one missing is a sassy brunette who looks a lot like her sister.
Ryker’s narrowed eyes fall on me. Wrinkling his nose, he takes in my rumpled and disheveled appearance, snaps his fingers, and points an accusing finger at me. “You look like shit. Where the fuck have you been?”
Ash glances over her shoulder with a mischievous smile, but I’m the only one who catches it before she goes back to munching her bacon.
Theo, meanwhile, sizes me up over the rim of his coffee cup, silent and seemingly bored.
My eyebrows shoot up. “Come on,” I say. “You’re the only one who hasn’t told me I look like shit. Go ahead, Theodore.”
His eyes grow dark when he hears his full name. We all know how much he loves it.
Theo’s a quiet bastard. Until he speaks up. Then it hurts.
Three, two, one…
“A long time ago, I learned nothing is what it seems, what it looks like,” he says without taking his eyes off me. A sense of relief will wash over me when he completes the task. “Thanks to you, I’ve learned I can be wrong in my own conclusions.”
Ash and Ryker burst out laughing. Theo only lifts the corners of his mouth, showing his amusement.
I shake my head and take the last empty seat.
In a typical possessive way, Ryker grabs the back of Ash’s chair and pulls her a little closer. She doesn’t scold him for it, though I suspect she might. She just smiles and plants a kiss on his cheek.
I can’t take my eyes off them. Sparks shine in Ryker’s eyes when he looks at her. Even a blind man could tell he’s head over heels for her. And she for him.
Deep down, something tightens inside me when I see the two of them. Ry has always been an ice-cold asshole, full of scornful quips. A ruthless, silent killer. But for her? A completely different person.
The smile slips from my face. I don’t have the strength to keep it there any longer.
Regardless of its cause, this knot in my stomach is highly unwelcome.
Ash gets up. “I’ll leave you guys to talk business in peace. I need to look up a few things.”
Taking her arm, Ryker says, “If you’re thinking of having some fun with your new target soon, I want to be kept in the loop and be involved.” Never looking away from her, he raises her hand to his lips and kisses it.
“To think those rings on your fingers might put a damper on your kinky games,” I say, and Ash smiles before leaving.
“If anything, I'd say it's made them more determined. They are like hyped-up teenagers,” Theo adds.
Ryker shakes his head when I grab a plate and pile on whatever I can just to fill my stomach. That brings another thing to mind right away. “Do you have any painkillers? I think my head is going to burst in the next fifteen minutes.”
“I’d like to see that,” Theo mutters under his breath.
“You're a dick. What crawled up your ass?” I ask.
Ryker hands me two pills. I swallow them and wash them down with a sip of coffee.
Theo is silent, and Ryker sighs. “Guys, cut it out. Eli, you had a good night, I take it, judging by the marks?”
“Yeah—I think so. Don’t remember much. Not even how I ended up here. This bacon is excellent.” I chew, hoping the churning in my stomach will settle down soon.
“What do you mean?”
With a shrug, I answer, “I woke up in the car outside your building. Took it as a sign.”
Theo snorts. “A sign from God to stop drinking everything in sight and sleeping with any woman who’ll have you.”
I jab my fork at him. “That’s not nice, Theo. You might be right to think of me as a drunk and a man whore, but I don’t judge your life.”
Lately, the rift between Theo and me has grown even bigger. It pisses me off, and I won’t pretend otherwise. But he has never criticized either of us like this before, never judged us.
Something’s been going on with him for a while now.
Ryker sighs again. “Eli, did you take your presence here as an invitation to join us for breakfast? I called you last night you dumbass.”
Trying to recall what he’s talking about, I scratch my chin. “You did?”
“Looks like he met a woman yesterday who knocked his socks off,” Theo comments, pouring himself some coffee. “Maybe he’s fallen in love?”
My fork clatters on the plate, my mouth drops in disbelief, eyes wide. As I shift my gaze from friend to friend, I notice the amusement in their expressions.
“Me? In love? Have you lost your mind, Theo? I’ll never fall in love.”
I shove the loaded fork back into my mouth, seeking a moment of peace.
However, Ryker has a different idea. He's just caught a fish and is about to reel it into the boat. “Why not, Eli?”
It’s hard to swallow. There’s no way I’m getting into some therapeutic mumbo jumbo about me.
But giving him something to shut him up seems inevitable.
“Not everyone is cut out for it. That’s me.
I’m a bachelor at heart, meant to hop from flower to flower, drink the nectar, and have fun. That’s all.”
Ryker doesn’t buy what I’m trying to sell. It’s in his eyes, and I’m about to get the proof.
“What a load of bullshit.”
“Which part?”
“All of it.” He sizes me up, trying to get to the bottom of it.
“You think you’re not good enough for this?
That love isn't for you? When you meet the right woman, we’ll come back to this.
Then you can apologize for your stupidity.
You’re made for a bachelor life? And that’s why you always have this strange look when you look at me and Ash? ”
A lump forms in my throat, making it hard to breathe. My heart skips a beat. Drops of sweat appear on the back of my neck.
Did someone turn up the heat?
No. There’s no way he could have noticed.
“I don’t fucking know what you’re talking about,” I snap.
Ryker leans back and continues. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. For a minute there, I thought you wanted my Ash, but no. It’s not about her. It’s about what’s between me and her. Isn’t it?”
“That’s simply not my thing, Ryker. I’ll never love anyone the way you two love each other. I’m not capable of it. And I don’t intend to be. Commit myself solely to one person? Hand over that kind of power to someone? No offense, but that’s just plain dumb.”
He ponders my words, staring at me, deep in thought.
This is the kind of thinking that concerns me. I never know what will come of it.
Sipping my coffee, I wait. Finally, that mysterious conclusion comes. “The day will come when you’ll eat your words, Eli. I’ll wait for that moment.”
It’s time to wrap this up. Theo seems to agree, because for once, he’s the one who changes the subject. “We need to plan our next moves with the Pact. Ryker, what’s on your mind?”
Relief washes over me when Ry finally lets it go.
“Foremost, I need a second-in-command. My plan isn’t to keep the vice president as a general. I need someone I trust with my life.”
“I’m voting yes for Theo,” I suggest right away. “He’s got that mysterious something most people shit their pants at the sight of.”
Theo snorts and shakes his head. His icy gaze pierces straight through my soul. Or maybe he meant my beating heart. “What a load of crap. I’ve seen no one shit themselves when they saw me.”
With a grin, I point at him. “Ha! Because they’ve already run away; you wouldn’t catch a whiff of them. Tell him, brother.”
“There’s some truth to that,” Ryker agrees and scratches his jaw. The corner of his mouth turns up.
Theo’s eyes bounce between Ryker and me. “No, no, and no. I don’t have what it takes to be your second, Ryker. No problem with being third in line. My vote goes to Eli. He’s a ruthless asshole, has no heart, and will never have a wife, so we can cross off a soft spot right off the bat.”
“I’m just a hacking expert. I know nothing about it. Besides, I’ll kill half of them right away because they’ll question my authority as a given and not a deserved one.”
Ryker groans. There’s no trace of humor in his voice.
“As far as I’m concerned, you can even draw straws.
I need you both. James is dead, but that doesn’t mean the enemies are off our list. We’ve got a problem with the VP and Aiden.
All eyes are on us, the other cartel is itching to expand the availability of fentanyl, and to top all that, I still haven’t found Aisling.
” He puts his hands to his face and rubs, frustrated.
“You’re right,” I say a moment later. “You’re not alone in this. If Theo doesn’t want to be your number two, I’ll take the job. I’m in.”
“Yeah, we’re in this together. Let’s sort this out,” Theo says.
No idea what “sorting this out” means. But I won’t leave my brothers high and dry.
One thing, however, keeps bothering me. “You know, I don’t quite understand this whole thing with Vice President Matthews and his son. It doesn’t add up to me. They want to unite the cartels and their influence. They want to create a fucking empire. Why didn’t they just shoot you, Ryker?”
“Aiden must have known you’d become the head of the Pact,” Theo remarks.
“Exactly,” I agree. “And that means if he got rid of you, he’d have a clear path to the top. Why didn’t he do it?”
For a while, Ryker’s gaze is vacant as he looks at the tabletop and doesn’t speak. Finally, he says, “I won’t pretend that question doesn’t haunt me. It’s hard to shake the idea it’s still his plan. He’s got me where he wants me.”
“You think it’s a trap.” Theo’s face hardens when he says this.
“I’m aware it’s a trap,” Ryker states. “But what choice do I have now? The bastard waving the reward in my face has changed, but the reward is still the same.”
Aisling.
The fact is, I can’t do anything to free my brother from this fucking trap, and it weighs on me.
If only I could do something…
A thought hits me out of the blue. “Matthews wants to lead the united cartels; the position of vice president opens doors and national borders for him. Putting his plans for you aside, he’ll try to agree with Veirix.”
“Or he’s already done it,” Theo concludes.
“He must have someone on the inside who’ll help him seize power.
But there are also rumors that Veirix is specially pressuring weapons, not drugs.
Like they’re preparing for some kind of war.
There’s also word of some valuable woman being held, but that info is unclear. ”
From what I know… “But… Veirix has never held random prisoners. If that’s the case, it must be someone important.”
“How can we check that?” Ryker asks, narrowing his eyes.
Silence falls, but I know the answer. The last person who took that risk survived for six months before someone murdered him. We received his body in several boxes, and in retaliation, they burned our cargo ship with a load worth millions.
“We need to plant a mole there,” I finally say out loud.
My brothers stare at me, and I know they see the same image in their minds: Mick. Butchered like a pig.
“Eli…” The Pact’s leader makes his first decision. “Find someone suited for the job. Theo, find a way to move that person underground without attracting suspicion.”
We both nod.
Now that I’m full, my headache is abating, and I know what to do, I stand up. It’s time for me to go.
My best friend stops me, though. “Wait, Eli. Before we move on, I have a favor to ask you.”
Ryker’s words catch my ear, and I agree on the spot. “Whatever you need.”
He glances into the apartment, then straight at me. “It’s a touchy issue. Something’s been going on with Zoe ever since Ash moved out. Find out what’s happening and watch her for me. Can you?”
“Zoe?” The name makes me stop. Something in me tenses up.
Too much.
And I have no clue as to the reason why.
“Why me?” A grimace crosses my face.
Ry shrugs. “She let you in once, when they found out about Charles’s death. That’s more than anyone else has done.”