27. June
June
The guys agree to my terms, but demand that I take at least one day to recover from my traumatic experience. They actually pushed for a whole week, but we negotiated down to one day.
“We need to seem unbothered by what happened,” I had told them.
Whoever attacked Simon and I are banking on the fact that we’re trembling in our boots and afraid it might happen again. And it’s not that we aren’t, but that isn’t the front we’re going to let them see.
They’ll be expecting us to be rattled, to put more of a divide between us.
To anyone in the organization, they’re aware our entire relationship is rocky.
We’re hardly ever seen together. And when I’m out in public, I’m usually with Simon.
That has to appear suspicious for anyone with a set of eyes and a fucking brain.
I want whoever might be watching to witness all of us, all five, getting along and acting completely fucking normal.
Well, as normal as a criminal poly relationship can be.
Simon isn’t my boyfriend, and we still haven’t truly crossed that line, but after almost losing him, I’m well aware he’s so much more than just my bodyguard.
Only time will tell what comes from it, but for now, he’s part of this family whether the guys want him to be or not.
Non-fucking-negotiable.
“Are you going to call Bram, or do you want me to do it, princess?” Magnus leads me through the garage toward his car.
“I already did,” I tell him. “He sounded worried but told me to take as much time as I needed.”
"He's a good man, that Bram." Magnus opens the passenger door and glances at the man behind me. "You coming, Beckett?"
Simon hasn’t left my side other than to take a shower or use the bathroom. He hasn’t even gone home, but instead has been borrowing clothes and necessities from Magnus. I’d venture to say there might be a friendship budding between them.
“Yep.” Simon slides into the seat behind mine. “These windows reinforced?” He taps his knuckle against the glass.
“Mmhm." Magnus shuts me in and strolls over to the driver's side. "Dom and Hayes said they'd meet us there."
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen the office.” I fidget with a thread on my jeans.
“United front, right?” Magnus pushes the button to start his car and reverses it out of the garage. Once he’s done shifting, he settles his palm on my thigh.
The ride across town isn’t too long, and I spend most of it just staring out the window and pondering ways this entire thing could go sideways.
What if the mole is in attendance? What if the person who wishes me dead is there? What if I say something stupid or act dumb and embarrass myself or my men? What if I don’t actually have what it takes to fit into their world?
What if Winnie was right after all and I can’t cut it?
Maybe I could ask her for advice on the situation? I'm sure she's handled numerous death threats in her tenure as council seat holder and wife to the prior boss of the organization.
But telling her would be giving her details that the men don't want to be shared with just anyone. And if she found out that Dominic wasn't able to handle things on his own, wouldn't that bring up questions as to whether or not he was proficient for the job?
No, we have to deal with this on our own and prove that Dominic has what it takes to run this business.
Magnus pulls us into a secured parking garage and finds a spot near the exit. “Wait here,” he tells me and then hops out. Simon follows him and the two of them linger outside for about a minute then approach my door.
Simon opens it and holds out his hand. “My love.”
I gratefully take it and step onto the pavement. “Is the coast clear?”
“For now, yes.” Magnus shifts his gaze across the open area.
“I was just being a smart ass,” I tell him.
Do they often have people trying to shoot them before they can even get inside?
“I knew that.” Magnus scoffs. He keeps his eyes peeled as we walk into the space and through a keycode entry door.
His guard lowers slightly when we go inside, but he remains aware of his surroundings.
Magnus is usually the most careless of my men; he’s always joking and pissing Dom off by ordering endless take-out to the house.
He's the one to lighten the mood if things get tense and be the voice of reason when Dom and Coen are being hard-headed assholes.
This Magnus though, is more on edge, like a switch has been flipped and he's now in work mode.
It’s kind of hot.
Which isn't really something I thought could be possible. Magnus Bryant is already supermodel bad boy sexy as fuck, but this is something else entirely.
And with Simon trailing behind me and Magnus in front, I’m surrounded by seductive testosterone.
My heels click across the floor as we make our way through the building. Voices carry down the hallway until we finally reach them.
People hush their chatter and poke their heads around cubicles to catch a glance of us as we walk by. Magnus doesn’t seem to acknowledge them, but I can’t be too sure from this angle.
The few people I do make eye contact with quickly look away, like they might burst into flames if they stare at me too long.
I follow Magnus down another hall and spot Coen and Dom waiting for us inside a large room with massive windows. Their lips move but I can’t hear a word of what they’re saying.
Coen flits his attention at me and forces it back on Dom the same way the others did. At least I know why he’s ignoring me.
I would ignore me too if I was a giant asshole.
A large conference table sits in the center of the room with various cabinets lining the walls.
In the far corner is a small kitchen suite.
Everything is very sterile and tidy, and if I had to guess, Dom had some say in designing the space.
He's all about quality and efficiency and this is very much his brand of control freak.
The door clicks shut behind Simon, sealing the five of us in here.
"Soundproof," Magnus tells me and strolls over to pull out a chair at the head of the table. "Princess."
I take another glance around before walking over and sitting in the seat. “What do those people do out there?” I tip my head toward the cubicles of random folks.
“Mostly accounting, financial things. Investments. Business operations stuff.”
“Interesting.” I settle in and adjust my blazer. The thing sticks to my bandage but I manage to tug it free. I wouldn’t have worn it at all but the guys thought it best that I conceal the gunshot wound as to not cause anyone any more reason to question why the heck I’m here.
Dominic claims the seat at the opposite end of mine. He unbuttons his jacket and looks in my direction. "We have a plethora of legitimate businesses if that's what you're wondering."
“I mean, it is.” I glance through the large window. “I sort of just thought you killed people for a living.”
“We do that, too, princess.” Magnus sits to my left.
Simon takes the one to my right and Coen walks down the table to find a place near Dominic.
“Did we have to have a room with such a massive table? I feel like you guys are a lifetime away. Do I need to scream or can you hear me?” I cup my hands over my mouth but before I can say anything, Dom interrupts me.
“This is the only sound and bulletproof room with all the amenities to accommodate us.” He nods toward a closed door. “There is a restroom there if you need it.” He checks his watch. “We should be expecting Johnny in about a half hour.”
“Johnny Jones?” I ask him.
He nods bluntly. “East coast leader. You know him?”
"Kind of, but not really. I met him a couple times with Claire, back when she lived here.
She and Cora were closer than I was with her, but he was always around.
Lurking from the shadows, you know. I, uh, I couldn't believe it when he died.
Or when I found out he was still alive." I chuckle. "I thought my life was complicated."
Magnus chimes in, “He’s a good dude.”
I meet Dom’s gaze. “But Dom doesn’t think so?”
Magnus sighs and leans back in his chair. “Dom is impossible to please.”
Dom clears his throat. “Dom is very much in the room.”
I tilt my head to the side. “Oh, you don’t like when people talk about you like you’re not in the room?” I smirk at him.
“Point taken.” He rolls his beautiful eyes.
“If you don’t like Johnny, why is he coming?” I ask.
“Because they’ve been doing an investigation of their own to figure out who’s responsible for these attacks,” Dom explains.
"Have you ever considered that they're involving the east coast sector to throw you off?" I rub my chin.
“Yes,” Dominic tells me. “That is a possibility.”
I lean forward. "This person knows intimate details about both organizations' inner workings, right?"
Magnus plants his hands on the table and stands. “Coffee?” He shifts his focus around and then settles on Simon. “Want to help me?”
“Sure.” Simon rises from his seat and the two of them go over to the kitchen suite in the corner.
“Yes,” Dominic continues where we left off. “And to have that kind of classified information would be incredibly rare if not completely impossible to obtain.”
“Who has that level of clearance?”
He shakes his head slowly. “That’s exactly it. No one does. I don’t discuss matters with the east, and they don’t with me. As of last year, we were rivals.”
“But you’re not anymore?”
“Things have…what’s the word I’m looking for…evolved since leadership has changed.”
“And what do you think?” I stare at Coen.
It takes him a minute to realize I’m talking to him but once he does, he shrugs. “I think I’d like to kill whoever it is.”
“You and me both, buddy,” Magnus calls out from across the way.
“What if it’s not one single person?” I suggest. “What if it’s a group working together?” An idea sparks in my head. “Simon, would you have been able to pull this off?”
His brows perk up at the sound of his name. “Um, well, maybe, but I doubt I would have been able to get the east coast intel. Why?”