Chapter 30
Before I could react, she gently pushed me back until I was staring into her tear-filled eyes. “You’re saying all this, but you’ve already proven it either isn’t true, or you just don’t think it is.”
“Mallory—”
“You pushed me out of the way of enemy fire,” she reminded me.
“You always step close to me whenever you’re worried something might happen, like you’re prepared to push me out of the way again—or like you think I can’t handle the situation myself.
You tried to get me taken off this club job before you did get me taken off it, because you think I can’t handle it. ”
“Because you’re pregnant,” I reminded her.
“Because you think I’m not strong enough,” she argued, but that fierceness in which she always used during her arguments was notably absent. In its place was dejection and worry.
A smile tugged at my mouth as frustration bled from me on a laugh.
“Okay, Peach, let’s do this. Throw all those misplaced accusations and insecurities at me,” I ground out as I once again pulled her close.
“Question me and doubt yourself every day—I’m ready.
Because you’re wrong, and because I know this isn’t you.
This is the pregnancy messing with your emotions. ”
Her eyes flared with anger and panic, but I just turned us until her back was to the wall, giving the false sense that I could keep her there during this conversation she wanted to avoid, when I knew I couldn’t.
“I’m so aware that you can fight your own battles.
I’m so aware that you can take on anything that comes at you.
But I’d rather fight by your side than let you take on the world alone.
And, even though I know you don’t need me to, I will always put myself between you and whatever’s coming at you because I love you.
It’s instinctive to protect you—now more than ever.
” The last was said on a breath as I released one side of her face and lowered my hand to brush my knuckles across her stomach.
Making her tremble. Making that earlier panic and anger explode, even as tears slipped down her cheeks as she whispered, “Don’t.”
“This isn’t something we can run from.”
“I told you to give me a day,” she said through clenched teeth.
“You also told me you were gonna take care of it tomorrow,” I reminded her.
“That’s—”
“Monroe, Gray,” Briggs snapped, cutting off whatever she’d been about to claim. “Office.”
“Yep,” I called back, but stared at Mallory’s watery blue eyes for a few seconds longer before repeating, “You’re stronger than you know,” on a breath. “I see it. I need you to see it too.”
Releasing her, I turned and headed toward where Briggs was glaring at the two of us, barely slowing when he growled, “This won’t become a habit.”
“Working on that diamond-tough exterior,” I muttered meaningfully.
His only reply was a grunt as he led the way to the main office, already talking before we were fully in there. “Seems ARCK was aware . . . of everything.”
Evans bit out a dark laugh and tossed the pen he’d been playing with onto his desk.
“Everything, everything,” Thatch stated dully, but there was an underlying edge there that hinted at his anger.
When Briggs just looked at him in confirmation, I asked, “More than the new family and club? All the Davises and their locations?”
“What’d I say?” Briggs snapped, glancing over his shoulder at me.
“I think we’re all hoping, given our history with them, they wouldn’t have left us in the dark with something like this.”
Briggs roughed a hand over his face at my harsh explanation, but just looked to where Rush sat hunched over in his chair, elbows on his thighs and hands hanging loosely between his knees, staring blankly ahead. “Anything?”
As if sensing his best friend’s stare, Rush briefly met it before giving a small shake of his head as his attention fell to where he was tightly gripping his phone.
“Keep calling her,” Briggs ordered, then drew in a deep breath.
“I called Maverick’s wife, since she’s the one who sent me everything.
She’s . . . kind of hard to talk to. But from what I gathered, Thatch was right.
They were waiting to see what we could do with the information we had and were disappointed we’d even needed their information in the first place. ”
“What, like, prove ourselves?” I asked on a bitter huff. “Why would we need to prove anything to them?”
“Hasn’t our work over the years done that anyway?” Thatch added, folding his arms over his chest as he leaned back against Rush’s desk.
For once, Rush wasn’t invested in the impromptu meeting. He wasn’t adding insight or taking notes. His knee was bouncing a mile a minute as he lowered his phone from his ear—ending a call and immediately switching to the messages.
“I’m not sure, but . . .” Briggs’ drew in another slow, deep breath before giving Thatch a meaningful look. “She said something along the lines of, ‘You figured it out. You have more of a warning than we did. Let’s see you keep all your women alive,’ before she hung up.”
Thatch bit out a curse, and I automatically reached behind me, needing to feel the warmth, the life, of Mallory, even though I’d been able to feel her presence behind me ever since we’d set foot in here.
To my surprise, she stepped forward, meeting me. But just long enough for my hand to slide around her waist and grip at the back of her hip before she moved away until she was standing at my side and asking, “Why are they suddenly challenging us?”
“Because Briggs doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut,” Thatch ground out and gripped at his hair.
Tension wove through the space at the claim as we all waited to see how Briggs would respond, but he just stood there silently when Thatch released his hair and tossed the hand in his direction.
“When ARCK showed up last year to help with the Owen Vance situation,” he began, “Maverick told us we shouldn’t be confident in our abilities to keep people safe just because we were near them, or something like that.
Told us that Kieran’s wife was murdered in front of all of them, and then someone else’s wife—I think it was his twin’s—was taken right after that.
” Jerking his chin in Briggs’ direction he said, “Now, I’ll admit, I was thinking what Briggs said, but, being Briggs, he decided to tell Maverick that the difference between us and ARCK was that we would’ve stopped all that from happening. ”
Another dark laugh crept from Evans before he mumbled, “Wow.”
“It clearly didn’t go over well then or now,” Thatch softly seethed as he glared at our boss.
“I stand by what I said,” Briggs said unapologetically. “Even if they hadn’t helped us with this, even if we’d had no warning with the club or the Davis situation, we still would’ve—and will—prevent anything like that from happening.”
Just as my lips parted to argue, Mallory said, “I’m with ARCK.” When Briggs turned on us, brow raised, she lifted her chin defiantly. “You can’t know that. We lost people during missions, Briggs. Gray was shot multiple times, one of which went past his vest. You can’t know that.”
“I know I won’t let my wife be taken or killed,” he said slowly, carefully, making me realize what exactly he’d been saying to Maverick all those months ago.
Casualties of battles and wars were one thing.
Losing the person who was the driving force behind your pulse was another. “I know Thatch feels the same.”
When his dark stare shifted to me in question, I nodded. “They’d have to kill me first, and then I’d still fight to get back to her.”
At that, Briggs glanced at Mallory and let one of his eyebrows tick up.
Mallory just breathed, “I can still handle myself,” when he turned to continue addressing the office.
I didn’t agree with her. She already knew I was aware of that.
I just reached out to brush my hand along hers, and felt the corner of my mouth twitch and her soft, stuttered inhale.
“Another thing she told me was that, during every threat their ‘family’ has ever encountered, they’ve holed up in one location.
It’s a way to draw the threat to where they’re prepared.
” With a look at each one of us, lingering on where Rush once again had his phone pressed to his ear, Briggs added, “While that has worked great for them, we work on the offensive, and I’m not willing to draw mafia to where my niece and pregnant wife will be.
Still, we have to do something. So, we’re pairing off. ”
Twisting to face us, Briggs cut a warning look at Mallory and lowered his voice so it wouldn’t carry to the others.
“I know what you can do—that isn’t what this is.
I just won’t ask spouses to separate during this.
” Keeping his narrowed glare on her, he added louder, “Husbands and wives are staying together. Evans—”
“No,” Evans cut in, his stare darting past Briggs, toward the conference room where the rest of the girls were.
“You already know how to handle Wren,” Briggs argued as he turned back to Evans. “Besides, it’ll be easier to keep an eye on her when you’re in the same place.”
“Not if she tries to sneak out,” Evans countered. “Which, she will.”
I could hear the veiled amusement in Briggs’ voice when he mumbled, “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
Evans’ head fell back against his chair as he dragged a hand over his face, mumbling about babysitting frustrating women.
Briggs glanced over his shoulder at us one last time before facing the others again.
“This will be a coordinated, offensive attack, but I’m still betting this new family knows we’re aware of what’s happening, so they’ll be ready.
With that said, we’re gonna decide as a team if we’re going in as if nothing’s changed, or if we’re switching locations to throw them off, even just a little.
Thatch at Monroe’s, Gray and Monroe at Evans’, and so on. ”
We all glanced at each other at the unexpected offer.
Briggs always gave the orders. We followed through.
It was never left up for us to decide.
“Rush,” Briggs mumbled, then jerked his chin in the direction of his office.
Rush nodded as he pushed from his chair, never once stopping from where he was furiously tapping his phone against his palm.
“Ada?” I asked when Briggs turned to head that way.
Irritation slashed across his features, barely masking the amusement there. “She said she’s never heard the name Davis Shaw, hasn’t seen anyone new, and she’d introduce anyone who might come for her to her shotgun . . . including me, if I tried moving her to a different house.”
A huff of a laugh escaped me. “At least she’s aware.”
Briggs rumbled a noncommittal grunt as he stalked to his office.
The door had barely shut before Mallory said, “We’re not switching.”
“It isn’t the worst idea,” Thatch argued.
“Great, then the rest of you can switch, and I’ll stay at my condo,” she shot back. “No one’s setting foot in my place.”
Her paintings. Right.
But I could see the draw behind the idea. The other Davises wouldn’t be expecting whoever we switched with. They wouldn’t be looking for their cars or know their schedules.
It was a good plan.
“Peach,” I began, but she shot a cold glare in my direction.
“That’s my space,” she softly seethed.
“I know,” I mumbled back as I reached for her hand, already knowing she wouldn’t let me take it, but wanting her to know I was there, on her side, regardless.
When she curled her hand into a fist, I gently gripped her wrist and added, “But think outside that. We’ll all be at a disadvantage if we stay where they expect us to be. ”
As if to mock me for trying to get Mallory to see past her fear of someone seeing who she was beneath all that hardened exterior, Briggs quietly slipped back into the main office and said, “You’ll be there anyway.
I wasn’t thinking when I suggested the switches—we’d all have to go back to our places to pack, and the Davises would see that.
It’d just make it worse. So, we’ll be going to our own places. ”
Rush brushed past Briggs as he spoke and stalked through the office, not saying a word or looking at any of us as he headed straight for the front and left Shadow.
Thatch pointed after him, but Briggs just looked at Evans as if nothing had happened. “This is one of those situations that’s going to take us well outside the legal boundary to do what needs to be done. You okay with that, or do I need to send you away before we start planning?”
So many times in the past, just the mention of something toeing the line of legality had Evans hesitating—wavering. Even showing little sparks of anger within that golden retriever personality that had been so distinctly him before the truth of who his dad had been had destroyed that too.
But he just sat there then, all that unending anger present as he met Briggs’ assessing stare straight on. “We apparently have a mafia family preparing to do who knows what to a bunch of women.” One of Evans’ eyebrows ticked up. “Tell me who I’m killing first.”