Chapter 28 #3
“Eventually,” I explain, “we realize that we’re not doing the things we do because we can.”
The sex. The drinking. Spending money. Zoning out into our phones.
“We’re doing them,” I tell her, “because we can’t stop anymore.”
We become addicted to the escape.
“I don’t understand,” she whispers.
Needles prick my throat, and I almost can’t get the words out, because it hurts so badly.
“I don’t want to be free,” I choke out.
I don’t want to drink whenever I want or sleep with whomever I want.
“But I’m really good at it.”
I can detach the way my brothers can’t. I’ve come to hate it, but I know now that nothing will kill me, so there’s that.
Putting her into bed, I shut off her light, her eyes already closing as I plug in her phone on the nightstand. I actually hope he didn’t see me on the cameras. I’ll call Damaris back. I’m not in the mood for any more shit tonight.
As soon as I step out of the room, though, I come face-to-face with Callum. He leans back on the banister, his gaze on me. I straighten. How long has he been here?
He got here quickly. He must’ve been in town.
My eyes drop to the chain peeking out of his collar, and I pull her door closed, squaring my shoulders. “I didn’t touch her.”
“You did a little bit,” he points out.
A smile sits in his eyes. He watched me with her. Did he hear me?
Behind him, downstairs on both sides of the front door, stand two security detail. The guys in black suits sit like imposing columns, and it’s the first time all day I’ve wanted to smile.
He’s afraid we’ll retaliate, so he hired bodyguards.
“I didn’t touch her like that,” I explain.
And he knows it.
Moving past him, I head down the stairs, hearing him behind me. “Wait, I owe you for babysitting.”
“Fuck you.”
I move for the front door.
“Well, I owe Miss Hernandez, then,” he says.
His thugs move in front of the door, blocking my way, and I understand now. He has something he wants to say.
“Come here,” Callum says behind me.
I wait a moment, trying to convince myself I can take these guys, but I can’t. I’m in shape, but I’m not a fucking weight lifter.
Turning my head over my shoulder, I see him head behind the stairs to the hallway.
I follow him, slipping through a door on the left.
Once inside, I look around at the office. Dark blue walls, gray curtains, wood desk. His father’s.
He moves behind the desk, opens a drawer, and starts counting out some cash. He stops and then continues, adding a few extra bills. “A little extra tip.” He holds it out to me. “She’ll need money now.”
I don’t want to give him the pleasure of watching me take it, but I know I can’t leave until I do.
Snatching it from his hand, I spin around and start to walk out.
“Dallas.”
I stop and turn to meet his eyes.
He takes something from his pocket, flinging it to me. An old object flies through the air, and I catch it, recognizing the face of the Spanish coin immediately.
It’s ours. One of the many coins—among other things—he stole from the tomb.
“Each one of those,” he says, “can go for as much as nineteen thousand dollars. Did you know that?”
I arch a brow, wondering if he’s counted how many thousands of these were in the crates. He must’ve had a crew of twenty sweep in to clear that tomb so quickly.
He grins. “Of course you knew.”
Macon should’ve used that money to secure the land once and for all. He thought it was too risky for anyone to know what we had, though. So we used it sparingly. Building houses, a school, agriculture, businesses, jobs…
“The residents of the Bay don’t all know about this, do they?” Callum muses, moving around the desk and leaning on the front. “I mean, I get it. I’d do the same thing. If they knew, it would be impossible to control. Macon knows that.”
I grind my teeth together. Where the fuck is he going with this?
“People would be demanding their cut,” he goes on, “colluding to steal it, spending it on outrageous purchases, partying, drugs…” He sighs with fake sympathy. “Money often does more harm than good.”
Yes, it does. Making everyone in the Bay instantly rich wouldn’t bode well. Maybe it wasn’t our decision to make for them, but it could also be a painful lesson to learn. It’s what was best for the largest number of people in the Bay.
“But still, knowing that, they’d want it anyway,” he tells me, taking the coin from my hand again. “What do you think Damaris Hernandez would do for just one of these?”
I lift my chin, my blood rushing hot. He better not be implying what I think he is.
The corner of his mouth tilts up in a smile, and he lowers his voice. “What do you think I could get Olivia to do for the whole fucking lot?”
Motherfucker!
Reaching out, I grab his neck, just as the door behind us flies open.
Goddamn him. Isn’t he happy? He has everything! He has to drag my family through the mud to feel good? Fuck!
But Callum holds out his hand, stopping his security.
Looking at me, he still hasn’t wiped the grin off his fucking face, and with one movement, I can snap his neck.
With just one movement.
He knows he has me, though. He has everything.
“Get in my shower,” he says.