Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Angel
Sver is going to be a problem.
Like I need another fucking one of those. His hookup with Candy was not an accident, but where he fits into this puzzle, I’ve got no fucking clue.
And right now, I’m headed back to New York to deal with both Don and Vincent who have teamed up against me.
Promise stands and comes back to the seat next to me.
My arm goes around her waist as I settle her closer to my body.
“Don’t worry, love, I won’t let him hurt you,” I whisper close to her ear.
“I wasn’t worried.” She shakes her head and then brings her cheek to my shoulder. But her answer leaves me unsettled. Is she unbothered because she trusts me or does she still have that fatalist attitude? I want her to trust me with her safety.
“I know that Sver is a new and interesting problem, but we’ve got an old one waiting. What’s your plan?” Knox asks, cracking his knuckles. “How are you dealing with Don and Vincent?”
“United, they are a real problem. I think my best bet would be to divide them again.”
Promise stiffens, nipping at her lip. “Are you going to make my father a counteroffer?”
I know what Promise wants, what’s kept her moving forward.
She wants to expose her father and that’s easier when her husband isn’t his partner.
“No. It’s officially time to shut your father down.
My offer will be to Vincent.” And not just because of Promise.
If Vincent agrees to a partnership, all the other New York families will fall in line.
I can get my legitimacy from my partnership with the Smiths. I don’t need Don anymore.
I feel Promise relax again. “And the votes he bought?”
“He didn’t fulfill his end of the bargain,” I answer easily. “I’m not bound to mine.”
Her hand comes to my chest. “I want the world to understand the kind of man he really is,” she says as she looks up at me. “Losing his run for governor would be the perfect first step.”
Knox quirks a brow. “Blondie’s got an edge.”
Promise wrinkles her nose.
I reach over and tuck her hair behind her ear. “Promise has a lot more in common with us than you might think.”
Knox jerks his chin in response. “In fighting, it looks like a short game. You step into the ring, you try and kick the shit out of another guy. But it’s actually a long game.
You strategize for months. Try to learn the other man’s weaknesses…
Hit him where it hurts when the opportunity presents itself. ”
Promise lifts her head, cocking it to the side as she studies Knox. “Interesting.”
He sits back in his seat. “Keep your eye open for your chance.”
We fall quiet again, Promise’s cheek falling back to my shoulder. I lean down and kiss the top of her head, just breathing her in.
I’m not sure I’ll ever get enough of her.
We fly into the night, the darkening sky casting the interior of the plane into near darkness.
Candy lies down across the seats behind us. I glance back at her. Promise isn’t going to like this, but I think I’m going to have to cut Candy loose.
She’s a liability with her new connection to Sver, and if we’re honest, she could have been Vinnie’s opportunity to wreak havoc on my operation.
My guess…that’s why he was dating her in the first place.
But that is a tomorrow problem.
I feel the moment Promise falls asleep, her body pressing deeper into mine. Closing my eyes, I place a hand over her heart, just feeling it beat under my palm.
My wedding ring catches the light out on the wing, glinting in the darkness.
I’m a guy who prides himself on keeping his word. But yesterday, I didn’t just make promises, I said vows.
Deep words that ring through me. I will love and honor her for better and for worse.
I’m glad her father reneged on our deal. It frees me from any obligation to him, though I’ve known from almost the beginning that I was never hurting Promise.
I close my eyes, repeating the plan in my head. I’m so close…
My ears pop, and I know the plane is close to landing. I check Promise’s seat belt and then pull on my own as she wakes next to me.
I lace my fingers through hers as the plane touches down.
“Axel parked your car at the airport this afternoon,” Knox volunteers. “He sent me the location.”
“Good,” I answer. It’s three in the morning here in New York. I’m taking my wife home and tucking her in bed. “Can you bring Candy back to the club?”
“Angel,” Candy says from her seat. “I…” She stops, looking away. She knows what’s coming.
“Get some sleep,” I say to her. “We’ll talk in the morning.”
I see the worry in her eyes and Promise’s questioning gaze. But tonight is not for Candy. Helping Promise down the set of stairs, we load into Knox’s waiting SUV, and he drives us to my waiting car.
I help Promise into the passenger’s seat and then we’re off. At this time of night, we should make it to my loft in fifteen or twenty minutes.
I press the gas, eager to have Promise naked in my bed.
But I haven’t been driving for five minutes when my phone rings. Axel’s name flashes on the console screen. I press a button on the dash to answer the phone. “Hey Axel, thanks for dropping the car.”
“No problem,” he answers in a rush of air. “Am I on speaker?”
“Yes. Why?”
“It’s Gunner…” he starts.
I snatch my phone up, bringing it to my ear. “What’s wrong with Gunner?”
“Vincent’s got Gunner.” Axel shifts the gears of his car, I hear it. “Holding him at that crack house he uses as his headquarters. I saw them pushing Gun into the basement. But there were too many of them and I couldn’t even get close…”
“Fuck,” I spit. And to think, I was going to cut that fucker in on a deal.
“I’m sure Vincent means to get us to turn over Promise, or maybe just concede power. But you know how Gunner is about being touched…” Axel blows out a breath. “If they’re trying to beat something out of him…”
I get the problem. Gunner might lose his grip on sanity. I slow the car, taking the next exit off the highway. “I’m going to drop Promise at the club with Knox. Where should I meet you?”
“I’m fifteen minutes from the club. I’ll meet you there.”
“Good.”
Promise touches my arm. “What’s wrong with Gunner?”
I look at her. Gunner understood before I did what Promise might mean to me. To all of us. “Vincent is holding him.”
Promise gasps. “Angel, we have to help him.”
I turn to her. “You have to stay safe. But yes…Axel and I…” It’s beyond dangerous. Fortunately, I’ve got a few pieces of collateral of my own. I call Rock and then ask him to call Killian.
I need soldiers. The kind that will help me keep the peace even as I make sure that this shit never happens again. I haven’t forgotten Promise or my ultimate goals.
I’ve got to try to keep my head as I help my brother.
Screaming into the parking lot of the club, I park the car and trot around to get Promise’s door.
But that’s when I catch a shadow out of the corner of my eye. I turn, but too late; I feel something hard hit the back of my head.
I see stars and then the world goes black…