5. Chapter 2 - Hillary
“ I don’t like this plan at all, Killer.”
Kellan’s glower was as familiar to me as my own reflection in a mirror. A foreboding presence, he stood in the doorway of Aaron’s warehouse. We’d just collected our weapons, returning indoors to formulate some semblance of a plan before we stepped back outside and left this terrible memory of an evening behind.
“Big surprise, Viking.” I rolled my eyes at his overbearing, broodish facade. “But I’m not killing him tonight, and you two are in enough trouble.”
Raising an eyebrow, I pointedly looked down my nose at the two men in front of me. Lauchlan currently stood outside, handcuffed to Kellan’s passenger seat, despite my explicit instructions he was to come home with me. I’d agreed to one night of interrogation, but Kellan was to bring him back to me in the morning—preferably in one piece.
I didn’t have high hopes. The cartel King made a show of smashing Lucky’s head against the door frame as he shoved him into the vehicle like he was a wanted felon.
The truth, really.
Lucky’s admission had come as a surprise, but in a way, also completely expected. Lauchlan had already proven himself to be a cunning opponent, and learning I wasn’t the sole focus of his attention validated my previous thoughts. He was smarter than he let on, leading a shell game with the practiced slight of hand of a talented magician.
Now, though, I had far larger concerns than an intriguing game of cat-and-mouse with a sexy con man. That he’d tracked and followed me here might have been another element of our veiled competition, but he’d chosen the wrong night to up the ante.
So now, he’d be under lock and key with… me. I wasn’t looking forward to having another person in my space, but that would be a future-Hillary problem. It hadn’t slipped my attention there’d been no mention of his alleged profession—he was still keeping his identity a secret. I was curious if a little one-on-one ‘attention’ could make him crack. I looked forward to finding out.
First, we had to deal with Aaron.
I shifted my ire to the badly beaten man in front of me. Even covered in blood and bruises, he radiated the calm poise of a self-assured man. He stood tall and proud, arms wrapped around his chest in disapproval, but after he had first voiced his suggestion of burning Lauchlan alive, he’d remained quiet. Observant. Waiting.
“Your suicidal tendencies aside”—I glared poison-dipped daggers at my frustrating dark knight, but he didn’t give me so much as a twitch in return—“we’re going to have to get you somewh ere safe. And my condo is now taken.” I dipped my head toward the door to emphasize the point.
“I will not need to retreat yet.” He casually wiped the stream of blood from a reopened cut on his lip into the sleeve of his destroyed white dress shirt. “I have a few days, yes?”
“Barely,” Kellan responded, the exasperation in his tone barely overshadowing his concern. “Antonio didn’t give me a timeline, but he is not a patient man. He’ll expect this to be done this week.”
“Okay.” I nodded my head. “A few days is good. You’re going to need a lot of makeup, but a public appearance over the next day or two would be a good thing. It will make your retreat from public life a little more believable.”
Aaron cocked his head and a subtle grimace of pain flitted across his features. “How do you propose, Mi Reina ?”
“I have a safe house about an hour out of town.” My gaze landed on the Viking’s icy stare. “Kellan—do you have connections we can use? With your—other—organization?”
I hesitantly searched his eyes, not about to give up his most guarded secret, but hoping it would have some use against Antonio’s vendetta against the Rodriguez family. If he wanted to massacre Aaron’s parents and extended family, I’d stand back and let natural selection have its vengeance, but I wouldn’t let a single hair on Aaron’s head be touched going forward.
Aaron didn’t know about Kellan’s FBI employment; I was sure of it. The only reason I knew was I’d been involved in Winter’s family drama years ago. At every party or social interaction, like Jediah’s, Kellan represented the Carlos Cartel and the Carlos Cartel only.
The blond God shook his head, clumped strands of bloodied dreads swaying around his face.
“I’m about to have a turf war on my hands. If I bring him into a safe house, I can’t guarantee that they won’t try to use him as a pawn to bring in his parents. Antonio’s still off th e table—barely—but Veronica and Vicente would be a huge win for them.”
Aaron’s brow furrowed in confusion, but he waited, expectantly.
My business partner was always the most patient man in a boardroom, waiting for others to confess their sins while he silently stared into their souls. Watching him apply this tactic to Kellan would have been amusing in different circumstances.
Instead, I stood between them with knots in my stomach, wordlessly counting the number of secrets I was going to have to manage between the three men.
Kellan sighed and the noisy burst of air forced his cracked lips apart. He scrubbed his large palms over his dirty face.
“Fuck it,” he murmured as his gaze dipped to the rough floorboard beneath our feet. He lifted his eyes, steely resolve darkening the rich blue to navy, as he stared directly into Aaron’s caramel brown slits.
“I’m a double agent with the FBI. It’s a long story, one we will likely never get into, but now that I’m fucking responsible for your life, too”—he threw an unnecessary glower my way—“you should know what you are getting into. I’ll do my best to protect you, but I can’t guarantee it. I can’t guarantee my own life with Alvarez and Antonio about to go head to head.”
To his credit, Aaron’s face remained an unreadable mask, save for a micro-crinkle of his left eyebrow I had learned was his tell. His emotionless stare drifted to mine for a brief moment, then resolution entered his own gaze.
Steel entered his spine, and he rose to his full height, now within an inch of Kellan. He stuck out his palm in an extended handshake, the image of a formidable businessman ready to enter a company shakedown. “Nice to finally meet you, hermano . Let us take down the devils that sired us together. Keep me hidden, and I’ll use my networks to avenge us both.”
Kellan’s poker face all but evaporated. His eyebrows shot up in surprise, eyeing the offered hand with incredulity. Aaron didn’t concede, leaving it awkwardly hanging in the air between them.
“You’re a relentless fucker, I’ll give you that.” His lips twitched in the faintest ghost of a smile, then he clasped Aaron’s hand within his own rough palm. “It’s a battle ahead, brother. Death is a more peaceful alternative.”
“One I will face once my parents have filled their own coffins.”
Raw power emanated from within Aaron’s bronzed skin, encasing the three of us in a cloud of bitter determination. He and Kellan exuded the earned confidence of men who had built a legacy of destruction and sin.
I stepped back, needing distance from the overpowering layers of emotion.
“As much as I’m thrilled to see you two getting along”—I grabbed my sweater from the floor, feeling the sharp sting of chilled air now that the adrenaline had worked its way out of my system—“we need an actual plan for the week. Aaron—two days maximum, okay? Office and home, no deviations. I don’t trust Antonio not to have a contingency plan.”
Kellan grimaced in agreement.
“Get your affairs in order, move what you can over to my office and pack a bag. Tell no one—not even Jacques—where you are going. I’ll have Joey deliver you to my safe house, and we will work out the details this weekend, okay?”
This really was a terrible plan. My safe house apartment was in the basement of my private, heavily secured warehouse. Aaron wasn’t privy to my after-hours activities, and Alec’s cell on the upper level would have to remain a secret—for how much longer, I didn’t know, but I wasn ’t willing to reveal everything tonight—no matter how much I cared about him.
Still, I wouldn’t be able to secure another piece of real estate close by in just two days, even with all my connections. It was probably safer, but I selfishly didn’t want Aaron leaving the state, if it meant I couldn’t keep an eye on him. This seemed the best option in a sea of really shitty ones.
Aaron reached for me, and with a light tug on my wrist, drew me into his arms. He stank of iron and salt, but the underlying scent of his familiar body wash—sandalwood and vanilla—still clung to his skin like a comforting blanket. I sank into his embrace. The recent memories of being held in the quiet of his office brought me a rare sense of peace. I closed my eyes for a brief second, listening to the muted thump of his heartbeat against my cheek.
He gently kissed the top of my head, then nuzzled me backward to stand next to Kellan once again.
“And text me when you get home. Both of you. Please,” I tacked on, no longer in the mood to issue orders that affected yet another man’s fate. I was desperate to get to my condo, have a shower, and crawl into bed.
My already waning mood turned sour when I realized I would have a house guest for the foreseeable future.
“You can deliver Lucky to my guest suite tomorrow evening, Viking. I’ll deal with him then.”
Not waiting for his response, I pulled open the dented metal door that had just changed the trajectory of my entire life and stepped out into the damp night air.
I hoped Sammy found me a new playmate this week. It was time to let off some much-needed stress.