Page 50 of I Stop Somewhere Waiting For You

CHAPTER 25

MAV

“So, that’s it then, huh?” Finn asks, collapsing back into the leather seat in front of my desk. “We are officially out of the gun business.”

“Good,” T snaps, dropping down into the matching chair beside him. “I’m over this shit. I’m ready to be done.”

We’d just finalized the details of the last shipment, routing it through the new contacts rather than having us fulfill it as originally planned. They were more than happy to get a jump on the new business, and honestly the loss of revenue from passing off the final shipment wasn’t detrimental enough to prevent me from bowing out early. Truth be told, I’m thankful to be done.

T is barely holding on by a thread most days. While we all took the loss of Bentley hard, he’s teetering on the edge. Understandably so, considering even though Bentley was reluctant to admit it, Tristan was most definitely his person. And I know Bent was his.

I look him over briefly, trying to ascertain his mental state for the day. Some days are better, while others I can’t do much other than scoop his ass off the floor as he drinks himself into a coma. I’m trying to be supportive, considering I’d probably take a header off the fucking bridge if I lost Jones, but as head of this family, I have an obligation to him. If his good days don’t start outweighing the bad soon, he’s going to therapy. And he won’t have a choice in the matter.

“What’s the status on shit with Nicky?” Finn asks, shifting forward in his seat. “Any of those leads pay off in linking him to the bomb?”

“Nicky didn’t kill Bent,” T snarls, popping up from his seat and tearing over to the bar where he fixes himself a whiskey.

“You keep saying that!” Finn huffs, slamming his palms down on the worn leather arms. “But you never feel the need to elaborate as to how you know that. Honestly, Mav,” he redirects his attention to me, “why the fuck is Nicky C. still breathing? It’s obvious it was retaliation for what he thinks was us hitting the shipment.” Finn pops up, pressing his knuckles against my desk as he leans forward. “I know you love his sister. We can get her out before anything happens. But he needs to go in the fucking ground.”

“Shut the fuck up, Finn!” Tristan yells from the corner of the room. His glass flies across the office, shattering against the opposite wall.

I pop up from my chair. “Yo!” I scream, thrusting my finger in his direction. “Calm the fuck down, T! Finn’s right. You’ve been insistent it wasn’t Nicky from the jump. You will tell me right now, Tristan, why do you think that?”

The three of us stand there, our tense gazes locked in an immobilizing stare-down.

“NOW, TRISTAN!” My voice roars into the space.

He flinches slightly, closing his eyes as a pained expression overtakes his face. “I’m so sorry, Mav,” he whispers, though it’s loud enough to shift my entire fucking world on its axis.

My gun’s drawn, trained on him as Finn scrambles to get in front of me.

“Mav! MAV!” Finn shrieks, pushing me back. “Just wait a minute. WAIT! Shit.”

I hesitate; Finn’s hands are planted firmly against my chest as he attempts to deescalate the situation. “Mav, let’s just talk about this. We don’t know what he means. He loved him. Bent was everything to him. T!” Finn calls out over his shoulder. “Any time you wanna start explaining so you don’t catch a fucking bullet would be helpful right about now!”

T looks over to me, his defeated eyes welling with tears. Just as he opens his mouth to speak, he’s cut off by the ringing emitted from my back pocket. Maintaining my gaze on him, I reach back to fetch my cell, hitting speaker before I even check to see who it is.

“Go.” My voice is cold. Hard.

“Bishop,” Nicky’s voice carries through the space, catching me off guard. “You better tell your guard dogs to let me through immediately before I put a fucking bullet in them. NOW!”

I glance down to confirm he’s calling me on my actual cell and not the burner he gave me. “Nicky,” I begin, unsure of how I’m supposed to play this right now, “what the fuck?”

“He took her, Mav. My baby sister. He fucking took her.”

Everything goes numb as my chest caves in on itself. “Can my boys hear me?”

“Yes.”

“Let Nicky through or he has full permission to put that bullet in you. Bring him to the Cathedral. Now.”

The line disconnects. Finn drops his hands from my chest as we stare at the now quiet phone in my hand. “Bish,” he speaks, “what the fuck is going on?”

I look back up to find T’s features contorted into a look of pure anguish, and I just know. A roar erupts from my throat as a betrayal I’ve never previously experienced slices through me. I charge him before Finn has a chance to react, pistol whipping him so hard upside the head, he’s out before he even hits the ground.

***

Finn’s fist collides with T’s face, jolting him back to consciousness.

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