Page 13 of Ruthless Reign

As if it mattered at this point whether she heard us or not.

She dragged out a chair and sat facing dad, pushing her long dark hair back from her face and swallowing hard before she spoke. “I didn’t want to interrupt but I was thinking, and totally ignore me if this is stupid, but I want to help. I mean, if apparently I’m not safe either until this is over, then it’s sort of in my best interest to offer solutions that might help end it faster.”

Dad’s eyebrows lowered. “Go on then. What do you have to say?”

I flinched inwardly on Becca’s behalf. There was a reason I didn’t often speak at these meetings. “Becca, I don’t think there’s?—”

“Someone said he took out the police chief,” she said as if she was leading into something that we should have already understood. “And then you also said that he had the mayor and the senator in his back pocket.”

“ What are you trying to say, hon?” Ma asked, her patience slipping.

“Well, no one said he had the cops in his back pocket. And I’m thinking if he killed the chief and he went over their head to the senator and the mayor, then maybe he doesn’t. That maybe they are upset that he took their chief from them. Maybe they don’t want to deranged lunatic operating in a city that they are trying to protect.”

“Holy shit…” I trailed off.

Dad dropped his head, but even at this angle I could see the upturned edges of his lips as his body shook with soft laughter. When he lifted his head, there was a sort of wonder in his eyes as he beheld his daughter. “You’re smarter than you look, kiddo.”

She bit her lip, glancing away as a soft flush crept into her cheeks, and I got the feeling she didn’t get praised often by the man who raised her.

“This stays between us,” Dad said, meeting each of our eyes in turn. “With the possible leak in our ranks, this could be the ace we need to get the upper hand. I’ll pay a little discreet visit to the boys in blue, see if they’re willing to keep us looped in on anything they see or hear.” His proud gaze rested on Becca again, and fuck, if I wasn’t eating my words. Seeing her in a different light.

Dad rose and clapped her shoulder on his way past. Ma moved to follow him out, pausing in front of Becca. “You can sit in on the next meet,” she said, surprising the hell out of me. I knew she was still bitter about the whole long-lost-daughter thing, but that sounded a lot like acceptance. A peace offering at the very least. Thank fuck since I fully intended to make her a part of the family.

“You going to get that?” Kaleb asked me as we left the autobody shop, holding the backseat door of the Bronco open as I slid onto the seat.

I glanced at my phone screen, seeing the incoming call from Dad and hitting the side button to silence it. “No. It’s not important.”

I was sure Dad wouldn’t agree, but since he wasn’t technically ‘Dad,’ I wasn’t sure if I technically cared right now. I had enough to mentally sort through and physically deal with as it was. I didn’t need Mr. Hart breathing down my neck as well.

Kaleb’s eyebrows twitched together, but he didn’t push it, closing the door behind me.

“Wait up!” I heard someone call and squinted through the windshield to see one of Damien’s men rushing over to have a word with Kaleb and Hardin. Hardin shut the passenger door without getting in so I had to strain to hear their conversation outside.

My phone buzzed incessantly, blocking out most of what they were saying, and I groaned to myself, jamming the button to silence the next call and the next. By the time they got in the Bronco, I had two more missed calls from Dad and a couple new messages from Toby and Kate asking where I was and if I’d be home later after work.

There were a couple from Aodhán, too, asking why he hadn’t seen me around campus or at Death before Decaf. Asking me if I was okay. I didn’t know how to answer any of their questions right now.

I didn’t know what to say because I had no fucking idea if I’d be going home. Going back to class. Going to work.

And even if I were able to do any of those things, I doubted I’d be doing them alone anymore.

“What was that about?” I asked as Kaleb started the car.

“Zade’s going to talk with the Kents tonight. He was asking if we’d go with.”

“We’re not,” Hardin said gruffly.

“Why not?” I asked.

Neither answered. So, obviously they weren’t going to do their jobs or their duty to their father’s empire because of me. Awesome.

“Why did he want you guys to go with him?” I asked, hoping I’d at least get an answer to that. Something I could use to convince them that they couldn’t use me as an excuse not to actively have a hand in fixing this whole fucked up situation.

“The Kents are a smaller family run operation. Hardin and I went to middle school with their son and his best friend who is also in the gang. Zade thought we might be able to convince them to stand with us when the time is right.”

“Can you?” I prompted.

No answer. “What if I went with you?”

---