Page 63 of Ruthless Angel

As Desmond stepped up to Daire with the brand in hand, he said, “I’m not sure what you did to my daughter that made her boys hate you so damn much, but this will be your one and only warning. Do not fuck with my kid. Otherwise, I’ll have to do something that guarantees you’re never seen again. Understand?”

Daire’s expression was stony and cold, revealing very little of what he likely felt on the inside. “Of course. I wouldn’t dream of messing with your precious Raina.”

When Desmond pressed the blazing hot brand to Daire’s chest, he seemed to hold it there a little longer than he had for me. Maybe Raina hadn’t told him anything but he was no idiot.

Cash was next. Once we were all successfully branded as syndicate members, Desmond took us back upstairs where he fetched a healing salve from the bathroom. I didn’t know what was in it, and I didn’t care. It felt so damn good on the fresh wound. Cooling relief.

We returned outside where Desmond called us all together as a group. “It seems to me that you all could use a little teambuilding exercise, so I’ll be sending you on a job together tonight. I fully expect you to work together, to have each other’s backs no matter what, and to accomplish the task set out before you. Is everyone on board?”

We all nodded. Raina sat up straighter, worry crossing her face. “Is that really necessary, Dad? Tonight? Can’t it wait?”

“No. Sorry, peanut. I need to know they can work together. Now gather round, boys. I’ll tell you where you’ll be going and what you’ll be doing.”

The six of us gathered with Desmond in the kitchen, leaving Clover and Raina in the yard. We were given specific instructions. We would be making a delivery of illegal goods to a buyer. He didn’t say what we were delivering and we didn’t ask.

It sounded like a basic drop. Nothing too complicated. This shit could be dangerous though. I knew that much.

At Desmond’s insistence, we all rode together in a van he had parked in his garage. Havoc drove while the rest of us crammed into the remaining seats. Knight and Gage rode in the back with the bags of goods we were delivering.

“You guys are so fucking lucky that Raina doesn’t want her father to know what you did to her,” Havoc said, eyeing his side mirror as a vehicle passed on the left. “He’d have you all killed.”

“You could have killed us yourself by now,” Daire taunted, unable to keep his big mouth shut. “What’s the hold up?”

Havoc slammed on the brakes so Daire almost face planted into the dash. “Did you forget that I stopped Gage from killing you? Might want to show some gratitude, Daire. I stopped him to keep our asses out of jail at the time because frankly, you’re not worth it. That doesn’t mean I won’t let him torture you like you did to Raina. You deserve at least that much.”

None of us could argue that. If the Gods had done to Clover what we did to Raina, I’d have been homicidal.

“Do it then,” Daire fired back. “If that’s what it will take to make you guys drop this shit already, then do it.”

Gage leaned forward, gripping the edge of the seat. “Careful what you wish for, asshole.”

“We agreed to drop this shit for Raina,” Knight interjected. “She was clear on that. Now let’s do what we’re here to do and stop with the crap. Raina and Clover are best friends. We all work for Desmond. That puts us in each other’s lives. We don’t have to like each other but we need to tolerate each other.”

Knight didn’t sound too happy about letting the issues from the past go, but he knew better than to upset Raina. He was right though. We had a job to do. That needed to be our focus.

The rest of the drive was spent in tense silence. I kept expecting Gage to snap and lunge at Daire. Thankfully, it didn’t happen.

We got to our destination a few minutes before our scheduled time. We parked in the darkened back lot of a warehouse in the industrial district. The many businesses in the area were all closed for the night. The warehouse may have belonged to the buyer for all we knew.

Our instructions were clear. Hand off the bags and accept payment. A simple deal. So why did my stomach twist uncomfortably? My intuition told me to be ready for anything. I wasn’t loving that.

We’d all come armed. Desmond had made it clear we needed to always be armed and ready for anything when doing a job for him. I preferred to be ready for anything no matter what, especially since my time with Brady.

It didn’t take long for our buyer to show up. A blacked out SUV rolled up. Seven men spilled out. A man in an expensive suit stood out as the apparent leader.

Since Havoc had been doing this shit for years, we let him act as our leader. Daire and Gage each took a bag from the back, flanking Havoc as he approached the man. The rest of us stuck close to Daire and Gage, ready to protect the goods.

“You’re Desmond’s guys?” The older man looked us over with disinterest.

“We are,” Havoc confirmed. “You have the cash?”

The man scoffed. “Of course. This isn’t my first time, kid.”

Havoc bristled as the man’s condescending tone. I didn’t blame him. Something about this guy rubbed me the wrong way.

“Let’s see it then.” Havoc jutted his chin toward the large duffel bag held by one of the buyer’s men.

The buyer waved a hand, and the guy stepped forward. He opened the bag and showed us the stacks of cash inside.

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