Page 4 of On the Double

“Boss.”

I turned, nearly growling at Red until I realized why he was here.

“The casket is loaded and we’re ready to go.”

Clearing my throat, I nodded to him. “Thank you.”

But he didn’t move. He stood there, staring at me in the way only Red could. I felt his concern and observant gaze on me. If I had to guess, he already knew half the thoughts in my head, and it wouldn’t be long before he cornered me and gave me a piece of his mind.

“I’ll ride alone.”

“What about Eva?” he asked, only mildly surprised.

I looked into the distance as she got in the car with Libby. “She’s got a ride.”

2

LIBBY

I feltblank as I walked to the gravesite.

And why should I feel a damn thing? He fucking left me for his sister. He didn’t even have the balls to tell me what was going on. I was in the dark from the beginning, and when it came time to form a rescue party, not a single one of them told me what was happening.

They should have known I would go to any lengths to rescue Rafe, but they didn’t even consider taking me with them. Everyone had betrayed me.

Eva was silent beside me. As she climbed into my vehicle—without even fucking asking—she stayed silent. At first, I was pissed. But then I realized she was just as angry, though probably for different reasons. The men of this family were doing their level best to piss us off, and when this funeral was over, I was gone.

I had spent too much of my life living for adventure and a man who left me behind way too easily. Family was supposed to stick together, but then, Rafe never spent much time with his family anyway. I was never really one of them. Rafe and I were the outsiders. We occasionally met up with Michael, but that was only so they could discuss their plans—many of which I was left out of.

“Libby,” Michael said as I approached the grave. “Are you sure you want to do this today?”

“Why? Do you think it will be easier another day? Or maybe I won’t feel so fucking betrayed by this whole fucking family if I let it all sink in?”

He frowned as he stared at me. “Rafe never wanted you to know.”

I scoffed at the ridiculousness of his statement. “Yeah, Rafe never wanted anyone to know.” I turned to Eva. “Did he bother to tell you?”

She shook her head uncomfortably.

“See? Cash’s wife didn’t know. Hell, he didn’t even know he had a sister. It’s interesting how the men in this family keep secrets from each other.”

“And their wives,” Eva muttered.

“Libby, I know you’re hurting?—”

I burst out laughing, unable to hold back. “Do you hear how ridiculous that sounds? I’m hurting? My husband lied to me for years. All this time, I thought we were fighting The Syndicate?—”

“You were,” Michael insisted.

“He was fighting for his sister,” I seethed. “And while I find that admirable, I can’t get past the fact that he didn’t even trust me enough to tell me what the hell he was really up to.”

“He loved you. He never wanted you to know what his plans were.”

“Because he knew deep down that no one would stick around to watch their spouse do something so reckless that it would only end in death.”

“Would you really have left him?”

I wasn’t entirely sure about that. But right now, all I could think about were all the lies he told me. Would I have stuck around if he told me the truth? If I knew the inevitable would happen? In truth, it didn’t really matter. He never gave me the chance to hear him out. He never afforded me the opportunity to decide, knowing how this would most likely end, if I would stand by his side to the end.

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