Page 54 of Ruthless

“Didn’t really have a choice. At least this way, I know exactly where he is.” His eyes drop down to mine. “And that’s one possible threat against you accounted for.” The hand not holding mine strokes the ends of his beard as he continues to watch the two of them. “You okay to go inside with the girls while we take Isaac to Asher’s place to talk?”

“Yeah.” I’m not naive enough to think that they’ll just be talking, but I have something else on my mind. “You still going to avoid sleeping next to me?” It’s probably not the best time to bring it up, but timing has never been my strong suit.

He pulls me in tighter against him and kisses the top of my head. “We shouldn’t be too long, and then you and I are going to have another talk.”

“Fine.” I nod as he lets go of my hand and starts to make his way over to where Asher is.

“Let’s go, Ax.” His steps never falter as he calls him over his shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah,” Axel grumbles but follows behind Zane. “I’m coming.”

Charlee steps up next to me with Kelsey not far behind her and crosses her arms over her chest. “Who’s that?” Her green eyes narrow in Isaac’s direction as her mama bear comes out.

“Isaac,” is all I offer by way of explanation. I don’t know much else to offer her.

“Hmm.” She’s all Vega as she studies the newest person that’s come into the mix. It doesn’t go unnoticed that she never crosses over to greet Asher, and I have to wonder if what Axel said at breakfast holds a bit of truth. “If Asher let him come on the property, he must have a good reason.” Her dark eyebrows pinch together, still not happy that there’s a stranger on the same property as her daughter. And I have to agree with her. I just hope the guys know what they’re doing by bringing an outsider home. My dad always says to keep your enemies close because it’s easier to see the knife coming if they can’t reach your back.

CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE

Zane

My brother catches my eye and leads Isaac into his house. We pass the row of kid toys that litter the path to his front door—a reminder of what’s at stake if we fuck this up and head inside.

I’m not sure what else Isaac is going to drop on us that he didn’t want to spill in front of Kennedy, but my gut tells me that Isaac is as innocent as I thought before we took this job and that only leads to more questions than answers of what the fuck is going on.

Asher leads us into his office in the back of the house, just past the kitchen, and goes straight to his safe, where he keeps all the confidential files of the jobs we take. We may be morally gray, but there is no such thing as black and white in this world. And since we loosely operate within the fringes of the law and have a few important people on our payroll, it never hurts to have all of our shit covered.

Isaac only gets two steps in before I grab him by the collar of his shirt and slam him up against the wall. “Talk.”

His nostrils flare as his dark brown eyes stare me down. “You know I’m getting real fucking tired of you slamming my ass up against the wall like I’m your fucking enemy. You forget, brother. I was there with you. I watched them kill my partner too. Grady may have been an asshole, but he was the asshole that always had my back.”

The words hit, but I don’t let go. I wait him out to see what he does next. Sometimes when cornering an animal, it’s best to wait and see how they fight their way out of it. That’s the most telling of all. I know he can break through my hold, but he doesn’t, and that says more than his words to me at this moment. He’s giving me the upper hand to prove his point. That he’s not out to fuck us over.

My hands ease away from his shirt, letting him push away from the wall to a standing position. “Fine. Now, talk.”

He shakes out the wrinkles I made on his filthy shirt and narrows his eyes at me. “Look, I have a business to run, and I can’t afford any more complications if you get what I’m saying.” His dark eyebrows pinch together as he waits for me to catch on to what he’s getting at.

“Your drug business doesn’t interest me. As long as I know, it has nothing to do with why Ken was shot at or threatened. I don’t give a fuck how you make your living.” I push my chest out and stand up taller to drive home my point.

“I already told you once that wasn’t me, and I’d like to think that since we used to be as tight as brothers, you know I’d never do that to you.”

“As much as we’re enjoying this little reunion, can y’all get to the fucking point already?” Axel props himself up against the doorjamb, waiting and watching. He may appear casual, but he’s not. He’s blocking Isaac’s only way out in case shit doesn’t go our way.

Asher has taken up residence next to his desk and sits on the corner with his arms crossed over his chest, taking it all in. The file he took out rests on the desk next to him. He’ll share what we have after Isaac spills first. It’s the only way to know if we’re being played.

Isaac glares over at my little brother, and if he wasn’t my blood, I’m sure he’d be kicking his ass. Instead, he does as Axel demands. “You know what shit was like when we got back.”

I nod, not needing to voice it out loud. Everyone in this room knows what he’s saying.

“Therapy didn’t do shit.”

A grunt escapes me because he’s right. Sitting on a couch while some stranger takes notes on whatever you say doesn’t do dick. My family has helped me more than anything, and I’d be lost without them, which is why I’ll also kill to protect them.

Isaac jerks his chin at my noise of agreement and keeps going. “I couldn’t hold down a job to save my ass. And that bullshit pension they gave us could barely pay my bills. I had to find something that I could make a decent living at.”

“And drug dealer was your answer?” Axel asks.

“I prefer the term importer. I don’t deal directly. I just help them bring their product in.” Isaac shakes his head at Axel, like the distinction between the two is huge.

---