Page 25 of The Ties That Bind

“Fuck,” I bit out.

He wasn’t wrong.

“Unless …”

Whereas it was generally accepted that Jayce was the brains and I was the brawn when it came to SJE, Ben and I always joked that I was the brains and he was the brawn of our part of the operation, but I was fresh out of ideas. If he had something that might work, I wanted to hear it.

“Unless?”

“If you take out his bodyguard at the same time, I think everyone else will fall in line. Jayce’s men sort of assume that fucker is invincible but it you show them he isn’t, they might be too afraid to step to you.”

“That’s sort of my plan, actually. It’s the only thing that will work. I’ll have the element of surprise on my side, but I’ll only have a couple of seconds. Once Jayce realizes what’s going on, I have to get in and get out before he can alert anyone else.”

“And you’re set on this?” Again, he stared me down.

“Yes,” I nodded. “It has to be done. It’s him or me, Ben, and I’m not ready to die.”

The irony wasn’t lost on me given the two times I’d practically begged for death. My guess was the same understanding flickered through Ben’s head too since he was the one who’d gone to the hospital after my motorcycle “accident.” Thankfully, he let my statement slide.

“And you know for sure he’d call in his threat?”

“This is Jayce we’re talking about. No one knows for sure what he’ll do from one minute to the next. But the fact that he threatened me like this tells me all I need to know. If I do what he wants, he’ll hang it over me forever. Anytime he wants me to do something I don’t want to do, he’ll threaten to have me offed. If I gave in once, he’ll think I’ll always give in. If I can’t stand up to him now, I may as well just sign up for a lifetime of indentured servitude because that’s what he’ll expect.”

He rubbed his large, scarred hand over his face to wipe away his distaste. “Yeah, that’s probably true.”

“And it’s not like this isn’t going to benefit the family. You know with Jayce out of the way we can at least have the impression of being a legit corporation. Look, I’m not talking about going straight or anything, but with him in charge, we’ve already been investigated three times. It’s only a matter of time until his hubris takes us all down and we wind up behind bars. If I go to the pen, it has to be for something I did. Not some stupid mistake that cock sucker made.”

“I hear you,” Ben concurred. “But something tells me there’s more to this than you’re letting on. Look man, I’m not about to get all up in your personal shit, but I want you answer me honestly when I ask this next question.”

Ah shit. Here it comes.

“This isn’t just about needing to keep Jayce in check, is it?”

I waited a beat before answering, which was really all the answer he needed. And still I said, “He threatened me, Ben. I can’t let that stand. Anyone else and I’d be fine with it. But not this.”

“But he threatened Arabella too.”

Damn Ben and his observant mind. He’d always been too good at seeing right through me.

“That too,” I agreed quietly, glancing away.

“Shit Xander,” he muttered. “You’ve seen her, haven’t you?”

I turned back to my best friend. The man who was more a brother to me than my actual flesh and blood. “What do you want me to say?”

“I want you to say you know what the fuck you’re doing,” he whispered, leaning in close. “And that this right here sounds like you’ve lost your goddamn mind. Maybe it’s genetic. Maybe both St. John sons need to have their heads examined, because if I’m not mistaken, you’re about to start a civil war, all for some pussy.”

I fixed my glare on him. Through clenched teeth, I warned, “Don’t you dare speak of her in that way. You know better than anyone she’s more to me than that.”

Holding up his palms, he said, “Alright, alright. You know I meant no disrespect. But man, all I’m saying is you haven’t seen this woman for years and suddenly you’re putting her welfare above everyone else’s.”

“Not just hers,” I replied. “Mine too.”

He scratched his chin thoughtfully for a few seconds.

When he didn’t speak, I barreled forward. “Jayce is expecting me to bow to his wishes. He might not know about Arabella and me, but he’s expecting me to kill her to appease his whims regardless.”

“But him threatening you tells me he thinks there’s a slim chance you won’t fall in line. That’s why he’s putting the screws to you.”

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