Page 28 of The Ties That Bind

“What the fuck?” Ben shouted, coming up fast behind me and arming himself almost as quickly as I’d just done.

The awesome thing about Ben—the reason we were still such good friends—was he didn’t need me to tell him why I was gearing up for battle. He knew something had set me off and he was ready to stand by my side without even knowing why. Still, I couldn’t let him go into this blind. All our best laid plans had just gone to shit. Forget building schematics and the like. I was going through the front door with guns blazing.

“He’s got Arabella,” I blurted as I strapped on my last knife. “That’s why she hasn’t answered her goddamn fucking phone. That meeting today was a front, set up by her uncle.”

“How can you be sure?”

“One million dollars paid out to Zinan Security Services three days ago,” I answered, grabbing my keys and moving toward the door.

I didn’t bother locking it when we left. Either I’d be dead so it wouldn’t matter if anyone found their way here, or I’d be returning the new head of the family and no one would dare step into my home without an express written invitation for fear of retribution.

“I’m not following,” he responded as we slid into the supple leather seats of my Aston Martin Vanquish and I revved the engine. “Zinan Security?”

“Zinan is Royce’s younger brother Rocco’s company. Or rather, his half brother. He’s got a hard on for far east culture, hence the whole Japanese name to hide who’s really behind it. A few years back Rocco got into some seriously shady shit and Royce cut him off. There’s been bad blood between the brothers ever since. Or rather, there’s always been bad blood, but losing access to Royce’s deep coffers just exacerbated things. With the old man stepping down and handing things over to Arabella …”

I didn’t have to say what it meant. We’d both been at this game long enough to see how this was all supposed to play out.

“Shit,” Ben muttered. “He’s making a power play. He wants RW Corp for himself and he’s willing to take out his own niece to get his hands on it.”

“Seems like it,” I answered gravely, my heart hammering in my chest. “And in the process, he nets a huge payday from Jayce and both men walk away happy. Never mind that they’ll be trying to kill each other in a couple of months once their ill-conceived truce gets fucked to hell for one reason or another.”

As I sped through the streets of Chicago, Ben checked the chamber of his favorite gun and made sure he had quick and easy access to the blades that were strapped to his calves.

“I assume you know where you’re going?” he asked, his voice calm and steady now that he’d dropped into soldier mode.

No one had better focus than Ben when it came time for war. And yet, he and I couldn’t do this alone. Sure, that had been my intent when I’d first approached him, but over the last few days I’d realized my initial plan would never work. Which was why I was barking orders into my car’s Bluetooth system, my palms sweating as the phone rang three times before a voice on the other end of the line answered.

“Yes,” came the terse greeting. “It is time?”

“Change of plans Aleksei,” I snapped. “How quick can you get to Canaryville?”

There was a long pause. “Twenty minutes.”

“I’ll give you a hundred thousand dollars if you can be there in ten.” Then I explained what was going on and why he needed to hurry the fuck up.

“I will see you then,” Aleksei answered and hung up.

“What’s in Canaryville?” Ben inquired as he went about sharpening his favorite bow knife.

I’d seen what he could do with that thing when the mood struck so I was happy he had it on him.

“Jayce has a place no one knows about.” I twisted my head, one eye on the road in front of us, one eye on Ben, to take in his dubious expression. “Yeah, not exactly his style, I know. It’s umm …” I scratched my nose, feeling uncomfortable with what I was going to have to admit. “Let’s just say our last name hasn’t always been St. John and this place is a reminder of that.”

“And you know Jayce will be there?”

“Honestly?” I asked, letting out a frustrated breath. “I’m about 50/50 on whether he’ll be there or not, but it’s where he goes when …”

I didn’t know if Ben was aware of Jayce’s penchant for some seriously twisted shit and I didn’t want to be the one to fill him in. My gut clenched on a sick realization. I’d been covering for Jayce for so damn long that it was like second nature to me. We were on our way to kill him but even now my first instinct was to protect the fucker.

I didn’t have to fill Ben in, however. It turned out he was up-to-speed on Jayce’s penchant for sex that oftentimes led to immense payoffs attached to iron-clad nondisclosure agreements. “I heard about that,” he answered matter-of-factly. Then, more curious he asked, “Is there really a sex dungeon in the basement?”

“Yes,” I answered, grinding my teeth.

That’s why I’d thought of the house on South Union Avenue. When I spied the line item payout to Rocco, a wave of nausea rolled through me as I realized Arabella’s uncle would have had to do more than kill her for that much money. A straight hit would have cost Jayce much less. No, I knew my brother and that sort of payday was for an exchange of goods. And because I knew him so well, I knew my twin would feel the need to get his money’s worth … and that included having his enemy beg for her life. The pitted wooden rack, shackles, and ball gags Jayce had in the basement of our great grandparents’ old house would see to that.

“We’re gonna get her out of there,” Ben interjected confidently, breaking into my dark thoughts. “You gotta have hope, man.”

I didn’t have time for a response because the street came into view, as did Arabella’s cousin CeeCee’s white Mercedes SLK. It stuck out like a sore thumb in this neighborhood, but then again, I was rolling up in an electric blue Aston Martin so who was I to talk about blending in? Together, our two cars probably cost more than the rest that lined the block.

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