Page 80 of Whatever It Takes

My forehead wrinkles. “It’s your birthday—two digits for the year.”

Her jaw falls, and all I can focus on is her thick lips and how easy it would be to shove my tongue into her mouth.

My cock perks up, but her brow wrinkles as her fingers move across my phone, and that makes this not the right time.

Once she’s done, she turns it to face me.

“What’s this?” I ask, studying the three numbers.

“The first is the house phone at the mansion,” she says as I take the device. “I doubt Titus bothered changing it. It’s been the same number my entire life. The second is the last contact info I had for Titus. The third is for Monroe. He was my father’s top enforcer. No guarantees that he’s still in that position, but knowing Titus, he probably didn’t shake things up too much. He wasn’t at my wedding, so I’m assuming he’s still alive.”

I lick my lips.

We’re going to erase every bad memory she has related to weddings and replace them with joy and happiness.

If she doesn’t get pissed you married her without asking.Although, I did warn her she would be my wife. She never fought me on the topic, so I believe that means I have her consent.

I find it sexy as fuck that she’s not fighting me about contacting her brother. She trusts me enough that she gave me a direct line to him.

Now we get to demolish the fuck out of him.

I return the no-longer-pregnant woman her package from her baby daddy and even go so far as to recommend Lincoln not allow her to open the notes until she’s healed from giving birth. He looks at me like I’ve grown a second or third head, but I’m just trying to be helpful.

After listening to Calder cry for several hours the other day, I made the choice to gift Chelsea a five-thousand-dollar check for her daughter’s college fund.

Hell, they can spend it on diapers for all I care. That is, thankfully, not my problem. Although, I expect a furious phone call from Arden as soon as they realize I told Chelsea’s ex’s brother where to find her. Perhaps I should have left that decision up to them, but I believe it will be cathartic for her, and the man is essentially harmless to anything other than his bank account when in the vicinity of a casino.

The drive back north is more peaceful than the trip to Virginia, but that’s solely because the waves of Briar’s heat seem to have settled.

If they start up again, we’ll deal with it.

Keir pulls into the hotel we’ll be staying at in Hartford, and Briar perks up.

“Aren’t we driving straight through to Boston?” she asks, rubbing at her eyes.

“We are not,” I murmur, kissing her temple. “In addition to staying overnight, we’ll be taking a different vehicle for the second leg of the trip to Boston.”

“Why?”

“You never commit a crime without an alibi. Even DNA can be explained away under the right circumstances, but the onething that makes that possible is an airtight alibi.” I smooth my hand down her side as she leans against my chest. “In the morning, a team who can pass for Calder, Keir, and I will get into this SUV and head back to my home. They’ll have a female guest with them who will be close enough that a traffic cam won’t be able to tell the difference. They’ll take our cell phones and electronics with them. All of our devices will ping in Vermont while your brother meets his untimely end in Boston.”

“You are crazy good at this,” she whispers with wide eyes.

My chest puffs as I smirk. “Yes, I am.”

“Mr. Manzo, you are a difficult individual to get in touch with.” I smile into the webcam. “Do you suffer from agoraphobia, or are you the type to think a man’s home is his castle, so everything should be brought to you?”

I wouldn’t mind bringing this conversation straight to his door.

“I don’t know who the fuck you?—”

I cut him off, leaning closer to the camera with a feral grin. “Of course you don’t, but don’t worry. I’m about to tell you who I am and why it would be a mistake to disconnect before you hear the terms of my offer.”

It’s hard not to laugh at the look I’m met with.

Poor Titus has had a rash of exceptionally bad luck that began with his Range Rover burning to the ground on the driveway in front of his mansion to one of his major supply warehouses being shot to hell in broad daylight.

I’m sure he is on edge. He’s likely having trouble understanding what is happening and why his life has gone to shit so fully these last few days.

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