Page 54 of Burning Bridges

“Control, but that's nothing new.” She sighs like the situation still weighs heavily on her. “He wanted me to pass on a message. He’s been doing some digging.”

Of course he has, I should have known he couldn’t just sit back and let me take the reins.

“Where is he?” demands Jasmine.

“He wouldn’t say. Sorry, Jas,” Amelia tries to comfort her sister. “He knows more about the fire, the one at the factory that killed your father all those years ago.”

“And? What did he find out?” I demand, wondering why he didn’t contact me directly. I may have gone a little rogue when I decided to take control of this town and stop living under his guidance, but information on the factory fire should come to me and he knows it.

“On top of making tires, they had an underground operation manufacturing Euphoria there. It was after hours and mostly run by Kings men. The dayshift guys would have had no idea, but your dad worked it out. And thinking he was doing the right thing, he went to the cops with what he knew. As we all know now, that was a mistake. They went straight back to the Acevedos.”

Fresh anger boils beneath the surface, making me feel erratic. I need to act on this now.

“That agreement between the Kings and the Acevedos was to move the operation outside of Palm Springs to the desert to a new location so it was hidden away again. They would both still take a fifty-fifty cut, and the man who ratted on them would go up with the building, taking all the evidence with him. That cut is still being sent to an offshore account for Tony. And until now, I thought that was odd, but if you’re saying he's alive, then it makes more sense.”

The room is silent as Amelia looks at me, her kind eyes trying to reassure me that it’s all going to be okay. We did unthinkable things to get here, but we did it with this exact goal in mind—bringing down the man who killed my father and righting the wrongs of the past. I have never harmed an innocent person like these assholes. I wouldn’t. But I will end the men who now think they have some right to come into our town and mess with us. I had always thought it was Anton Acevedo, but if this is true, it was Cory King as well. All in the name of the drug Euphoria.

“We know why now,” she says, like it should make something better and maybe because I haven’t spoken again, but it doesn’t help. It just makes me more determined to end both of them for everything they have done.

I feel Piper’s hand on my back, and I look down to her. “Your dad started this fight, and now you have to end it, Leo,” she tells me, and I try to focus on her words, knowing she's right. I’m just not sure how we finish this fight once and for all.

The phone at the bar rings, breaking me from my thoughts, and Kobe goes to answer it. He looks at me as he listens to the person on the line.

“The call's for you, Piper,” he says, waiting for her to take it from him. The look he gives me tells me I’m not going to like who is on the other end.

Chapter 30

PIPER

Whothehellwouldbe calling me at Queen of Hearts? “Hello?” I answer the phone tentatively.

“Piper.” My brother growls my name. It’s all he has to say, and I know he’s pissed, but he couldn’t be as livid as I am after the stunt he pulled yesterday.

“Tony,” I say, loud enough for Leo to hear me. I won’t hide anything from him anymore. If my brother wants to contact me here at his club, Leo can share in the call. He leaves the others talking amongst themselves and comes to stand by my side, lacing an arm around my waist in a show of support.

“I thought I would find you at the club. So, you have picked your side then?”

I look at Leo, not sure how I’m supposed to answer his question. I chose Leo, but saying that to my brother is another story altogether. “I…”

He cuts me off. “You don’t need to answer me, it’s pretty clear you have. I’ve been waiting for you back at our house since your dinner with Kylo, but you never showed up.”

“Ourhouse?” I utter, shocked he is actually back in Palm Springs. Part of me was starting to believe he was a figment of my imagination, that he would never show his face back here.

“That’s right, little sister. We’re ready to implement the last phase of our plan.”

I shudder at the thought. I already know what the last part of his plan is. He wants the Riveras wiped off the planet, but I won’t let that happen. None of the people in this room will.

“Before everything gets crazy, I want to see you,” he goes on.

“Why?” I ask, knowing I have already gone too far over to the other side to really hear anything my brother has to say. We all make mistakes, but what he did was deliberate and unforgivable.

“Because I’m your brother,” he states like he still has some sort of control. “Have things really gotten so bad between us that you won’t give me at least a face-to-face meeting?”

“Tony, you crossed that line when you set me up on a dinner with a man you know I despise. Why did you think that would be a good idea?”

“I told you earlier, everything I have done is for you. Joining forces with the Kings is our way back to the top.” He’s still acting like he hasn’t done anything bad to me. Never in his life would he admit he could be in the wrong, no matter how bad what he did is.

“It’s not what I want anymore, Tony,” I tell him, trying to stand my ground. I don’t have to take shit from him anymore.

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