Page 49 of Bad Ruck

"India," I said. "She was always tight with the Brantley family. They must have thought she could fool you." She couldn't deny that accusation, but it gave him something to think about.

"I wonder the same about you," he said smoothly. "Your family is tight with the Brantleys too." He seemed to have done his homework when it came to all of us. I wouldn't have expected anything else from him. Taking chances could get you dead too easily.

"In the past," I agreed. "Like I said, things change. We've been under their thumb for a long time. That's started to chafe. Ramsey and I agree on that. I'm sure we could convince my brother and his partners. If the price was right."

This whole conversation began to make me sick. I felt like I was digging myself deeper and deeper into a hole, getting more involved with the life I tried so hard to avoid. I wanted to hop on a plane and hide in one of those cottages in New Zealand. Somewhere no one could find me but my guys.

I didn't run. I stood my ground. There was more at stake than me and my sanity. If I could go along with him for a little while,I could find out everything we needed to know. Or put Ramsey in a position where he could learn more. Either way, it was a sacrifice I had to make.

"I'll talk to my boss and consider your proposal," he said. "Your brother would be a valuable asset to us. As would you. If you can be trusted."

"I could say the same to you," I said. "How do I know you won't stab me in the back the moment I look away?" If he knew what was going on in my mind, he would. If I didn't get to him first.

This was a very dangerous knife edge I was walking on. One slip and I'd be sliced open, from head to toe. Possibly literally.

"You don't," he said. "I may give you a chance to prove yourself. If you can show your loyalty, you'll have nothing to worry about."

He didn't need to add the words, 'and if you can't, you'll be dead.’ They hung right there in the steamy air between us.

Chapter Twenty

Atlas

I scowledthrough the glass doors as Chelsea and Otis Skinner talked.

"They look cosy," Jay said from beside me. He looked as irritated as I felt, his jaw clenched tight.

"They're—" I started, my face heating with anger.

He held up his hands. "I know they're not. I meant she's doing a good job looking like they are. I'd be a nervous wreck."

He looked ready to punch me if I came at him. I wouldn't. I never had. I must have looked angrier than I thought.

"No, you wouldn't." I blew a couple of breaths in and out, calming myself. Okay, trying to. I didn't want to be angry at him, especially for something so stupid. I misinterpreted what he meant. That was my bad.

Seeing Chelsea so close to the enemy made me want to lose my shit. I wanted to run in there, push him in the pool and hold him under until his body went still. Dominic King with him. As well as anyone else who thought they could fuck with my woman.

"I'm sorry." Jay took a step back. "I didn't mean to stir the pot."

"You didn't, it's me," I said. "I'm edgy as fuck right now. When this started, it was just you and me and that was bad enough. Now everyone is getting dragged into it. I can't…" I shook my head. "I can't keep everyone safe. I don't know if I can keep you safe, or her."

I looked back to her as she smiled at something Skinner said. It wasn't her sincere, genuinely happy smile, but him making her smile at all pissed me off. I didn't care if it was fake; it still drove me crazy.

It occurred to me they might ask her to sleep with him. That thought enraged me more than anything else.

The thought of her fucking so many men before I came along was bad enough, but anyone else except us touching her now… I wanted to rip him apart so he couldn't go near her. There was no way in hell I was letting his cock anywhere near her pussy. Her body belonged to us. She belonged to us. End of story, no matter what the consequences were. Even if we all ended up dead, it would be better than letting her be fucked by him.

"I've noticed," Jay said. "So am I. On edge, I mean."

That made me stop and look over at him. "I know you are. I should have tried to keep you out of this." I should have tried to keep all of them out of this. If I hadn't been so quick to kill Bruce Fergus, maybe I could have.

I was thinking clearly at the time, but hadn't thought it all the way through, or I might have let him live. Chelsea would have ended up working somewhere else, away from the craziness. We'd still be together, I'd make sure of that, but she wouldn't be standing there right now, having a conversation with someone who would kill us without hesitation.

Jay snorted. "Yeah, right. How would you have done that? I'm involved because I wanted to be involved. Remember? I can think for myself, you know."

He seemed annoyed, defensive, the vein in his forehead throbbing. Like somehow I was treating him like a kid. I knew plenty of people in his past did exactly that. I always tried not to. He hadn't been a kid for a long time. Just because he was on the spectrum didn't mean he deserved to be treated like one. He was intelligent, loyal and devoted to the game.

I meant it when I said he was special. He was one of the best people I ever met. I wanted to kick myself for making him feel otherwise.

---