Page 83 of The One Night Match
“Until each of you can prove that you’re not a rat, and that you haven’t contributed to the decline of this family, you are a suspect, and I’m sure I don’t have to remind you what happens to rats.”
The threat is clear, even if I wouldn’t actually act on it. The standard punishment for betrayal is to watch everyone you care about die, but I don’t believe in killing innocent women and children, and I refuse to allow this family to stoop to that level.
“How the fuck are we supposed to do that?” Danny asks. His head is freshly shaved, but that doesn’t stop him from running his fingers through the short strands of hair. We’ve already cleared him, but he doesn’t need to know that.
“Colten will be collecting your devices, and we will be doing thorough checks of them. We also have our security team pulling the information from the internal GPSs in your cars, and we will be questioning your wives and children if they are old enough to understand what we do.”
“You can’t do that!” Harry snaps as he rises to his feet.
“Sit down,” I say evenly.
“No. You’ve been running this family into the ground ever since you offed your dad. You had no right to do that, and you have no right sitting at the end of that table.”
I nod slowly before flicking a look to Colten by the door.
I push myself to my feet slowly and place the gun that was sitting on my lap on the top of the table. “Go on,” I bait Harry. “Tell me more about how I’m the one who’s ruining this family.”
“You’re a spoiled brat. That whore of a mother spoiled you, and that bitch sister of yours?—”
He doesn’t get a chance to finish his sentence before the bullet slices through his forehead. But it wasn’t me who pulled the trigger.
Colten stands behind him, his gun raised and his body ramrod straight as he watches Harry collapse onto the table. Blood splashes across the table, but I remain in place. Watching. Waiting.
The reactions around the table differ from surprise to anger, but they all remain rooted in place.
“Anyone else have something to say about my leadership?” I ask.
Silence falls over the room, and Colten takes a step back, once again standing with his back against the door.
“Great. As I was saying, we will be doing thorough checks on each of you, and while we do so, you will remain here, in this room. Once you’re cleared, you will be permitted to leave.”
“What about the business?” Bobby asks.
“The business cannot continue to run the way it has been. I take full responsibility for that. I thought that I could prove to each of you that I could be a better leader than my father was, but that was a mistake, and one I will not be making again. That being said, Colten and I will manage what we can as we continue to clear each of you. If things slip in the meantime, I will wear that. There will be no repercussions for things that are missed during this time.”
“Where are Dennis and Vernon?” Danny asks.
“I’m glad you asked.” I lean forward, both hands pressed to the wooden table. “They are who we believe to be the ringleaders of those rebelling against my leadership. After it became very clear that they were stealing from us, we had them isolated in a safe house as we put together evidence to bring to you all. However, last night they escaped, taking out a team of highlytrained security personnel. It seems they’ve been working with a rival family, and we are actively hunting them.”
I pause, meeting the eye of each man in the room.
“If we get wind of any of you having had contact with them, we will consider that treason, and you will be killed.”
FORTY-FOUR
RILEY
I’m bored out of my damn mind.
Lexi has kept me in bed for far too long, and now that she’s finally fallen asleep beside me, I slip from between the sheets and make my way downstairs in search of Cruz.
I may not have known the man for long, but I do know what he’s doing, and he’s a fool if he thinks it’s going to work.
The house is quiet as I move through it, and by the time I reach his office, I’ve already concluded that no one else is here.
The first thing I see when I walk into the room is the giant cat tree I had installed in here, and I snicker at the sight of Mr. Whiskers at the top, looking over his kingdom.
I reach up and give him a quick scratch, ignoring the pain in my ribs. I’m not sure what I did to hurt them, but now that I’m moving around, they’re making their presence known.
