Page 65 of Unhinged Cravings
Drawing my eyes from the door to him, I stood. “Don’t push me, Pack. You know why they needed to die. I don’t accept mistakes.”
“Yet you’re making them, Cade.”
I slammed him against the wall, my gun to his head, but he didn’t flinch. If he had, I would have killed him. No attachments. It was the way I’d lived my life until Ava had stepped into it.
“You won’t do it,” he taunted. “She’s gotten to you.” Punching him, I put my gun away. He rubbed his cheek. “It’s not a bad thing, Cade. Rage has blinded you for years.”
“If you were anyone else, your blood would be staining my floor right now,” I told him.
“I know,” he said, rolling his neck. “Don’t expect me to hold hands with you and spout out some best friend’s shit as we admit our feelings for each other.”
“Fuck off,” I snarled.
Had I gone soft? Pack was the closest thing to a friend, the only one who knew me, yet I’d never admitted we were anything more than boss and second. Best friend seemed like some wimpy thing my brother would admit. Something Ava would say. My lips fought my smile. Just thinking about her brought them too easily.
“What do you want to do, Cade?”
“Don’t get all fucking mushy on me, Pack. Yeah, you’re probably my best friend, if I had one. But don’t let it go to your head.”
I dropped into my seat as he laughed. “That’s not what I meant, boss, but yeah, I’ve been stuck with your ass for too long not to notice, even if you don’t say it.” He gave me a goofy grin.
“Leave,” I said, rubbing my temples. “Just leave and let me think.”
“About how that woman is changing you?”
“She’s not changing me.” But it was a flat out lie because my perspective was shifting with every minute she was in my life.
“Keep telling yourself that. What do you want to do about what Rudy brought us?”
I rested my head on the chair. “I don’t have the men to just go barging in there.” And if Henley had shown himself, he wanted to be seen. He was too smart for it to be a mistake, like I’d originally thought.
“But you will.”
Lifting my head, I looked at him with his crossed arms and menacing stance. “You put this plan in motion for this moment. In three days, Greyson Tides will be here.”
“With Brinks and Raines in tow.” I was sure of it.
“And an army behind them. He’s your chance to finally take these assholes down.”
I scraped my hand through my hair. “How did I get to this point? Relying on my enemy to save my ass.”
He shrugged. “Mistakes you and I can’t take back. Maybe it’s for the best.” Squinting my eyes, I tried to determine what he meant. “You’ve been at this a long time, Cade. Carrying this grudge against your brother. Ruling this territory alone, segregating yourself. Maybe it’s time you have a queen at your side to help you rule. And time you bury the grudge with your brother and make him an ally instead of an enemy.”
“I don’t pay you for your opinions,” I snarled.
“But I give them anyway,” he replied with a wink before walking to the door.
“Pack,” I called to him just as he threw the door open.
“Yeah, boss.” He craned his neck to look back at me.
“I appreciate you hiring new men, but you always run them by me first. I know Ava has had me preoccupied, but go by me before you bring anyone else in. And that guy with the snake tat on his cheek gives Ava the creeps. Keep him on outside duty from now on.”
I’d meant to mention it earlier, but like everything now, my mind wasn’t as hyper-focused as it normally was. Every time the thought occurred, one of Ava had pushed it to the periphery.
The way his brows continued to pinch with every word left me concerned.
“I haven’t hired any new guys. I have candidates, but I’m still running checks on them.”
