Page 68 of Unhinged Cravings
“My men grabbed her, thinking she was Riley.”
I laughed, and Riley’s head inclined to the side while she studied me. Two strides and I was in front of her, rubbing my hand up her thigh. I’d forgotten she was meeting me for lunch. Now that she worked for the smaller firm in town, she was no longer in the same building as me and the few blocks of distance grated on me. Her insistence on maintaining her independence and continuing her career had been a point of contention until I had agreed with the condition that she stay heavily guarded and I run a check on every client she met with. Arguments about client privacy fell on deaf ears and she conceded to my requirements.
“Another fuck up? Are those the two who took Ava today?” I pushed her skirt up, sinking my fingers into her skin.
“No. I shot them as soon as I discovered they brought me a blonde and pink haired vixen with a mouth and a fast right hook.”
My snort had Riley’s brows crinkling. I brought my finger to her mouth and shook my head.
“That sounds more like the man I know. Shoot and ask questions later.”
“Exactly.”
More silence. He was waiting for my decision, and it wasn’t an easy one. His reputation went against everything Iprided myself on. Especially now that these imposters had botched so many attacks in his name. Even without the suspected trafficking ring he’d never denounced, even if he wasn’t involved, it still looked bad. I dropped my hand back to Riley’s leg, thinking about what Emerson had said about the reasons behind the sloppy attacks. A war to turn us all against him and wipe him out.
“It’s more than that,” I mumbled, the pieces falling into place.
“What?” he asked, confusion in his voice.
“They know you’ll call me. Your bargaining chip is gone. They may not know we’re brothers or why you had Ava, but they know she belongs to my family. That I’ll hunt down anyone who hurts her.”
“And bring your force on me when they know I’m weak.”
I shook my head, my hand frozen on Riley’s skin. “No, you taught these guys better than that and they’ve taken what you taught them and are using it on all of us. This isn’t a play to take you out. It’s a move to take all the top families out.”
“It’s a trap?”
“You’re too far into it, too focused on what they’ve been doing to your dynasty to look outward and see their true aim. By taking Ava, they know I’ll come for you. Your bargaining chip is gone. By proxy, Brinks comes with Raines because Riley is involved, and they’ll want payback for hurting her friend. Brinks might be an asshole, but he’s as protective of Riley as I am.” She pouted her lips and crossed her arms. “Donelli has been waiting to get a piece of you. With Tony in charge, he’ll bite at the chance to get revenge for the attack on his family and for the shit with Tirenti they think you masterminded. And by proxy, Strint will join in as well as Rinagi who they placed in Tirenti’s seat.”
“All of Armina and the power of the east coast gunning me down and not noticing the real threat is surrounding them,” he muttered. “Shit, this is a disaster.”
“Yeah.”
“Stay there, Grey. I’ll get her back. I can’t drag you into this if it’s a trap.”
I could hear the stress rising at the speed of his speech and knew he was pacing the room.
“Suddenly getting a conscience, Mer?”
Riley’s hand played with the buttons on my shirt, and I suddenly had the urge to shorten this call.
“Maybe. Forget I called.”
“Mer,” I said to stop him from hanging up. “I’m in and I’ll bring Brinks and Raines. But this needs to stop. We put the past behind us, and you let your grudge go. Maybe I’ll forgive you for shooting me when I tried to stop you from leaving.”
Riley’s brow rose. I’d never told her the story behind the scar that reminded me every day of what had broken between me and my brother. What we’d both lost that day.
Silence was my answer. A silence that almost had me hanging up.
“Fine. You’re still an asshole.”
“And you’re a shithead whose aim sucks.” Thankfully. “Clean house, Mer. I’ll call Brinks. But we’ll need someplace safe to fly in. They’ll be expecting us to use the closest airport, and they’ll have eyes on Armina.”
“I’ll text you the coordinates to my safe house. There’s a landing strip behind it. Only my top men know it exists.”
“Good.”
“Grey.” He caught me right before I disconnected. “Thank you.”
