Page 36 of Dangerous Love

I leaned against the wall behind me. “I need to do this. I need to look him in the eye when I tell him what I think of him.”

Trey sat next to me, his gaze locked ahead. “He ain’t gonna appreciate me telling him I’m out too.”

“Tough luck,” I said. “What’s he gonna do? Kill all his sons?”

Trey narrowed his eyes. “Don’t put it past him. The old man has no soul.”

“We stick to the plan. We tell him we’re both out with the weekly family updates, and wish him the best—”

“In the pits of hell.”

I chuckled. “Yep. Pretty much.”

Silence stretched between us. Right as I was about to push to my feet, Trey sighed. “Sienna looks good.”

I stiffened. Trey and I finally had a good thing going, but there was no universe where Sienna was part of the brotherhood. “Bro, I haven’t forgotten about your fantasies with her. Still not happening. We’re clear there?”

He nodded. “She’s with you now, right?”

“I love her, Trey. Always have.”

He extended his hand. “Then, even if I was still the same fuckwit I was five years ago, she’s my sister now, and you have my word that’s all she’ll ever be.” I grabbed his palm and shook it. We exchanged a glance, truth screaming in the depths of his irises. He meant every word. He exhaled. “We better go if we want to catch our father before he leaves his palace for the night.”

He was on his feet before he’d finished his sentence. He motioned towards the door, I followed, and it slammed behind us—the memories of the last few hours dissipating as we stepped towards Trey’s car.

I settled into the passenger’s seat, the contents of the glove box rattling in front of me as the vehicle took off outside the hotel car park. I pressed the button on the console, the black plastic lowering until a Glock faced me head-on. “Is it loaded?” My fingers settled on the heavy metallic handle. I checked the magazine, then clicked it back into the mag well when a full load of bullets stared back at me. “Never mind.”

“If you’re gonna bring a gun to a party, why the fuck wouldn’t you load it?” He had a point. I’d been out of the scene so long that I’d almost forgotten about our old lifestyle. Family crest and all.

“The plan’s for us to say our peace and get the hell out. We still have all that info from Avery to hold against him, so he won’t want to jeopardise his retirement fund.” I pushed the gun back into the glove box and snapped the plastic shut. “We’re sticking to the schedule, Trey.”

He nodded. “Yep. In and out. See you later Dad-fucking-dy.”

The tires crunched as we pulled up to the old warehouse. Hal’s black Volvo was parked right at the front. Trey boxed the sedan in, slid the Glock into his waistband, and jumped out of his seat. Our doors slammed behind us as we made our way to Hal’s shady office. As predicted, at this time of night, there was only one other car.

“A bit late for a social call, boys.” Fish, Hal’s head of security, called out from a few metres away. Shoulders squared, legs stiff, the guy smirked in our direction.

Trey didn’t slow his pace. “What can I say? Family business. Where is he?”

The enforcer thrusted his chin towards the office, a small light shining underneath the doorway as Hal’s voice carried over the threshold. “I don’t fucking care. We’re talking about two mil. Find them, and make sure whoever borrowed it can’t ever do it again.”

As if he owned the place, Trey stormed in. I followed right behind him. Hal didn’t flinch as he trailed my brother’s shadow all the way to a small couch. However, when he registered my presence, he tossed his phone on the desk in front of him and narrowed his eyes at the pair of us. “You, I’m not surprised to see,” he said to Trey, before he pointed towards me. “You, however, I must admit I wasn’t expecting.”

I leaned back against a filing cabinet, my arms crossed over my chest. “There’s a first for everything.”

“Since when are you gallivanting the countryside with this loose cannon? Last I checked, you were fighting over fresh pussy.”

My jaw tightened, blood rushing between my ears. But before I could take a step towards my father, Trey sent a small headshake my way. I inhaled and allowed my shoulders to drop.Not yet.

“What the fuck happened to our brother, Pops?” Trey spat, while he crossed his ankles over the side of the couch.

Hal’s eyes darkened. “You already know what happened. He was weak.”

“Weak?” I hissed, my heart rate spiking. “Do you even care that he’s dead?”

Hal shrugged. “He stopped being my son a long time ago.”

“Why? Because he wouldn’t follow in your footsteps?”

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