Page 154 of Piece You Saved

“Yup.” Kade takes in the contractors and frowns. “I still say we should close the bar and go into construction. Do you know how much this is costing us?”

I do. “Enough. More than enough. What did the cop say?”

Kade’s eyes slide back to mine. “He’s working on it. The funny thing is, he had something to share with me. Something that helps.”

“And that something is?” Aden prompts.

“You’ll find out when she does,” Kade replies. “Our friends are quiet.”

“They are,” I agree, watching what looks to be the last piece of glass—the one for the den—going in. Lowering my voice, I continue. “They might not accept.”

Kade sent an email after I’d driven Rylan’s Mercedes with four dead wolves in the back to a rough part of the city and left it unlocked. News reports are still talking about the arson on his property, his attorney is still fending off cops who want to speak to him, and no one has seen him.

It’s exactly what we hoped would happen.

“You told them to help themselves to all of Rylan’s millions. Why wouldn’t they accept?” Aden asks.

Kade studies Aden for a beat. “These aren’t the sort of people who are ever happy.”

Aden arches a brow. “And have you ever repaid them for a favor by offering them hundreds of millions of dollars?”

Kade blinks. “Well, no.”

“Then I don’t see how they can say no. No one is missing the man. Who’s going to miss his money?” Aden asks.

“How about Rylan’s money manager?” I say dryly. “I’d say he might.”

“Aden has a point.” Kade pauses while the contractors drill loudly for a few seconds. When the drilling stops, he continues. “They helped us find out all of Rylan’s secrets. What better way to pay them off than to pay them with it? And if they aren’t happy and come along wanting more…”

I take in the hardness in Kade’s eyes and the fighting spirit that will never go out, no matter what. He’s a fighter and always will be. “We deal with them the same way we deal with any threats,” I say. “Together.”

“I happen to know a girl who’s pretty handy around a gun.” Kade grins. “I’d say she’d be up to fighting with us.”

“Happen to know?” Aden returns the smile with a raised brow.

“What happened with your other errand?” I prompt.

Kade widens his eyes in what is the worst attempt at looking innocent I’ve ever seen in my life. “What other errand?”

I stare at him.

He looks away. “Maybe you were right.”

“About?” I prompt.

“The doctor.” Kade focuses on a contractor packing up tools. “He didn’t just want to fuck her.”

“And you know this how?” Aden asks.

“Because he looked like a fucking poster child for a broken heart. It was pathetic,” Kade says.

Aden bumps his shoulder with Kade. “Pathetic?”

“Maybe pathetic isn’t the right word. He cares about her.” Straightening, he heads toward the contractor packing up. “And maybe he isn’t that bad.”

Aden and I watch as Kade starts up a conversation about how much contractors make in a year.

“He stopped me from fighting,” I say quietly.

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