Page 92 of Compelled Obedience

“Witnesses. Plus muscle if needed,” I answered. The men about to visit my office weren’t the ones I was worried about making a scene. But you never knew for sure.

Jameson almost choked on his drink. “Weren’t you the quiet one when we started all this?”

“Hell, no,” Lachlan answered. “You just thought he was a studious dude, Jameson. While you were winning all those football games, he was scheming families out of millions.”

I laughed. “Oh, you figured that out, did you?”

“You always had a thing with numbers, able to create a half million dollars out of a buck eighty-three.” Lachlan lifted his glass. “To the smartest man of all three of us.”

“Let’s see how smart I am,” I muttered then tossed back the rest of my drink.

“What about Kerri? How is she and more important, is she safe?”

“Both she and her brother are protected at the apartment. I sent one of my bouncers to watch the place while I’m gone.”

“Her brother?” Jameson lifted his gaze.

Nodding, I also knew that if what I thought could be happening was the truth, the young boy could be in as much danger as his sister. “Long story. And a very complicated mess.”

“I’ll say,” Lachlan snorted. “Do you have a piece?”

I lifted my eyebrows, chuckling hard as I opened my jacket, revealing one of several weapons I owned.

“I’ve taught you well,” he growled, his accent heavier than normal.

“Bull… shit,” Jameson coughed on purpose.

The three of us were an unlikely group of friends, but our group had worked over the years. From Lachlan’s less than austere yet wealthy upbringing to my parents, my trust fund worth billions by the time I was eighteen, to Jameson’s loving yet poor parents, we were a motley crew that had turned a fledging idea into one of the most lucrative in the country. Yet our strength didn’t lie in our bank accounts but our commitment to dropping everything else if one of us needed anything.

Maybe I hadn’t realized how important our connection was until this moment. It was odd for me to be reminiscing, the man voted most likely to remain a bachelor for the rest of his life, yet here I was. Forty-three years old and finally comprehending what was most important in life.

Family first.

Friends second.

Business a distant third.

I wasn’t sure if that made me a hypocrite or not. Whatever the case, I wasn’t fighting it. The only thing I would fight for was for the woman who’d awakened the sleeping giant.

Or beast.

Whichever suited the moment.

“Whatever you need, we’re here for you, buddy,” Lachlan said, Jameson nodding.

The knock on the door didn’t come soon enough in my opinion. The three of us glanced at each other, grinning like we did the very first time the idea of the club had come into our minds.

“Then let’s roll, gentlemen,” I said half under my breath.

Both Lachlan and Jameson rose from their seats, Jameson flanking one side of me and Lachlan the other. We were formidable men on normal days. When one or all of our backs were pushed against a wall, there was likely to be hell to pay.

“It’s open,” I said, leaning back on my desk as if I was happy and content.

Brak opened the door, the grin from before remaining. He showed the three men into my office, his smile widening before he closed the door.

“Well, to what do I owe this pleasure, Mayor Stoney?” Jefferson Stoney wasn’t as bad as some of the politicians, especially for a city riddled with crime, murders up by almost ten percent. He was highly respected for his fair treatment of almost everyone in what he often called his beloved city. He’d taken the oath of his office seriously, so much so he’d labeled Carnal Sins a part of the same ‘scum-sucking pigs condemning this city to heinous crimes.’ That was my one beef with the man.

He was narrow-minded. Maybe that came from his severe Christian upbringing or from Daddy issues. I really couldn’t care less. The fact he was strolling into my office beside the new prosecuting attorney meant I’d been correct in my assumptions.

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