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“Where is he anyway?” Xavier asked. “He’s in town.”

“It’s his old wedding anniversary.” Dante smirked. “You can bet he’s not missingthatcelebration again.”

Dominic Davenport was a powerful Wall Street financier whose wife divorced him two years ago. They’d remarried less than a year later. I wasn’t privy to the details of their divorce and reconciliation, but based on Dante’s dig, I assumed it had to do with their anniversary.

I really didn’t give a shit. I had enough problems of my own without taking on other people’s.

While the rest of the group continued to tease Jordan about marital life, I swept my eyes across the bar.

My team was still coming up empty in our search for the mystery Brother. I wasn’t worried enough about a Brotherhood hit to double down on security for the night—I was with some of the most powerful men in the city, and the organization wouldn’t want a public mess—but I had to stay alert.

The clock was ticking. Sooner or later, the Brotherhood would make a move again. My job was to find them, neutralize them, and figure out what the hell they wanted before that day came.

Topher left to use the restroom—at least, he tried. He bumped into one of the other patrons along the way, and the air seemed to quiet as the man turned and glared down at him.

“You got a problem?” he growled. He was nearly as tall as me and twice as wide, with arms that could double as tree trunks and a grizzly beard that covered half his face.

“No problem.” Topher held his hands up. “I was just trying to get by.”

“Yeah? Well, you made me spill my drink.” The man slammed his glass on the closest tabletop. His dilated pupils and the stench of alcohol on his breath told me he was wasted. “You think you can just walk around and knock into people because you want to ‘get by?’”

Jordan’s cousin looked like a deer caught in headlights. He was a trust fund baby who was half the size of Grizzly; a fight between them could only go one way.

“It was an accident, but I can see why you’re upset.” Kai stepped in, ever the voice of reason. “How about we buy you a new drink and call it even?”

Grizzly sneered. “How about no?”

He shoved Kai. Hard.

Kai glanced down at where wet handprints marred his previously immaculate shirt. When he looked up again, his face had hardened into stone. “That,” he said, “was a mistake.”

What happened next escalated so quickly no one could’ve provided an accurate account if they’d tried.

Grizzly swung at Kai, who dodged his drunken attempt and hit the other man somewhere that made him double over. One of Grizzly’s friends jumped into the fray only for Dante to haul him back before they could make it a two-on-one fight. The rest was a blur.

More people joined the growing brawl. A crowd formed, jeers erupted, and I caught sight of the bar’s bouncer shoving his way through the crowd to get to the culprits.

If it had been any other night, we might’ve been able to salvage it with a few bruised jaws and egos.

Unfortunately, I was already on edge, and when one of Grizzly’s other friends tried to bait me, something inside me snapped.

“Why are you just standing there? Too scared to fight?” he taunted. His gaze fell on my scars. “You’d think an ugly motherfucker like you would?—”

I grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and threw him against the railing. The cheap wood splintered from the impact, and his howl of pain was so loud even the other brawlers stopped to stare.

Red tinted my vision. A familiar buzz filled my ears as I stalked toward the asshole.

I made it halfway before someone grabbed me from behind. They locked their forearm across my throat, trying to restrain me, but I easily tossed them off. The guy went flying into a table of half-empty glasses. The table crashed to the ground, sending little shards flying everywhere.

The music stopped as screams filled the bar. The bouncer finally made it to the center of the melee, but when he tried to break up the fight between the bachelor party and Grizzly’s friends, someone socked him in the eye.

And that was when everything really went to hell.

CHAPTER16

Ayana

“What do you think the guys are up to right now?” Indira asked. “Getting lap dances? Drinking in a bar somewhere? We should join them.”