Page 86

"Another thing. While you were—busy. You got two messages. I didn't mean to snoop—"
"But you couldn't help yourself. Yeah, I know." I teased, bumping her shoulder.
“Anyway, someone named ‘Scotty’ messaged saying the titles were ready. He's concerned about you not being in your office lately and wants to hand over the keys, so to speak, in person.”
Isighed heavily. In all the chaos, I had forgotten Richardson and the delays with his paperwork. My attorneys had confirmed the issues were legitimate ones, so he was still breathing—for now.
"I'll take care of him. Thank you." This wasn't Connor's doing. No point in taking my additional frustration out on her.
"You also got a message from someone named Henri. He said, 'the game is on' 'tip is on the house' Not a fucking clue what any of that means, but I figured you'd know."
"Fucking hell." I growled. "It means she reinstated the orders on Tierney and me. The good news is that some hitters won't like the back and forth and will sit this round out. But the price is pretty high, so it's hard to say. Twelve hours max, before they come for us."
"This—Henri person, how does he—"
"He's one of us."
"And he owes you?"
"No." I laughed. "He actually messaged me after the last favor and told me he wasn't willing to go any further. We were on our own. Not sure what possessed him to even clue me in on the order."
"I don't appreciate you changing the rules. Play the game as I set it or the consequences will be—severe." Tierney said, stepping into the kitchen. "Those were her exact words. I think she's pissed that we canceled the order."
"She's probably not too happy about the fire at Jason's, either." Connor rasped. "It wasn't part of her plan."
"Fuck." A cold fury settled into me as I paced the kitchen. We had pulled that stunt to cancel the order, because we couldn't fight on two fronts. And we had help. Both Henri and Jax had been instrumental in our success. Without them—fuck!
Tierney pressed her lips to mine, halting my restless pacing.
I only hesitated a few heartbeats before wrapping her in my arms. I allowed the warmth of her body pressed against mine, and her heart beating just beneath my palm to ground me in this moment.
Connor was right. I thought my father had beaten the emotions out of me long ago. Turned out, they were only locked away. Since being freed from their prison, they had been running wild. The more positive ones had been effortlessly channeled into my relationships with Connor and Tierney. Anger, on the other hand, seemed to fight for constant control of me—most of the time, it won.
I pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. "I should message Henri and Richardson."
She nodded, stepping out of my arms.
"Don't worry about the order. It'll be fine."
She nodded and turned away a little too quickly.
My fingers curled around her arm, turning her to face me.
My eyes searched hers. "You do know I'll keep you safe, right?"
"Yeah." she answered, her voice high and tight.
"It's just—I really hate being on this end of the scope." She offered me a half smile, but her eyes still held worry.
I sucked in a deep breath, blowing it out slowly. She was scared. It was hard not to take it personally. I had taken on the role of her protector. Fuck, if there was anything I knew how to do, it was use a gun. I wanted her to feel safe, but I couldn't force the feeling.
"I'm fine. Really. Take care of your messages. Then we can put our heads together and try to figure out what's next."
"It'll just take a minute."
The phone chirped in my hand. The corner of my lip quirking up as I read the message from Henri. "sitting this one out. Paid in full"
Chapter 46