“Why are we here?” Kellan demands, walking in and not wasting a second of his time.
She places her phone on her lap and then stretches her arms out on the back of the couch, looking up. She smiles. “As you all know, Cole and I are no longer”—she pauses, thinking of the right word—“anything. But I’m not dropping out.” She looks at Kellan. “Thought I would get that out of the way since you were hoping for that.” His mouth sets in a hard line. Her smile widens. “And I know you are fucking Celeste, so you can stop having her scream out Cole’s name.” Shane starts to choke, and Deke chuckles. Her eyes meet mine for the first time in a week. And they look as cold as ice. “Plus, I no longer care who Cole fucks,” she says, voice flat.
“Austin …”
“How did you find out?” Deke asks, interrupting me.
“I went home and demanded to speak to Bruce, but Celeste told me he had already left for Florida. I then told her that I knew. I was referring to Lilly being my sister, but she thought I meant her fucking Cole. Or Kellan. Or who-fucking-ever.” Kellan’s eyes narrow. He opens his mouth, but she continues. “But that is not why I called this meeting. There is something we need to take care of.”
“What?” Deke asks her.
“Jerrold.” Her eyes meet mine. “I think he’s earned his death.” Then she looks at all the guys.
Kellan walks over to the couch, and I take a step closer but both ignore me. He stops and looks down at her. “If we do this, you’re involved. One hundred percent.”
“Absolutely not—”
“I’m in,” she says, interrupting me.
“Austin!” I snap.
She continues to stare up at Kellan with a look of indifference. But he could be setting her up. Now that she knows he’s screwing Celeste, he could want her dead so she can’t tell Bruce.
“She’s not doing anything,” I add when no one else objects.
“I have a say, Cole. I’m part of this group.” She fucking smiles at me. “Isn’t that what you wanted?’
“She’s playing him.” We all hear Shane whisper to Deke.
Austin directs her attention to Shane. “The only thing I’m playing is the game,” she corrects him.
“It’s too risky,” I say, shaking my head.
“Since when do you care about my life?” she asks.
I run a hand through my hair. “Since I found out that your dad tried to kill me, and he is working with a guy who you stole that information from.”
“That didn’t stop you from putting your hands around my neck,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest.
My teeth grind. I want to say I would never hurt her, but that would be a lie. That’s all I’ve done to her.
“Right!” She looks back up at Kellan at my silence. “So what’s it gonna be?” she asks him.
He looks down at her. “Tonight.”
She nods.
“Home invasion,” he tells her.
I go to open my mouth, but she snorts. “No.”
He raises a brow at her.
“The six of us are not doing a home invasion unless you want us to get caught. And I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not go to jail.”
He crosses his arms over his chest. “Then what do you suggest?”
She gives him a big smile. “You guys are sharks. Time to act like it.”
I turn to Deke, and he’s already staring at me with a look of concern in his features. I walk outside for some fresh air, and he gets the hint, following me.
“What do you want me to do?” he asks the moment he gets outside.
“Austin and I will ride with you.” My jaw tightens. “But she never gets out of the car.”
“She’s gonna be pissed.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” I snap. At this point, her safety means more to me than her being mad at me. I can deal with her anger. Kellan setting her up or her getting hurt is a different story.
He nods once. “She never gets out of the car,” he agrees.
I spin around to see the door open to the clubhouse, and she walks out followed by Shane and Bennett. Kellan walks out with a smile on his face. And I fist my hands. There’s no way he should be happy right now. Not after she called him out about sleeping with Celeste.
“Austin, we’re riding with Deke.”
“No. I’m driving. I don’t wanna come back here …” I grab her upper arm. “Cole!” she snaps. “Stop!”
I ignore her and drag her over to Deke’s SUV and toss her in the back seat. She curses me as I slam the door shut.
“You don’t know the plan,” Kellan says.
I ignore him. I go over to my car and retrieve my black bag out of the trunk, grab what I need out of my console, and then jump in the passenger seat of Deke’s Range Rover. I look in the back, and she sits by the door, looking out the window. Her eyes narrowed on nothing.
Deke gets in and looks at me.
“What’s the plan, Austin?” I ask.
She says nothing.
“I’m not gonna ask you again,” I growl.
Her head snaps over to look at me. Her green eyes burn with rage, and I smile at her. She’s so gorgeous. “Bennett said he likes to take late-night swims, so I suggested we drown him in his own pool,” she huffs.
I nod and turn back to face the front. “Head to his house.”
Deke starts the car and “With Me Now” by Blacklite District blares through the speakers.
I smile. Good plan, sweetheart.
_______________
We pull up to the house a block away. I remove my seat belt and turn to face her. “You’re staying in the car.”
“Cole …”
“This is not up for discussion, Austin!” I pick up my bag at my feet and unzip it. I pull out my gun and place it in the back waistband of my jeans. Just in case. Then I place my rope and set of handcuffs on the center console.
“What do you need those for?” she growls. “You have to make this look like a freak accident. If he has marks around his wrists and ankles, then they will know he was murdered.”
“Those are for you,” Deke tells her as he eyes her in the rearview mirror.
“What?” she snaps. She’s no longer scared of him, and that has me worried. A part of me knows that if he puts her in a situation that she needs to get out of, she would do anything to get free. That’s why I’m glad Deke is stronger than she is.
He nods. “You try to leave, and I have permission to do whatever is necessary to keep you in the car.” He gives her a big threatening smile.
She looks at me, her eyes narrowed. “He’s bullshitting me, right?”
I shake my head. “No.”
Her jaw tightens, and she looks over at the door. She lunges for it. “Fuck this …”
Deke reaches out and grabs her hair, yanking her back into the seat while he leans over into the back. She doesn’t cry out. Instead, she lets out a growl of frustration.
“Your ass is staying in this car,” I snap, grabbing my hoodie out of my bag. “And that is all there is to it.” I get out, slamming the door shut.
I pull on my hoodie and zip it up, before putting the hood over my head.