They returned hours later, and when I looked up, faces were drawn, knuckles were bloodied, and their expressions made plain what they’d been through.
“We cleared everything out,” Liam said, always the little prince. “Any stones or powder we retrieved have been given over to Ashanti. We’ve had to escort some of our members out of Aragide and this plane. Fuck knows how they’re gonna survive on the streets Rutherglen now owns, but they made their choice.”
“We got something useful out of it though,” Johnno said. It was his expression that looked the worst of all. “We got the contact details of a major dealer in London. Get some rest, we’ll be heading into Soho, tonight, UK time.”
Chapter 28
“Can we save the bloody arguments?” I asked when Duke met us at the portal. We were dressed up, ready to go to a club in Soho, Mark having drawn on Aragide’s powers to outfit himself with an impressive array of weapons. “And before you think about starting on me, we still need to have a bloody conversation about whatever the fuck aramka means to you.”
Before we’d gotten ready to go, we’d shared the information with the Scooby Gang. Sitting in Ashanti’s war room, I leaned into Mark’s arms as the arguments went around and around the table about what we were supposed to do about Liam’s discovery.
“I know this club. Daddy took us there…” Jen said, looking at the map and photos displayed on the screen. We’d identified the place Liam’s source had said the drugs came from, and Jen recognised it. She swallowed hard. “I can give you a rough idea of the layout of the club and what lies below.”
“Below?” Liam asked.
Her eyes darted to Jake, who paled further, but he mastered himself quickly. “Better fit me out with some weapons too then, mate,” he said to Mark. “If I see what I think I’m gonna see down there, my finger’s gonna get real itchy.”
“Trigger happy won’t cut it there,” Duke said. “You wanna get all OK Corral about this shit? Do it in your own time. You’re staying here. Me and mine will see to this.”
“No.”
One little word, but everyone was paying attention to me now.
“You said you’d play this smart. You said you’d listen to advice, plan shit out, and stop being so fucking reckless.”
“Tell me what aramka means to you and I’ll stay,” I replied. I sat there, feeling the heavy weight of Mark’s shoulder behind my head and that of Duke’s gaze on me. I saw the moment he gave in, his jaw locking, teeth grinding together.
“D, me and Ty, we can keep her safe,” Rey said, shouldering forward. “We get in, make a connection…”
There it was, that fucking word again. Everything, the whole world seemed to run on connections. Well, I was about to draw on mine.
“We go, all that want to, or you tell me what it means. I need to know. We can’t work together with this lying between us. You talk about connections all the damn time. How am I supposed to trust you guys enough to connect to you if you’re keeping shit from me?”
I watched his fingers clamp down on the arms of his chair, digging into the highly polished wood.
“Duke…” Ashanti said.
“Fine. Come along, but you play the things the way I want them played. I’m taking you to the club. We’re just a bunch of spoiled rock stars in town for a good time. We want whatever they’ve got to make that happen. I know Jimmy, the owner.”
“Of course you do,” Liam said. “So do we. We played some acoustic sets there between albums as a promo event.”
“Yeah well, you might have to again. Giving him an impromptu draw card will sweeten him up. Kira’s your girl. You’re gonna need to decide who she’s there with—”
“Me,” Liam said, then eyed off the rest of the guys when they made rumbles of displeasure. “She was on track to becoming my queen. If she’s seen with us, it’d make sense she was with me.”
“You better fucking out yourself as poly, motherfucker,” Jake growled. “Because if Marlow gets our girl trussed up in another one of those boner stroking confections, I’m not gonna be keeping my hands to myself.”
“And get your cover story locked down tight,” Duke charged on, “because there will be no fucking slip ups here. We need to find how the fuck this shit is being disseminated and then shut it down. Rey, get the boys together and brief them on what’s going down. They need to report in and see the map Jennifer’s going to create for us.”
He pushed a tablet and digital pencil towards her, and she picked it up, her back straightening as I saw her suck up her courage and start drawing.
“I want to go,” she said when she finally laid the stylus down.
“Jen, no.” Vervain took her hands in hers. “Please, sweetheart. I couldn’t bear it if…”
“So, what? I don’t get to flex my muscles and go and save the day like Kira does?”
“Not if you love me. Rutherglen wants you. Needs you back under his thumb, as a symbol at the very least. Please, love, stay here with me.”
Jen frowned at that, then nodded slowly.
“I’m going to see the women back in the community, create that list of those coming and those staying,” Quinn said, pushing herself out of the chair with a scowl. “You don’t need me on this.”
“And you need rest,” Ashanti said, reaching out and touching the other woman’s arm.
“I’ll rest when they’re safe. When there’s no more children screaming in pain.”
Ashanti’s lips thinned down as Quinn walked out, but she nodded to herself, just once.
“Be safe, follow Duke’s lead, and if anything goes wrong—”
“Return to Aragide,” Johnno finished.
So there we were, trussed up and tizzied, just as Jake had said, though I was pissed with my selection vs theirs.
“Why do I have to wear a bloody dress?”
“Because your legs are better than mine,” Jake quipped. Of course he did. He got to wear a leather kilt, bovver boots, and a white band T-shirt. I let my eyes scan over his taut form. “You wanna know what a man wears under his kilt, don’t you?” His smile grew feral as he grabbed my hand and tugged me closer, sliding it up his—
“Because that’s what a girl at my side would wear to a club,” Liam said, pulling me back towards him. His eyes dropped down as he inspected me just as thoroughly, resting on the swell of my cleavage, which felt like it was oozing out the top of this ridiculously tight dress. “Goddess, you’re a sadistic bastard, Mar.”
“You’re gonna manhandle her all night, in an attempt to pass her off as your girl.” Marlow came forward with a tube of scarlet lipstick. “Open your mouth. That’s right.” He slicked it on perfectly. “So if you’re gonna put Kira through that, I’m letting her have a little revenge. Now to blot.”
Marlow moved in slowly, so I could smell the waft of expensive cologne that smelled of sandalwood and spice. I ran my fingers along the tight muscles he displayed on the white tank top he wore under his shirt. He just pressed his lips to mine, not letting them part when I wanted them to, before pulling away, wearing a smudge of lipstick now.