We both look over at Jasmine. She stares down at her champagne; it bubbles in the flute. Her green eyes are intense on the drink, and I wonder if she thinks we’ve made a mistake. If she has doubts about going into business with me.
“Depend on a man to feed you, and you give him the power to starve you.” She looks up at me. A slow and devious smile spreads across her face. “Here’s to us—two women who are going to feed our-fucking-selves.” She throws back her drink, and Bones laughs.
I drink my champagne in one gulp and know what I just did was the right thing for me. For her. For the three of us.
Things are about to change, and I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of it.
Bones cell rings, and he gets up to move to the back of the plane to answer it. Jasmine looks out her window at the dark sky, and I pull my cell out. Hovering over Cross’s number, I think about texting him, but I’m not sure what I’d say at this point. Plus, I’ve never been a coward. I’d rather talk to him face-to-face.
I go to pocket my phone when it beeps. I look back down at it to see it’s a message from Mitch. I don’t even open it. Turning it off, I lean back and close my eyes to get some sleep on our flight home.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CROSS
ON MONDAY MORNING, Titan, Bones, and I are sitting in the conference room when the door opens. We all get to our feet when Grave walks in. He messaged us an hour ago wanting a meeting this morning, and it’s the first time he’s ever done that.
“Grave …”
He holds up his hand to stop Bones. “I’m not staying.” Running his hand through his hair, he swallows nervously. “I just wanted to tell you all that I’m taking some time off.”
“Of course,” Titan acknowledges him first.
“Whatever you need,” I add.
“Good.” Bones nods once.
“I … uh, April and I are going to get away. After the baby …” He pauses, collecting himself with a deep breath. “We need some time away. Together.”
“You don’t need to explain yourself, Grave,” I tell him.
He places his hand in the pockets of his holey jeans and averts his eyes. “It’ll only be a week. Maybe two at the most.”
“Take as long as you need.” Bones goes to step toward him, but Grave steps back, moving to the glass double doors, and Bones stops.
“I need to grab a few things from my office.” Grave turns and leaves.
Bones rushes after him. I plop down in my seat and run a hand down my face. Leaning back, I stare up at the white ceiling, trying to get my head on straight. I’m not in the game. Between Grave, April, the baby, her brother, and then Alexa, I’m totally fucked. I’m not sleeping at night, which isn’t unusual, but it’s worse than normal.
Titan leans forward, placing his elbows on the table, and runs his hand through his hair when Bones returns. He slams the glass door shut, surprised when it doesn’t break. “Fuck!” he hisses.
“He’s not going to talk to you,” Titan states.
“Nothing new. He never has before,” Bones hisses.
Titan stands, straightening his shoulders, and turns to face Bones. “You may be able to lie to yourself, but not us. This time is different whether you want to believe that or not.” Then he too exits the conference room, stomping off to his office. Fuck, it’s going to be a long day.
I hang my head when I hear Bones throw the coffee pot, and it shatters against the wall.
“Sir?”
“What?” Bones shouts at Nigel as he enters the conference room.
Nigel is unfazed by our outbursts by now. He’s seen us at our worst. Placing his hands behind his back, he rocks back and forth on his heels. “Luca is down in the meat locker, sir. And he has brought a visitor.”
Bones’s eyes go from Nigel to mine. I stand, nodding my head. This is what I need—what we all need. To bury our heads in work. Get our hands bloody.
“We’ll be right there,” Bones tells him.
He turns and exits the room, to go get Titan, and I stand from my chair, pocketing my Zippo. The three of us step onto our private elevator and head down to the basement. Walking off the elevator, we make our way down the hallway to the metal door. Bones opens it, and we enter to find Luca Bianchi at the head of the room dressed in his black three-piece suit with his arms crossed over his chest. His adopted brother, Oliver Nite-Bianchi, stands behind the man tied to the metal chair in the center of the room.
“Didn’t know you made deliveries, Luca,” I say, letting the door close and lock behind me.
“Well, I just couldn’t pass this up,” he jokes.
“What is it that you found?” Bones asks.
Luca reaches into the pocket of his suit jacket and pulls out a handful of something. Then he drops them onto the table. Bones walks over to them and picks one up.
It’s a diamond! “Where was he?” I ask.
“Glass.” The strip club that Luca and Bones own together. “He owed one of my girls three grand, and when he couldn’t pay in cash, he offered her one of these.”
“Where did you get this?” Bones asks him, handing me one of the diamonds. It’s one we’re looking for. The special order was for black diamonds. They’re not as rare as red ones, but still hard to find.
The guy remains silent.
“Did you purchase them or steal them?” I wonder. We’re not sure if Kale fucked over our client or not. We just know our client is pissed and wants what he paid for. You can’t ensure a transaction that is illegal in the first place. So, he’s out ten million.
“Fuck you.” The man sneers at me.
I hand the diamond over to Titan. “How many did he have on him?” I ask Luca.
“Six,” he answers.
Bones sighs. “The order was for twelve.” Then he asks the man, “Is this all you have?”
“Fuck you!” He shouts this time.
“Here, make sure these are returned,” Titan tells Luca, handing them to him.
“Maybe he swallowed them,” I offer. People will do stupid shit to hide what they want no one else to have.
Bones smiles. “Let’s find out.”
Nite produces a pocketknife from the inside of his leather jacket and hands it over to Bones, who cuts the ropes tying the man to the chair.
I walk over and yank it from it, throwing his back onto the table. I pin his legs down while Titan holds his shoulders down. Luca comes over and rips the guy’s shirt open, exposing his hairy chest.
The guy begins to scream, and Luca slaps his hand over his mouth to quiet him. Not because we don’t want anyone hearing him—the room is soundproof—but because we don’t want to have to listen to him. Like the others, he has made his choice.
Bones pushes the blade into his flesh right below his sternum, cutting the skin and dragging it downward. The guy’s muffled screams turn to outright sobbing while blood pours out and onto the table as we play operation on him, knowing we’ll be burying a body later.
_______________
IT’S A QUARTER till three when I pull up to her bar. Hers is the only car left in the parking lot. Getting out of mine, I walk up to the back door and enter. Grinding my teeth, I’m irritated that she leaves it unlocked. That’s not fucking safe.