Bridge rolled his shoulders. “Unless this isn’t about us at all. Maybe it’s just about you, Ben. Van Linsted thinks you’ve gone unchecked for far too long. This might be his retaliation for the dustup at the fundraiser.”
“What, with murder?”
He shrugged. “Or maybe they do know we’re after them, and they’re going to pick us off one by one. Together we’re too powerful, but if they just take aim individually, make us weak, they could have a shot.”
I scowled into my glass before draining it. “Unless it’s only certain members of the Elite.”
Drew’s gaze ping-ponged between the three of us. “Do you lot hear yourselves? I know your focus was strategy and business, but you’re talking about murder here.”
We all lifted our heads to glance at him. I had no idea why he was shouting. East looked perplexed. And Bridge, well, Bridge had no expression. But that was normal.
I was the one who asked him the obvious question. “What are you talking about, Drew?”
“Mates, you’re casually talking about how someone tried to take Ben out.” He put the ‘take Ben out’ in air quotes. “When did this become us?”
We all continued to stare at him. My anger rose closer and closer to the surface. It was only mostly toned down because I’d used up most of my adrenaline earlier.
“You’re kidding me, right?” East asked.
Drew shook his head. “No, I’m not kidding you. Not at all. This is the point when we all take a moment to stop and consider our fucking families. Someone went after Ben... with a gun. I have a family. Children. I have to protect them.”
On the one hand, Drew was a pussy. The night we made our decision to go after those responsible for Toby’s death, he’d been the last one to join in. Whenever there looked to be trouble, he was the first one to side with the Elite, and now, he was the first one to jump ship.
I wanted to call him on his bullshit because, out of all of us, he’d been the closest to Toby. But in this instance, when we were talking about real combat in the streets, I didn’t for a second begrudge him for the concern about his family. Because that was a very real threat. Until that point, we were going after their money. Civilized things. We’d learned to defend ourselves, but that was meant as a precaution for a very distant possibility. We’d gone after money and secrets. But who had secrets worth dying for?
It could be anyone.
And just what the hell was on that drive? Because clearly, we had hit the jackpot.
I glanced over at Bridge. “Maybe he’s right. We’ve been a bit cavalier about this, but now that we’re talking real guns, maybe Drew has a point. He does have a family to protect.”
East scowled at me. “What? You want to back down?”
“Fuck no. I’m not backing down. But Drew should probably sit out because these lads weren’t there to fuck around. And it’s likely going to get worse before it gets better. And you should probably back off too, Bridge. Watch your backs and let East and I handle most of this.”
The corner of Bridge’s lip turned up in a snarl. “You’re really telling me to back the fuck off?”
I knew he wouldn’t. “I know it’s not like you. I know it’s not in your vocabulary. But mate, today could have been my time. You have Mina to think about. Drew has Angela and the kids. It’s serious. No one is playing around anymore.”
Bridge shook his head. “Drew can do what he needs to. I get it. There are children involved.”
Drew scowled. “Are you going to sit there and judge me, Edgerton?”
Bridge shook his head, and his voice was like ice. “No. I’m not judging you. All I’m saying is that Toby didn’t get to have kids. He didn’t get to get married. He didn’t have any of that. Fucking Van Linsteds. They forgot him. They made us forget him. We can’t let them walk away free on this.”
Drew chewed his bottom lip. “Look, I’ll give you all the support I can, but guns are where I draw the line. They’re coming for us.”
I nodded. “It certainly feels that way, but I can’t stop. If they are willing to kill, there is something deep they are trying to hide. So I’m still in.”
East shrugged. “You don’t have to ask my vote, mate.”
Bridge clenched his jaw. “You already know how I feel.”
Drew sighed. “So now I’m the git who doesn’t want to get vengeance for his friend?”
“No one is calling you a git, Drew.” I was too tired for this conversation.
Bridge shrugged. “I mean, I might call you a git.”
I gave him an admonishing glare that said shut it. ”Drew, if you want out, then you’re out. We can pull this off with three.”
“So what, just like that?” He frowned, but the look in his eyes said he was torn.
“You have children to protect. We will get vengeance for Toby.”
I just hoped I was right about that, because after the day I’d had, I couldn’t help but worry about Olivia’s safety.
I rubbed my jaw. “We have another problem. If they’re coming after us, it stands to reason that they’re coming after Olivia Ashong too. We need to protect her.”
Bridge nodded. “You’re right. But the real question is how is she going to take that?”
“Oh, she’ll hate it and fight me every step.” And I was persona non grata with her after that kiss, but it couldn’t be helped.
18
Livy
I didn’t remove my sunglasses until I was within the safety of my office.
Carmen had helped me with my makeup that morning, so I looked less blotchy and my eyes didn’t look as red. But anyone who knew me well would know I’d been crying. I’d spent half the night trying to figure out where everything had gone wrong with Dex, and the other half crying about how badly I’d messed up with Ben.
Neither one of those scenarios meant a bright eyed and bushy-tailed morning. But I was at work, and I would just go about my day and pretend that my boss hadn’t made my body hum. Hadn’t made me want—things. Hadn’t had me ready to beg.
I could pretend, right?
But before I could get on with my pretending and my delusions of everything being great, there was a knock at my door. I looked up to find Ben with several paper bags in tow. “Good morning. How are you feeling?”
I tried to give him a brave smile. “I feel fine.”
“You recognize you’re going to have to stop saying fine to me, right?”
“That’s how I feel. Fine.”
He laughed. “Fair enough. If that’s what you’re going with. I brought you a couple of things.”
“What’s all this?”
“You know, just a few things. Some eyedrops. An energy shot. I figured you didn’t sleep much. And, some beignets.”
I grinned at him. “Beignets? Where did you find beignets in London?”
“Well, a friend of mine used to have a restaurant in New Orleans, they were famous for them. I called him at his café and asked if he’d make some up this morning. So, here you go, beignets.”