by Katee Robert
Hook’s mouth goes flat. “Absolutely not.”
“You know I’m right.” I turn to his cousins. “You know I’m right.”
Nigel is silent, but Colin looks at the ceiling as if it’s the most interesting thing he’s ever encountered. “She’s not wrong.”
“Stay out of this.”
“Listen to me, cousin.” Colin finally meets his gaze. “We’ll only have one shot at this. We have to make it count.”
“Fuck that. Then we make some calls to one of Nigel’s shadow contacts and have a sniper take out Peter.” He still isn’t looking at me.
Nigel finally makes a sound suspiciously like a sigh. “If that were an option, we would have done it years ago. You have to do it yourself or it paves the way for assholes to undermine you in the future.”
“He doesn’t get his hands on her. I’ll deal with future assholes as they arrive. That’s tomorrow’s problem.”
Oh, Hook. I want to kiss him and strangle him at the same time. I glance at his cousins. “Could we have a second?”
Nigel and Colin don’t hesitate, which tells me they’ve been having this conversation with him for longer than I realized. As soon as the door closes, I turn to Hook. He’s already shaking his head. “Don’t even think about it.”
“We don’t have a choice.”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it. You’re reacting emotionally.”
I might laugh if I could breathe past my racing heart. “I’m not the one reacting emotionally.” Or at least not the only one. I move closer until he can’t look anywhere but down at me. “If we only have one chance to get him, then we have to do this right. Peter’s too smart to fall for the same ploy twice.” He might be too smart to fall for this one the first time, but I don’t say that aloud. It’s something Hook will have already considered. We have to try.
His mask flickers, and I get a wave of torment from his dark eyes. “I promised he won’t get his hands on you again. I meant that promise.”
I desperately don’t want to be anywhere near Peter. Even now, part of me is searching for another option, another way to go about this. But Colin is right—there are rules of engagement, so to speak. Hook is only the top dog because he’s instilled enough fear and loyalty to ensure no one will challenge him. But all the loyalty in the world won’t hold people back from doing exactly that if they get a whiff of weakness. Our world only respects strength. Sending someone else to do his dirty work reads like he’s afraid of Peter, which paves the way for people to doubt him.
The next challenger might learn from Hook’s mistakes and kill him when they take over so there isn’t an enemy at their back.
The thought sends ice cascading down my spine. I press my hands to his chest. “Jameson.” I wait for him to meet my gaze. “He’s already laid a hand on me. He’s already done his worst.”
“Not his worst,” he says darkly. He doesn’t need to finish the thought for it to beam right into my head. Because I’m still alive.
Peter will kill me if given half a chance. That thought should terrify me—and it does—but there is a steely determination rising up within me. “I was always going to play bait. Let me do what you intended.”
“That was before.” Hook rakes a hand through his long hair. “And even then I had my doubts.”
Fuck, but I love this man.
“I was always going to play bait,” I repeat softly. “Walk me through how it should have gone.”
He doesn’t want to. That truth couldn’t be clearer. But he finally jerks his chin in a rough nod. “Cell phone tracking. We follow you in. Take him and his people out from there, burn their shit down.”
There are a thousand things that can go wrong with that plan, which I’m sure is why he’s balking now. I cup his face in my hands, his beard rough against my palms. “Then that’s what we do.”
He covers my hands with his. “I’m not risking you.”
“If Peter stays in the shadows and keeps undermining you, then you are risking me.” I have to work to keep the shake from my voice, to sound as strong as he needs me to be in order to agree to this. “I can’t stay in this building for the rest of my life, Jameson. I can’t. At some point I’ll have to leave, and then he’ll strike. We either choose the time now, or we live with the threat of him hanging over our heads.”
Still, he hesitates.
So I go in for the kill. “Did you mean it when you said you wanted a partner in full?”
Hook tenses, already knowing where I’m going with this. “Don’t start that shit.”
I steamroll right over him. “Either I’m your partner, or I’m not. Either you want a true future with us, or you still see me as some damsel to be saved and locked up for my own good. There’s no gray area here. It’s one or the other.”
“You can’t just logic your way out of this, Tink.”
“Watch me.” I drop my hands, but he laces his fingers through mine, maintaining contact. “Answer the question.”
He curses long and hard, and I stand still, waiting him out. It’s not fun to be painted into a corner, and he’s entitled to feeling pissed. There was a time in my life when this wave of anger would make me flinch, would send me back several steps to ensure I’m out of reach. Maybe it still would with a different person, but though Hook may be loud as hell with every single one of his emotions, he’d cut off his hands before he touched me in anger.
I didn’t flinch when we fought in the kitchen, either.
Acknowledging that feels like sliding home the final piece of a puzzle I didn’t realize I was building.
Finally his shoulders drop the barest amount. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
“Okay.”
“There will be three teams on your location, all from different directions.”
“Sure.”
“The second we have him off the streets, I move in and handle it. You don’t play the hero, and you stay the hell out of my way and as far from him as you can manage.”
I squeeze his hands and give him a confident smile that I don’t feel. “I promise.”
Another of those world-weary sighs. “Then let’s get this shit rolling and over with. The sooner, the better.”
I only hope this won’t end up being the worst mistake of my life.
Chapter 26
Hook
I never should have agreed to this. Watching Tink walk away from me, her ponytail swinging in the bleak morning light, I can’t shake the feeling that I’m never going to see her again. That we flew too close to the sun when we dared strive for happiness.
“She’ll be fine.”
I don’t look at my cousin. Nigel has been saying some variation of the same thing since I begrudgingly agreed to this shitty plan. The fact that it was my plan originally makes no difference. It’s shitty. End of story.
Tink turns the corner and moves out of sight. “Let’s go.”
“Not yet.” He steps half in front of me, forcing me to a stop. “We have three teams on her. She’s won’t be out of sight at any point during this. But you need to be out of sight. Peter won’t strike if he thinks you’ll be there to counter.”
He’s right. I hate that he’s right.
I force several deep breaths into my lungs. It does nothing to dispel the feeling of impending doom. “We’ll take a parallel route.”
Nigel hesitates, but he must realize that this is the only option that will keep my head on straight. “Let’s go.”
Tink’s route isn’t exactly random. She’s heading to a little fabric boutique that’s been owned by the same family since before either of us were born. They paid their dues to stay out of Peter’s mess, and they’ve done the same with me, though I lowered the rates. My goal isn’t to drive my people’s businesses into the ground. It never was.
We move at a decent pace, and Nigel keeps his phone in his hand as a stream of texted updates come in. Nothing yet. No sign of Peter.
The farther we get from my core territory, the
worse the feeling of something about to go terribly wrong. We’re well outside the main patrols I have scheduled, though my men do regular checks through the entire territory. Not regular enough to keep Peter out, though, which is why we’re in this mess to begin with.
We keep walking, and half my attention is on Nigel. Every half block or so, he shakes his head. No Peter.
Where the hell is the bastard?
We turn a corner, mirroring Tink’s path. The buildings this far out haven’t gotten the face-lifts of the ones closer to the center of the territory. It’s a never-ending project, trying to keep everyone above water, and the money flows in fits and starts. In another five years, there won’t be buildings falling down, and the only shady shit happening in alleys will be sanctioned by me. We’re not there yet, and this street only drives that fact home. Bars on windows. Everything feeling a little grungy, as if covered in a layer of dirt.
We’re close to where the line between my influence and Peter’s is blurred. My steps slow without my intending them to. “Nigel.”
“She’s fine.” Nigel shakes his head, his attention on his phone. “She’s almost to the boutique.”
“It’s not that. It’s—” I see the blow coming out of the corner of my eye and lunge forward, shoving my cousin out of the way. The baton takes me in the shoulder instead of him in the head. Pain flares, intense enough to leave me woozy. “Get Tink.”
Nigel curses. “Are you fucking with me?”
There’s only one attacker, and their mask tells me this is a diversion. “Tink. Now, Nigel. I got this.” If he thinks I’m distracted, Peter will move on Tink. He’ll hurt her. “Go!”
“Goddamn it, Hook. I’m sending Colin’s team this way.”
The baton comes whistling at my head again, and I have no breath to argue. He’s obeying, and that’s enough. I barely dodge the blow this time and kick out, aiming for the masked man’s knees. A crunch as my boot makes contact, and he goes down. I step forward and kick the baton from his hands and then lean down to yank off the mask.
I don’t recognize him, but the guy is more kid than man. If he’s eighteen, I’ll be surprised as hell. Peter always liked to surround himself with teenagers. They look at him like he’s a god, and it feeds his ego something fierce. “Who the hell are you?”
“John.” He grins suddenly. “Gotcha.”
“What the hell?”
This blow, I don’t see coming. It knocks me off my feet, and I land hard on the ground, asphalt grinding against my face. I’m still trying to relearn how to breathe when a boot catches me on my injured shoulder, the force of the kick knocking me onto my back.
I already know who I’ll see before the bastard leans over me, a satisfied smirk on his face. Brown hair, blue eyes. A face that might be trustworthy if a person didn’t know better. I know better.
“Fancy seeing you here, Hook.”
“Fuck off, Peter.”
“Hook and I are long overdue for a conversation.” He motions to the men who appear at the mouth of a nearby alley. “Get him up. Let’s go.”
Chapter 27
Tink
I know something’s wrong the second Nigel appears at my side. I don’t get a single word out before he’s hauling me down a side street, his grip firm but not hurting my arm. He barely checks his stride so I can keep up with his longer legs. “There was an attack.”
“What?” I look around, but the handful of people on the street are very pointedly not paying attention to us. “What are you talking about?” Understanding dawns, and I almost trip over my feet. “Is he okay?”
“Hook can handle some asshole with a baton.” Nigel doesn’t look convinced, though. He glances at me. “He sent me to make sure it wasn’t a diversion so they could go after you.”
I look around. Peter doesn’t burst out of anywhere. “It wasn’t a trap for me. It was a trap for him.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” He types on his phone while barely looking at it. “We have backup closing in. Both teams shadowing you will be here.”
“And the third?”
“I sent them to Hook as soon as he sent me to you.” Nigel’s jaw goes tight. “They aren’t checking in.”
I thought I was afraid before. It’s nothing to the feeling that washes over me when we arrive at the spot where Nigel says he left Hook, only to find a spatter of blood and nothing else. I speak through numb lips. “Where is he, Nigel?”
“Fuck.” He drops his hand and stares at the blood as if he can divine Hook’s direction if he just concentrates hard enough. “Fuck.”
The truth crashes over me hard enough to make me stagger.
This wasn’t about me. It may have started that way, but Peter is too savvy to blow his chance to take out the true threat—Hook. “Where is he, Nigel?” I repeat, louder this time. “Where the hell is he? Where is the team?”
“If I knew where Peter was, we wouldn’t be in this fucking mess to start with.” He turns away from me, typing furiously on his phone. No doubt trying to find the missing team. My gaze lands on the blood again. Peter took Hook. If he got the drop on him, he could have killed Hook, but he took him.
He’ll have gone back to his secret base, back to the spot where he feels safest. My breath stills in my lungs. “I know where he is.”
Nigel stops typing and gives me his full attention. “How the hell do you know where he is?”
“I … I don’t know if I know where he is. But I know where his new woman is.” I found her once before, after all. She didn’t want to be saved, and I got a black eye for my efforts, but it was more than worth it if I can keep Hook alive. “Peter won’t be far from her. He won’t want to let her out of his sight longer than necessary.” That I know for truth. For four years, my survival depended on anticipating his every whim and need and desire, on watching him closely to judge his mood and course-correct as needed to ensure I stayed ahead of it. I never once thought I’d be grateful for that knowledge.
I draw myself up. “We can’t go in with force. He’ll kill Hook.”
Nigel shakes his head. “You’re not wrong, but we need more backup than just me.”
“More than just us.” I start walking before he can argue. The lack of time will work on my side for this debate. Nigel can’t force me back to the safety of Hook’s building, and he can’t spare anyone to haul me there. “It’s on this block.” I rattle off the address where I found the woman before. It’s possible they’ve moved, but the set up seemed pretty permanent when I snuck in.
I still can’t believe I had the courage to do that. Or that I’m about to do it again.
Nigel falls into step beside me. His phone buzzes nearly constantly, and his expression is a mask of concentration. “You are not going into that building. I’ve rerouted the two remaining teams to set up a perimeter. Colin and I will go in after him.”
I don’t bother arguing. I’ll agree to anything that ups Hook’s chances of survival, including being sidelined—as long as I’m in the vicinity. Inside that building, I’m a liability. I won’t get anyone killed for my pride.
It takes us a mere ten minutes to reach the location I found before. Nigel glances at his phone one last time and hauls me down an alley and through a back door into what appears to be an abandoned laundromat. He moves to the taped-over window and carefully peels back a section of it. The glass is grimy, but I can clearly see the apartments where I found the woman. “Yes, that’s it.”
“Good.”
Fewer than five minutes later, seven people pile into this building. I don’t know what I expected when Hook said he’d have three teams on me. Maybe pseudo soldiers? The five men and two women are all dressed in street clothes and are completely indistinguishable from the normal foot traffic in this territory. They must have been spread out around me the entire time, and I had no idea.
“Tell them what you know, Tink.”
My heart beats too fast I as clear my throat. “The third-floor apartment overlooking the street.”
I jerk my thumb to indicate the one behind us. “My information is a couple months old. I didn’t see any of Peter’s people in the building when I was there last, but we have to assume they’re inside now, and—”
My phone rings, cutting me off.
I almost ignore it, but something has me pulling it out of my purse. Unknown number. I go cold and swipe my thumb over the screen. “Hello?”
“Hey, baby.”
I swing around to look at Nigel. He motions for me to put it on speaker. Part of me doesn’t want to obey, doesn’t want to give Peter that power, but it’ll be easier for everyone if they can hear both sides of the conversation. I carefully hold my phone away from my face and put it on speaker. “Give him back.”
“Come and get him.” He sounds happy. Too happy. He’s riding high now, but anything going wrong will send him crashing down in an instant. I’ve seen how that pseudo-joy can flip on a switch. “Don’t take too long, though. You know how I get bored.”
“Peter.” His name tastes like the ash of broken promises. “This won’t end the way you want it to.”
“Yes, baby, it will. I have Hook. You’re too soft to let him hang for you, so you’ll be arriving shortly. You know the place; you tried to take something of mine a few months back. Don’t make me wait.” He hangs up before I can form a response.
Nigel’s already shaking his head. “Absolutely not.”
“We don’t have a choice.”
“Yes, we do. And the choice is to not walk into Peter’s blatantly stated trap.”
I shove my phone into my pocket and glare. “If we don’t go, Hook will die.” Hook will die. I just found him, just allowed myself to hope we might have future and a life together. A family, whatever that looks like for us.
Now Peter wants to take it from me. From us.
Just like he’s taken everything I’ve ever valued. My pride. My strength. My self-confidence. My freedom. I fought and clawed and reclaimed those things for myself, day after day, year after year.
