by Finn, Emilia
“You were in love with me since before we met, weren’t you, Sophia Solomon?”
“No!” She fights me when I loop my hand around the back of her neck and pull her in. Puckering my lips, I laugh when she continues to arch her head away, even as I stand and smack a noisy kiss on her cheek. “Get off me! We’re working now.”
“Oh.” Spence wags his brows. “Does he call you Ace when you’re working? Oh! Does he call you Ace in bed?”
“Shut up!” I toss my empty soda bottle across the room and laugh when he bats it away. “Don’t ask her about what we do in private, asshole.”
He lifts a brow that I know for a damn fact is his attempt at seduction. “You said you’re a stripper. Text me your rates.”
“Dude!” Surging to my feet, I bring the gun from the back of my jeans and aim. “You done? Because I practiced since I last saw you.”
“She said she strips! I didn’t ask her out on a date. That would be crossing a line. But stripping is business, and her legs are–”
I cock the gun and take satisfaction when his brows lift in disbelief.
“Well, alright then.” He smacks Eric’s arm. “Told you she ain’t open for business.”
“Get the fuck outta here.” He shoves Spence’s hand away. “I didn’t ask. I don’t want Jay’s leggy dancer.”
“Yeah, because we all know whose legs you’re actually looking at,” Laine finally says. She’s so much quieter than the rest of the group, but with Angelo’s hand clasped in hers, she leans forward and smiles.
“Focus, guys.” Kane brings our attention back to the front. “You were legit shot, or was that a cover to get out?”
“It was a cover,” I answer seriously. “Then I took a spoon and gouged out my forehead so it would look legit if anyone ever asked.”
“Funny.” Pursing his lips, he draws a long breath through his nose and studies Soph and me. “How does a guy survive a bullet to the head?”
“Luck?” Shrugging, I pull Soph closer, closer, closer, then I simply pull her into my lap. “It was just luck, I guess. Goodwill. Karma. Whatever, but it wasn’t my time. I was pulled from the club, declared dead four times in the ambulance, but they kept bringing me back. I got lucky with the surgeon who was assigned to me.”
“Super experienced neurosurgeon in town for the weekend?”
“Actually, no,” Soph says. “He got someone who was so fresh, he was green. They considered Jay a lost cause, so why not let the new guy have a stab at it, right?”
“Fuck me.” Kane’s head droops. “That alone should have killed you.”
“My surgeon wouldn’t let me go. And while I was out, Soph – Ace – helped herself to my files, announced to the world that Jay was dead, and introduced John D. Hamilton.”
“John D. Hamilton is an odd name choice,” Jess says. “Pluck it out of your ass?”
“Essentially,” Soph nods. “John D. for John Doe. It was as simple as that. I edited the files and walked away. Jay was transferred to a hospital I knew specialized in brain trauma. It just so happens that hospital was in the city I already had an apartment in. He slept for a week, woke up, and then I watched his progress through his files. They expected brain damage.”
“He had that going in,” Spence jabs with a tight grin. “Situation normal.”
“They didn’t think he’d walk or talk, but after a couple days, he seemed perfectly fine.”
“Massive headaches,” I add. Bringing my other hand up, I press my thumb into the center of my forehead. “Biggest headaches I ever had, but they went away at about the same rate my pain meds did.”
“So no lasting damage?” Kane asks. “You’re seriously telling me you were popped through the head, and now you’re here, no damage at all?”
“Well–”
“Because if you are,” he continues, “then I gotta stick around longer when I hit people to make sure they don’t get up again.”
“Kane!” Jess smacks him. “You don’t hit people anymore, remember? You have a regular job now.”
“My regular job seems to include someone who’s put a contract on my head, Blondie. If someone is aiming a pistol our way, then I’m gonna be first to pull the trigger.”
“He eats every two or so hours,” Soph volunteers.
When Kane’s curious gaze comes away from his silent standoff with Jess, his brows knit. “Hm?”
“He eats every two hours. All day. Every day.”
“You’re a hungry dude now?” Spence asks. “That’s not such a big deal. I like to eat too.”
“Full meals,” Soph clarifies. “Every two hours. Eight to ten thousand calories a day.”
“And I only sleep two hours a night.” I draw their eyes. It’s like Soph and I are laser pointers, and our crowd are cats. “I haven’t slept more than two hours a day since I woke in the hospital.”
“Two?” Andi, the chick with the pig, leans forward. “Two is impossible. It’s not enough. Look at your chest; you’re built. A guy can’t work out and get built like that without sleeping.”
“Sleep is replaced with food.” Shrugging, I reach back and grab more fries. “I’m hungry all the fuckin’ time. So, ya know, stock this place with food, and we’ll all be happy.”
“How do you fund your work?” Eric asks. “Both of you.”
“Well, Ace used to fund me,” I answer. “When I thought Ace was a dude, and it didn’t feel weird taking cash from him. But, now that she’s a she and super hot, my ego won’t let me accept money anymore. That officially makes me kinda unemployed, so it’s lucky I’m here, and you have a position opening up.”
“We don’t have a position opening up!” Spence laughs. “You’re assuming, boy.”
“We got space,” Kane declares. He looks to Soph seriously. “How are you funded?”
“I steal.” She says it so matter-of-factly, so confidently, that no one bats a lash. “I hack the accounts of men like Abel Hayes, Trenton Neal, and Peter Aguilar, and I funnel their cash out. I take what I need to keep my mission afloat, then I dump the rest in charity accounts that help girls in bad situations.”
“Tell me about your sister?” Kane’s voice is deep and serious, where Spence’s smile is the opposite. “Why are you on this mission?”
“She was my baby, just like Jay was yours. They snatched her in the three seconds I wasn’t looking, and a few weeks later, dumped her body and left her to be found.” Soph’s eyes blaze with anger. “She was fifteen years old, a virgin, and so pure, I was scared of tainting her. Then those mongrels got their hands on her and broke her. I haven’t stopped looking since.”
“Are you close? To finding your guy,” Kane adds. “What do you know?”
“I know I want to talk to the guy who came in here earlier. He’s our next step.”
Spence pops up with excess energy and clips an extra-long barreled gun into his thigh holster. “I’m gonna get the pliers. Riggs can be on the–”
Angelo clears his throat with a loud, exaggerated cough and gives Spence the look, the look every man has mastered when he has something to hide. And considering Kane already said Angelo is blood in, I can get a fairly clear picture of what he wants to remain unsaid. “I think you gotta learn the art of subtlety, Spencer. They didn’t teach you that in ranger school?”
“Nope. Let’s go, motherfuckers. I’ve been in withdrawal lately. I haven’t hurt anyone in months.”
23
Good Old Boys Club
Sophia
The women were left upstairs in the Checkmate offices despite Angelo’s big speech about equality. But I’m not one of those girls, and I don’t sit and roll over just because a guy promised a pat on the head.
Well, Jess and Laine didn’t sit or roll either, but they didn’t win their wars with Angelo and Kane, and sisterhood or not, my loyalties lie with Ellie. Which means I’m not staying behind.
I’m in a basement – a dungeon – filled to the brim with masculinity and adrenaline, but I don’t back down.
I’m blood in, too. This whole fucking mission is about making things right for my sister, so I scan the wall of devices one might use to fix their car – or torture a man – and I turn back to study the bleeding man shackled on the opposite wall.
This isn’t your regular interrogation room, and it sure as shit isn’t legal. But I still find myself here with Jay and Kane Bishop, Spence, Angelo, and Eric as they study the same man I do.
Spence carries a fifteen-inch wrench, and Eric carries something much more discreet – a long-bladed hunting knife. Angelo carries nothing at all, but he stands in this room and studies the man who might be connected to Laine’s pain, and staring, his eyes are all the weapon he needs to make the man quiver.
Jay prowls behind me; each time he passes, his knuckles brush over the small of my back to reassure me the human is here, that he sees me, will protect me, and will exact revenge on my behalf. But each time he passes his brother, his muscles ripple, and his eyes turn harder – the machine is also here.
Watching the brothers prowl is almost like witnessing caged lions, and as inappropriate as it may be, it might also be the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
I’ve been watching Jay Bishop for a long time, and this isn’t the first time I’ve seen the brothers work together.
Woman or not, nobody stops me as I step toward the man in shackles and study the blood-soaked bandage wrapped around his thigh. Spence sticks close to my back, as though he’s taken on a protector role while Jay is busy with Kane, but I’m not nervous. I’m not scared. I step forward with a half-eaten protein bar in my hand, because low blood sugar isn’t going to help me right now, and I duck my head to catch our visitor’s eye. “What’s your name?”
Silence.
He does nothing but stare at the tip of my nose and strain against his ties.
Taking a bite of my snack, I nod and walk toward the wall and select a knife similar to that of Eric’s. Turning back, I chew and study the man Spence had stripped down to tighty-whities and socks. “Someone remind me why he’s naked? I don’t wanna see this dude’s tiny dick in stained underwear. It’s gross.”
“I like a clear canvas,” Spence rumbles. “It’s a hell of a lot more satisfying to work on a clear canvas, I promise.”
Stepping closer to inspect the soaked bandaging around his thigh, I shove the last of the bar into my mouth to free up my hand, tuck the wrapper into the waistband of our new friend’s undies, then pull the tie on the bandage so it unravels. It sticks to his wound, and I have to tug it away, but not even the slurping noise deters me from my protein bar.
“That’s so gross, man.” I meet our captive’s terrified eyes and lift a brow. “It blew out the front of your leg. Looks like a shark got you or something.”
More silence.
Poking the chocolate in my teeth with my tongue, I shrug and squat lower so my eyes are level with his leg. If he weren’t bound, he’d easily kick me in the head and knock me on my ass. “Does it hurt?”
“Fuck you, bitch.”
“No, you couldn’t afford me. But thanks for the offer.”
“Soph?”
Letting out a dramatic sigh, I meet our visitor’s eyes and ask again. “Name, please?”
“Gonna slit your throat, cunt. Then I’ll make your boyfriends drink it.”
I scrunch my nose and smile. “Well, that’s kinda gross. Only one of them is my man, but I don’t think he wants to drink my blood. The fuck you think this is? A vampire movie?”
“Sophia!”
I turn. “Jay? Need a Snickers?”
“Ask your questions, Sugar Plum. We don’t play with these people.”
“Actually, that’s kinda our thing now,” Spence says. “The last guy we played with was so much fuckin’ fun. Right?” He turns to Kane. “Right?” Then he turns to Ang. “What did you do with G’s balls, anyway?”
“Put ‘em in a jar. Buried them in the woods.” He flashes the first playful grin I’ve seen since this all began today. “Planted a tree right over top, then I told Laine I put it here to commemorate her freedom. She waters it.”
Laughing, Spence points a finger and shakes his head. “You’re a sick motherfucker. Seriously fuckin’ sick.”
“That tree brings her peace,” he says. “It grows each day and shows her life is still worth living. She won’t ever have to know what we did to Graham, but she feels the freedom anyway. I won’t ever be sorry for making her feel safe.”
“And you shouldn’t.” Turning back to the man in front of me, I tilt my head to the side. “A man hurt his girl. A man who had ties with the very same organization you’re working for. So please tell me your name, or I’ll take a leaf out of his book and plant a tree in your honor.”
“Take a leaf,” Spence snickers. “I see what you did there.”
Turning the knife in my hand, I toss it from the left, to the right, then back to the left as I contemplate how far I’m willing to go for this. “So here’s the deal, Randolph. I’m gonna call you Randolph until you give me your real name, by the way. The deal is, you work for someone I’m trying to find. You came here today looking to kill someone we all care about, but worse than that, the man you work for had my baby sister raped and murdered.” Without overthinking my actions, I stick my blade into his thigh and grit my teeth when he screams. “There is nothing you can say or do that’ll make me feel bad for doing this.” When he doesn’t stop screaming, I push my hand up under his jaw and snap it closed. “So tell me who you’re working for, and I’ll be a little kinder to you.”
“I don’t know.” His body shakes so hard against the wall, his shackles rattle. “I’m given orders.”
“You lie.” I pull my blade out and push it back in again until it stops against the back wall. “I’ve done my research. I know what the types of men who run those clubs look, speak, and act like. You’re not one of them. They’re suave, wealthy, and arrogant. They wear silks and too much oil in their hair. You’re more of a soldier. Unimportant. And in their eyes, a dime a dozen. Now, please try again; who do you work for?”
“Does anyone need to step in and do this for Soph?”
Kane’s whispered words register in the back of my brain, but I don’t turn. In answer, I spin the blade and tear Randolph’s leg open. “I don’t need help, Bish. I’ve been waiting for this for eight years. Tell. Me.” I spin the blade. “Who. You. Work. For.”
“I don’t know!”
“CAB! CAB! CAB! CAB! Who is CAB?”
“I can’t tell you!”
“He’s a high-ranking officer; he’s middle-aged, and he has a hard on for Bishop men. Why? Why does he have his sights set on those men?”
“Because they know his business!” the man screeches. “They dig too deep.”
“I’m digging too deep, too. Why the contract on them and no one else?”
“Because they were placed undercover on an op they were never supposed to touch.” His howling sob echoes off the walls of the small room we’re all huddled in. “They were never supposed to be put on that assignment.”
“Someone was going to be put there,” Jay says. Stepping forward, he stands so his shoulder touches mine. “If it wasn’t us, it would have been someone else.”
“Hayes was never supposed to be infiltrated,” he screams. “And if he was, it should have ended there. Take Infernos out, but the rest stays intact.”
“But I was too smart for that, wasn’t I?” I pull my blade from his leg and press the dripping steel against his throat. “They were just a couple dumb cops who were placed undercover. But it was supposed to end there.”
“Right.” He swallows and breathes heavily as though he’s going to be sick. “The clubs are separate entities. They’re not connected.”
“But they are.” I step forward when Jay’s hands come to my hips to pull me back. “They’re all connected. I found the connections.”
“Exactly,” he cries. “Only a skilled hacker could find the connections. And the connections we
re never being made until they started working in Infernos.”
Because that’s when I started communicating with Jay.
“He had Jay taken out because he was getting intel.”
“Yes.” With dry lips, parched throat, but soaked cheeks, he nods. “Yes. Bishop was getting intel, so my boss had him taken out.”
“But you figured what one Bishop knows, they both know?” I press my blade harder against Randolph’s throat. “You searched their homes, Riley’s home, Spence’s home, in case they stored information there. Right?”
“Right. Please let me go now.”
Laughing, I shake my head and revel in the heavy tears that slide over his cheek. “You’re never being let go, just so you know. You’re not leaving this room, so don’t worry about retaliation from your CAB.”
“So why would I give you information, slut? Why help you if I’m dead anyway?”
“Because helping me would mean one fast slide of a blade over your throat. You’ll just go to sleep and not wake up. It’ll be far less painful than your leg right now. But making this more difficult means these sick individuals get to cut the nut sack from your body first. Then you die. Those are your choices.”
“I can’t answer,” he cries. “Please don’t make me answer.”
“CAB! CAB! CAB! CAB!”
“No, please!”
“Alright.” With gentle hands, Spence pushes me back, then fires up a blue flame until Randolph’s face loses all color. “You get to burn only so much before you die anyway. We’ve practiced this, so I promise I’ll warn you when you’re getting close.”
“No! No.” His cry turns to gurgles when Spence brings the flame down to Randolph’s dick and sends the stained underwear up in flames.
“I’m going straight to the business end of things, because I don’t want my little sister here to be exposed to this for long. Name please, soldier.”
