“Guys.” Tiffany hung her head down. “Everything’s fine.”
Grace placed her hands on her hips and stood in front of us. “Bullshit. You’ve been distracted since we arrived here.”
I leaned back against the wall and let go of Tiffany. “Talk to us. Did something happen between you and Hunter?”
“What, no?” She let go of Grace but made no attempt to move. “There is nothing between Hunter and me. We’re just friends.”
Cat crossed her arms. “But you want there to be?”
Tiffany looked between all of us. “It doesn’t matter what I want.”
“What does that mean?” I didn’t like that she thought her needs were not important.
“It doesn’t matter.” Her shoulder sagged. “And it has nothing to do with my current mood.”
That was all we needed. She admitted that something was wrong. “Do we need to call Skylar?”
“No.” Her smile was small but it was genuine. She took several deep breaths, not looking any of us in the eye. “Nick fired me.”
My jaw dropped. “What? When?”
“This afternoon.” She wrapped her arms around herself, looking smaller than I had ever seen her. “He called me into his office and handed me a severance check. A big one.”
“He fired you?” I couldn’t process it. Nick Salinger was like family. He protected us. He was the one who gave her a job when she refused her inheritance.
Shiloh shook her head with disbelief. “Why? Is it because you got back late from lunch? Tiff, do you want me to talk to him? You’re never late. You’re always there before any of us.”
“No.” She shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks, dragging streaks of mascara as it went. “He didn’t fire because I was late. Or anything to do with my job. I’m good at my job, he knows it, and I know it.” She took another breath. “He fired me because this was always meant to be temporary. I promised him I would only use Salinger Security to find my feet after my dad died. I was going to follow my dreams on my own terms. Not as some trophy wife my father gets to hand out.” She swiped ather tears. “Nick said if I still don’t want to take my inheritance, he would loan me the money to go back to school. But it wasn’t going to happen behind the desk at Salinger Security.”
My shoulders softened and my momentary anger evaporated. “Then let’s do that then. Let’s make those dreams come true.”
We sat outside just the five of us for a long while. We discussed Nick’s methods, which was harsh, at best. But it was what my friend needed. She was never going to quit. The truth was, she got a high off helping in such a high octane environment.
Eventually, the guys joined us. And just like old times, we sat on the curb in a row. I was hooked under Theo’s arm, and I was sure Shiloh was with Ryder.
Some of us may have been in other parts of the country, or around the world, but we always came home. We were the family we needed.
EPILOGUE
THE RIVAL
I followedthe group of men out of the bar. It was clear the party was coming to an end and I had nothing more to gain from being there. As I made my way to my car, I watched as they sat on the curb like a bunch of common thugs, blocking the way.
I suppose since that bitch owned the bar, she thought she could do as she pleased. The whole lot of them looked like an ensemble cast of a badly written long-running TV show. The happy couple. Actually, there was that cop and pop star as well. Then all their supportive friends. Like the world revolved around them. And Theo Snow looked happier than I had ever seen him. Weak ass man. He couldn’t hack being in the business world.
He sold his father’s company. Chose love and happiness over the money and power he could’ve gained from me. But he was never interested in that so I had never made any attempts to negotiate with him. I had silently watched him. And he was never going to be the man his father was. And when I discovered he was actually a confidential informant for Salinger Security, I knew one day I would need to get rid of him.
That was a fluke discovery years ago. The wrong document in the wrong place at the wrong time. Law enforcement really werecareless. Still, he hadn’t caused a problem. Even getting rid of the Rippers had been to my advantage. It left the field open for my men to take over. Especially after the older Ripper was killed.
Of course, he owned the biggest weapons distribution company in the country. Our paths were bound to cross. That was when I knew I needed to get rid of him.
Ideally, I wanted Fred Ripper to kill him. But that asshole couldn’t find his ass with both hands. Still, Snow and his clean conscience were out of the picture. And even better. If needed, I could plant someone at Snow Enterprises.
A tickle started at the back of my throat. I swallowed it down. The last thing I needed was to attract the attention of those brats. It clawed its way back up, turning into a wet rattling cough that seized my chest. I slumped into the back rest of my car seat, my body racking with spasms until the fire in my lungs subsided to a dull throbbing burn.
Time. It was the one asset I couldn’t steal, or even buy or manipulate. I had less than a year left, and I still had so much I needed to accomplish.
I looked back at the group one last time. They thought they had won. They thought because Fred Ripper was in a bodybag, the threat was over. They didn’t understand the bigger picture. That Fred was a pawn. An easy sacrifice for the ultimate goal.
