I’m not getting into a fight with Ivy right now, not about this, not about anything. If he has beef with me, it’s one sided. I blame him for what happened to Cidney, I always will, but I’m not going to be a dick to him forever.
What I’m going to do is live the life I want. I’m going to marry Cidney. I’m going to claim her. She is mine, and there’s nothing he can do about that. Which I’m sure is going to stick in his craw, but again, don’t give a fuck. That’s his issue, not mine.
“What happens now?” I ask, changing the subject back to where it needs to be, which is on Goffredo and his suicide.
“Now you come with us and meet with Lorenzo. He’s not going to say shit to us. He doesn’t know we’re the ones who staged that. He’ll never know. He can’t even tie Piggy to that shit. His hate is going to be for the Raleigh PD, which is far enough away that it won’t even be a thought,” Bullet says.
“What about them hiring us?” I ask.
Ivy’s brow lifts as if he is just now hearing this for the first time. I fucking love it, because this is all a competition right now. Ivy will get over it, and so will I, in time, but right now, this is a fight for who has the most information.
“Hiring us?” Ivy asks.
“Goose and I went into the owner’s office after the bust and talked to him about hiring us as security for his club. It was a concept I was kicking around to add to our security gig, but something that was more stable than shit around town here.”
Ivy snorts. “Well, that’s fucking done now. No way Lorenzo won’t piece that shit together, and really fucking fast.”
“I agree,” Bullet and I say at the same time before Bullet continues. “We lie low, we do the runs that Lorenzo needs us to do, and we don’t say fuck about fuck. Then, when the contract with Robin is up on this whole Lorenzo transport thing, we bow the fuck out.”
“I like that,” I say.
“That leaves us eighteen months to come up with a plan. Our security stuff isn’t making enough yet to have it be our bread and butter, and the liability of running our own trucks and merch isn’t something I think we should tackle.
“I’d like to get somewhat legit, if that’s at all possible,” Bullet continues. “We gotta get our fucking heads together. Church tomorrow to discuss that and whatever the fuck we talk about with Lorenzo. Goose,” he calls out.
Jerking my chin in Bullet’s direction, I give him my full focus as I wait for him to continue. “Get Maverick to come with us on this. Four is better than three.”
Honest to fuck, right now, all I can think about is going to Cidney and stealing her, marrying her, and having a moment of complete fucking silenced bliss. Goffredo is dead. He won’t ever come after her or anyone else again.
He’s dead.
But I don’t do that. Instead, I get my brother so we can go and have a meet with Lorenzo.
CIDNEY
“What the hell?” Lainey hisses.
There is a loud pounding on the door. My heart begins to race. I’m frozen on the sofa, unable to move. Thankfully, Lainey isn’t frozen as well. Otherwise, I’m not sure how long the door beating would have continued.
I watch, stock-still as she moves toward the door, then leans forward and looks through the peephole.
“It’s Goose,” she says.
She sounds confused by the sight of him standing on the other side of her door. As her words sink in, I realize that I’m confused, too. What is he doing here? What could he possibly want this late that we can’t talk about tomorrow?
Glancing at my phone screen, I wrinkle my nose at the time. What’s he doing here at midnight? I don’t have to verbalize my question, because Lainey is thinking the same thing and asks him as she opens the door.
“I need Cidney,” he says, sounding winded.
I stand from the sofa, and my body moves without me even realizing that I’m heading toward him. Lainey steps out of the doorway as he closes the distance between us. He wraps his arms around me as soon as I’m within arm’s reach.
“What’s happened?” I ask.
Tipping my head back, I look up into his eyes. He watches me, his gaze shifting around a bit before his chin dips, and I feel his lips touch mine. The kiss is soft and sweet. My thighs tremble at the sensation. Then he lifts his head, his gaze flicking behind me, and he calls out for Lainey to stay.
Trent takes a step backward, and I sink my teeth into my lower lip, watching and waiting. He is so amped up I couldfeel his heart slamming against his chest when we were pressed together.
“Goffredo is dead.”
