“Rachel is just as guilty as him,” Bones states. “Doesn’t matter what the motives were, she still acted.”
I can’t disagree with that. She is the only one who could have gotten into my safe at Tit for Tat and grabbed the stencils. I had them in a case. One was found outside of Lucky’s in the parking lot during Jeffrey’s inspection. I know it wasn’t Alexa. So, Rachel is the only option.
“But the fire was started with accelerant inside of the bar. Wouldn’t they have known she wasn’t there?” Titan adds.
“I don’t know.” I rub my temples, feeling that headache coming on again.
“Maybe once they got there, they realized there was no turning back. They burn down her bar. It gets blamed on Cross, and then she never speaks to him. Actually, that works out better for him because she’s still alive, and he can slide in.” Bones guesses.
“It doesn’t matter,” I mutter, lifting my head. “The why, the how. All that matters is they did it.”
“What do you want to do?” Titan asks me.
I glance over at Derek who sits there silently next to Grave. He looks as pissed as I feel but hasn’t said one word. I told him to be here this morning to witness our meeting with Jeffrey. He’s going to see how we handle shit and get a chance to redeem himself with the Kings. He will be my brother-in-law one day, and I’d hate to have to kill him. “What we always do,” I answer.
_______________
“DID YOU SENDthe text?” I ask Derek while standing at the bar inside of the Airport. I’ve been here way too much in the past couple of months.
“Yeah.” He nods, double-checking his phone. “Should be soon.”
For someone who once hated us, he’s more than willing to help us out now. Derek is the only connection we have to Mitch that Mitch won’t see coming. And since he saw the report and understands what Mitch and Rachel tried to do—and the fact that Alexa’s life is still in danger—he’s out for blood. We’ll make a King of him yet.
I tip back my rum and Coke, looking over at Titan. He stands at the other end of the bar and nods, acknowledging me. I can’t see Grave or Bones right now, but I know they’re here. We split up to cover more ground. This place is too big for one person, and we don’t want to miss anything.
“They’re here!” Derek shouts, holding his phone up to me. “In the basement playing blackjack.”
“Let’s go,” I order before throwing what’s left of my drink back and signaling to Titan. He steps away from the bar. “Respond,” I tell Derek, but he’s already typing away.
We push away from the bar and make our way through the crowd to the elevator. The basement spans the entire airport underneath. The west wing is where their jail is; the east wing is their casino. It’s nothing like Kingdom—it’s illegal and off the books. They don’t even check IDs. Anyone of any age can come down here and try their hand.
We exit the elevator, and I fall back, allowing Derek to get ahead of me. I watch him make his way through the crowd and over to a table. He slaps Mitch on the back and starts up a conversation with him. Sitting beside him is Rachel, sipping on a margarita. They have no idea what is about to hit them.
Derek leans down, whispering something in his ear. Mitch nods a few times, then turns to say something to Rachel before he gets up and walks away with Derek.
They start to walk past me, and I turn my back to them, ducking my head. Once they are out of sight, I turn and make my way over to the table. Rachel sits there playing blackjack. Removing my wallet from my back pocket, I pull out a hundred-dollar bill and toss it down while taking the seat beside her—the one Mitch was just sitting at.
“That was fast …” She trails off, looking over at me. “Cross?” She swallows nervously.
“Rachel.”
Her breathing picks up, and she looks at the dealer wide-eyed, expecting him to help her out. He won’t. They don’t get paid for this kind of shit. That’s what makes this place so dangerous for women like her and Alexa. They will turn a blind eye and walk away.
I reach out and pick up her drink. She has over half left. “Here.” I hold it out to her.
She takes it with a shaky hand. “I don’t know …”
“Shh,” I tell her, pushing her hair behind her ear, and a shiver runs through her. Leaning in, I whisper in her ear, “Drink up. You’re going to need the liquid courage.”
The ice rattles in her cup from her shaking hand holding it, but she does as I say and brings it to her lips. She takes a sip and goes to pull it away, but I put my hand under it, keeping it tilted to her lips. She can’t swallow fast enough, and it drips onto her exposed chest and shirt. “Good girl,” I praise her, and she chokes on it as I pull it away. “Let’s go for a walk.” I grab her arm and yank her from the table.
“Cross … please,” she begs, her heels trying to keep up with me. “I didn’t start that fight. Alexa attacked me.”
I laugh at her. She really has no idea what this is about. Good for her sticking to being innocent. She stays silent as I pull her down the tunnels and to the other wing of the basement. We come to the cells, and Turner stands there.
“What is this?” she asks nervously when she spots him.
“Rachel.” He nods at her. “Cross, the Kings are waiting for you.” Then he opens the door.
