“Flo’s funeral.” He grimaced, and guilt flooded through me all over again about her death. What was being said about how she’d died? “It’ll be the first time we’re all together again in the public eye and the perfect opportunity for someone to take another shot at us. Only this time, Angelo is going to have his people surrounding the area.”
Angelo.It wasn’t that I’d forgotten about my fake baby daddy, it was just that there were other pressing things on my mind. But with Grayson’s reminder, I was also reminded of one additional thing…
I was no longer fake pregnant. Shit, did the Ricci family know?
And if so, what was the fallout?
Whoever set up the hit at the farmhouse, if I’d been one of their intended targets, might have some competition soon. Giovanni would not take kindly to the subterfuge, and the moment he found out, my life would be forfeit.
Fucking great. Just what I needed.
thirty-five
GRAYSON
Flo’s body had been discovered at her apartment, just as Angelo had arranged. He’d greased the right hands to ensure it wasn’t investigatedtoothoroughly, because it was impossible to stage a scene without any flaws on such short notice. For now, she was in the city morgue, but we had assurances that the case would be closed within the week.
Our task, assigned by Brenda and the Big Noise legal team, was to stay out of the public eye and write our speeches for her funeral. The actual ceremony planning was being handled by Brenda, for which we were all thankful.
Technically, yes, it would have been fine for Billie, Jace, and Rhett to stay in hiding up in the forest for a few more days. But a gut feeling had told me I needed to rescue them from each other, and it seemed like I’d arrived right in the nick of time.
“Big Noise called a press conference last night,” I informed my bandmates as we drove away from their hiding spot. “Big Dick ran most of it, telling the press that Flo was the victim of a home invasion. Did you guys know she had a mountain of debt?”
Big Dick was the label CEO—who was now so far under Giovanni Ricci’s thumb he’d never escape—and a real arrogant bastard. He’d been beyond pissed when I was the only member of Bellerose to show up for the press conference but couldn’t say anything about it publicly.
“No, what from?” Rhett asked, his worried gaze meeting my eyes in the mirror. Jace was sulking, his jaw set as he stared out the window and seemed to pretend he was anywhere but here.
I shrugged. “No clue. But according to Big Dick, she’d taken out some loans from the Vegas crew, and they’d come to collect.” That wasn’t the truth… loan sharks didn’t expend that many men just to claim a bad debt. But maybe there was something else there that needed investigating.
“Bullshit,” Rhett grunted. “Flo didn’t have a drug problem like me or a pussy problem like Jace. Her only lapse of judgment was Tom, and he…” He trailed off with a groan. “He must have made her borrow on his behalf. She said he’d taken everything; I assumed he’d just drained her bank account before she cut him off.”
Billie had been silent the whole time, but now she turned to look at me with a worried frown. “Has anyone spoken to Tom?”
I shook my head. “Much to my frustration, we haven’t been able to find him. Slippery shit is in the wind, which is suspicious all on its own.”
Rhett snorted a short laugh. “Slippery shit. Apt. He doesn’t have the balls to plan an attack like that.”
“Agreed,” I muttered, my hands tightening on the steering wheel like I’d like to tighten them around Tom Tucker’s throat. “Angelo thinks this was an attack on Billie and… the baby.”
“You don’t sound convinced,” she said softly, her face still blotchy from the tears I’d found her crying. My little hedgehog was fragile right now; I needed to tone down the discussion about hit men and mafia wars.
I just opted for a shrug. “We’ll see. For now, I’m taking you back to my place. I have security.”
“Drop me home,” Jace snapped, his voice cold.
I wanted to argue that we shouldn’t separate, but of all of us at the farmhouse that night, Jace was theleastlikely target. If he wanted to be a little bitch, then it was better he stay at his own apartment and give Billie some breathing room.
“Fine,” I agreed. “But don’t leave. Brenda gave usstrictinstructions not to be snapped by press before the funeral. Laylow. Got it?”
He met my eyes in the mirror, his lip curled in a sneer. “I’m not an idiot, Gray; I can handle myself.”
Well… that was debatable. But I kept my mouth shut and jerked a nod.
Everyone lapsed back into silence, and Billie tucked her knees up to her chest a few minutes later. Her arms wrapped around them, and her head rested against the window as her eyes fluttered closed. Poor thing. Strong emotions like she must have just gone through with Jace were exhausting.
She fell asleep quickly as the car rocked her gently, and a glance in the mirror told me Jace was also asleep with his arms folded defensively over his chest.
“Anything I need to know?” I asked Rhett quietly when I was confident they were both deep enough asleep not to be woken easily.
