“I don’t know, but my guess is she’s sickened and disgusted.”
“I’m guessing you used Emery to get to her father.” Kai drills me with a sharp look.
“I had no choice. I knew draining his bank accounts wouldn’t be enough to get him to hand that bitch over. I needed another angle. A more personal one.”
“Tell us how it went down,” Abby says.
I sit back down, knotting my hands on my knees as I explain it all. They listen intently without interruption.
“I want to punch you in the face.” Abby glowers at me. “And cut off your dick.”
“Have at it.” I straighten up. “I deserve it.”
“Don’t think she’s joking.” Kai levels me with a dark look. “My wife takes no prisoners.”
“You really are a chip off the old block,” Jackson says, smirking. “You know, I did something similar to Nessa too. Used her to get to her old man.” His grin fades. “I was an ass, and she got hurt because of me. I will never forgive myself for it.”
“Like I’ll never forgive myself for what I did to Emery.”
“But you want the opportunity to try,” Kai says.
I swallow my pride and let down the walls around my heart. “Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with her.”
“She’s a sweetheart,” Abby and Kai say in unison.
“She is. She’s beautiful inside and out and far too good for me. But I know she’s it for me, and I’m going to try everything to get her back.” I glance between Rick and Kai. “I know something has happened recently with her and Joaquin. It’s why we fought.”
“We guessed as much.”
“He can’t have her,” I growl. “She’smine.”
Abby rolls her eyes before shaking her head. “I’m gonna start calling you little caveman from now on.” Kai tweaks her nose, and she swats his hand away. “You can’t put dibs on her. She’s a grown woman with her own mind. The only one who will be making that call is Emery.”
“She’ll pick me,” I say with more confidence than I feel. “We have history.”
“Not all of it good,” Rick reminds me.
“Jackson got Nessa back, so it can be done.”
“Prepare to grovel and put your pride to one side. If you want her to know you’re genuine, you’ve got to make yourself vulnerable and bleed at her feet,” Jackson advises.
“I’ll do whatever it takes.” I cast a glance at Xavier and Hunt. “Which is why I can’t be in Boston. Emery is going to RU, so I can’t leave the area.”
“As long as your setup here is secure, I don’t see why you can’t work fully remotely for us. There will be the odd occasion where we’ll need you to come to the city, but if you’re okay with that, we can get a contract prepared for you this week,” Hunt says.
“Wow, okay, great.”
“So, you’ll join us?” Xavier is practically bouncing on the couch.
Getting to work on tech projects all day, while employed by the best brains in the business, is the stuff dreams are made of. I’d be an idiot to turn this opportunity down. “Sure. Let’s give it a go.”
Xavier hops up and tackle hugs me, pinning me to the couch. “Welcome to the team, little Anderson. I’m excited to work with you.”
Hunt rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling, and I am too. “Same. Thanks for the opportunity. I promise I won’t let you down.”
“Now that’s sorted, let’s get to the important stuff,” Kai says, glancing at his watch as Xavier climbs off me and returns to his seat. “Tell us everything about Mathers and Hamilton. Hold nothing back.”
I explain it all from the first interaction with Denton Mathers right up to the most recent interaction with Hamilton, which they already know.
