“She’s not wrong, though,” Mav said, pushing away from the kitchen countertop. “If they’ve got police searching for her, it’s only a matter of time before they come knocking on our door. You know we’re always one of their first pit stops.”
It was enough of an argument for me, so I slid my hand into my pocket. I pulled out my cell phone, unlocking it with one swift motion before I pulled up the phone dialer. And the entire time, I felt Axe’s death stare on the top of my head.
“Dee,” he said curtly.
I rolled my eyes as I held my phone in my hand. “Just let her call off the dogs, then we can go from there.”
“I’m the President of this palace, not you.”
I slowly stood to my feet and took a long pull from my Coke, draining the rest of the can. His head arched back, taking in the last four inches I had on him as I crumbled the can in my hand. I tossed the damned thing over his shoulder, sinking it into the trash can right by the entryway that always sat with its lid open because Mav never fucking closed the damn thing.
Then, I approached Axe and cloaked him in my shadow.
“You’re our President, yes. But I’m our Enforcer, which means part of my job is making sure we’ve got the manpower to defend what comes our way. We don’t right now. You and I both know that. So, we call off the dogs.”
Mav jutted his head in between us. “It’s the only option we’ve got, and you know it, Axe. Just one phone call. Less than thirty seconds so it can’t be traced, like always.”
“Like always?” the woman asked. “What are you guys? Some sort of super-secret spy group?”
Axe yanked the phone out of my hand and turned to face the woman.
“Your name,” he said.
She snickered. “What?”
He handed her the phone. “You get a phone call; we get your name.”
“That’s not how this works,” she said as she reached for the phone.
He pulled it away from her, holding it over his head. “Your name for the phone call. Otherwise, you can take your chances out in the desert while we pack our things.”
“Making a run for it? That’s your plan if this doesn’t go down well?”
Mav grinned. “We’re thirty minutes away from the Mexico border for a reason. We’ll get there before you get back to the nearest city.”
“And before you ask, no,” I said as the woman whipped her head toward me. “The closest city isn’t yours.”
She swallowed hard before she snatched the phone out of Axton’s hand. “Brielle.”
“Brielle… what?” I asked.
Her face fell flat. “Lancaster. Now, shut up so I can make this phone call.”
Brielle Lancaster.
A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.
“Remember, no longer than thirty seconds,” Axe said as he took a few steps back from her. “But if you feel it’s going to exceed that time—”
She held up her hand before holding the dialed phone to her ear. “I’ve watched enough police procedurals to know why.”
Mav’s smile was nothing short of evil. “She’s really spunky.”
She was in for a ride with him if she kept that shit up.
“Shut up, all of you,” Axe commanded.
And as Brielle turned her back to us with my phone stuck to her ear, I stared the back of her head down. Ready to lunge the second her thirty seconds were up. Because I didn’t care who she was, what she had gotten herself into, or who she resembled. We had a family to protect. Brothers to keep safe. Money to secure.
