I eyed him carefully. “You think Rachel’s behind this?”
He shrugged. “I think we’d be stupid to think about anything else right now.”
He was right, though. It was a hell of a coincidence.
“You’ve got a plan rolling around in your head,” I said as I stared at the furrow taking over Axe’s eyes. “Spit it out.”
He heaved a heavy sigh. “Maybe it’s nothing, but maybe it isn’t. Maybe this is just a way for us to make some money to appease the guys for now, but maybe this is something more. And if it’s something more, we should be prepared, right?”
I nodded. “Right.”
He turned to face me. “You think Brielle would want to accompany you to the charity ball?”
I blinked. “You’re not serious.”
“Think about it,” he said, closing the distance between us. I’d never seen him so locked into an idea in all the years I’d known him. “If this is nothing, then she gets a nice night out and we don’t look like the shitheads we currently look like. But, if Rachel is there? She’d never suspect that we’d take Brielle to that event. What if we throw her off with her own fucking twin?”
“You act like she wouldn’t know she’s got a twin.”
“Even if she does know, would she expect that twin to show up on your arm to an event like that?”
I cleared my throat. “I see your point, but there’s one small hiccup.”
“What?”
I pointed to the ceiling. “Who’s convincing her to do it?”
And when Axe smiled, I rolled my eyes as I backtracked down the hallway.
“Fine, fine. I’ll go talk with her.”
“Good man,” he said.
I shook my head as I made my way up the stairs. We didn’t have much time to prepare our services for the coming ball, which meant I certainly didn’t have the time to coach her through every single little thing she was going to need to know. I stood in front of her bedroom door, wondering if it was smart. I mean, I knew Axton wanted that woman in our clutches, but dangling Brielle in front of her?
Hadn’t Brielle already suffered enough?
“Brielle?” I asked as I eased her bedroom door open. “Can we ta—?”
Her soft snores hit my ears and it gave me pause. The door eased open, showcasing her shoulders as they moved slowly up and down. A soft smile graced my face as I strolled into the room. The comforter molded to her curves, showcasing the slope of her waist as I perched on the edge of the bed. I reached out and placed my hand on her arm, smoothing it softly up and down.
Fuck, her skin was so soft.
“Mmmm, mm,” Brielle groaned as she shifted in bed.
I yanked my hand back, figuring my stroking had disturbed her. But instead of waking up, she simply rolled over. She swiped her hand out and I watched it knock against my knee before she shuffled. Moved. Her legs kicked and she wiggled like a glorious little worm toward my body, her hand outstretched for something. So without thinking, I placed my palm on hers. And as she curled her fingers around my skin, her body stopped moving.
She stopped once she had me in her grasp.
“You could be the death of us, you know,” I muttered.
I couldn’t bring myself to wake her up. I knew that I needed to ask her, but not while she was getting some much-needed rest. The gauze on her wrists were twinged with a yellow sort of fluid that made me sick to my stomach. Her eyes, blackened and still swollen from the swings Axe took at her.
Jesus Christ, what had we done to her?
“Dante?” she asked groggily.
I drew in a curt breath through my nose. “I don’t mean to wake you, but your gauze needs changing.”
