“It’s not much different than what I’m already doing. It’s good to have a clear hierarchy, and I work well with Jude.”
Snorting, I side eye my love. “Yes, two Doms…I wonder why. And you all think us brats can get in trouble, you Doms are way worse. Granted, I’m not nearly as much of a brat as others… Seeing you both work as Voices together will be interesting.”
Keegan laughs, shaking his head. “Tease, I love you, but if you think you don’t brat, I have a flogger with your name on it that argues otherwise.”
Refusing to rise to the bait, I redirect with a question that's on my mind. “Were you surprised Benjamin wasn’t chosen to also represent the Council?”
“Hmm… No. Not really. There’s been tension between him and Lio for quite a while now. Not to mention, he was never truly comfortable with the role of Second. I also think it was smarter to go with two instead of three, because it shows they’re not trying to blend three Families, they're starting a new Organization.”
Breathing out, I roll my shoulders, trying to release the tension. “Yeah… Fuck, I’m so glad they didn’t try to throw us under the Amato name. Or do something like Amato-O’Connel. Calling us the Council is…unimaginative, but still. Better than other options.”
Keegan cuts his eyes toward me, before resuming paying attention to the road. “Is that what Lio asked to talk to you and the other Boys about before the meeting?”
“Yeah,” I grunt out, my fingers flexing into fists before I relax them. “It had been a thought to do Amato-O’Connel. But he didn’t want to make us give up our identities as Martellis, and thank fuck for that. Not only because I can’t imagine the pain it would have caused Allesandro—even though he’s made it clear he doesn’t want an active role in the Organization—but hell,most of us didn’t have a home until he gave us one. I…I can’t just give up the name.”
Keegan nods absently, but doesn’t say anything. He wouldn’t though. I know he has complex feelings regarding Allesandro, but he understands my loyalty and love, and has never asked me to change. Thank fuck for that. He truly is the other part of my soul, and now we get to add Carter, making us even stronger. Maybe that’s why I didn’t feel like getting married was a necessity, because we were always waiting for the rest of our heart. For the man who would slot in and fill us both with joy.
“The weirdest part though was how uncomfortable things were with Leandro. I mean, I personally still want him put in his place, but I did not expect Lio and Roman to be so…curt? I’m not sure. I couldn’t put my finger on it. Although, really, Lio looked more hurt than anything. He didn’t say anything to us in our separate meeting. Did the Council say anything to you and Jude?”
“Hmm, not really. But we had a lot to go over and not much time.” Keegan sighs as he turns the Camaro off the busy highway. “The cops hitting this warehouse is distracting enough. Jenna will meet us there, since the Amato lawyer is busy. But I’m hoping we can get all of this resolved ASAP.”
“Me too,” I murmur before biting my lip. I tense, worried how he’ll react to my next statement. “I’m worried…about Cole. I think he should go back and check-in with the children’s psychologist we were using. But right now, that’s not a possibility.”
Keegan’s fingers tighten on the wheel before he forces them to relax. With a deep sigh, he nods. “Agreed. I worry about how quiet he’s getting. Although, he certainly is reacting well to Carter. Us leaving together probably wouldn’t have happened without Carter…I wouldn’t have felt comfortable. But damn, it does feel good to be out here with you.”
“Same. It’s been a while, and even though it’s for a stupid reason, I wouldn’t have anyone else guarding my back—or trust another person, other than Carter, with our son. Plus, I think they planned on making cookies while we were gone.”
Keegan laughs as he pulls into the parking lot of the warehouse. “Yeah, I’m sure Carter will keep some cookies just for you. Such a cookie monster.”
I blush, knowing he’s right. Finding out our Love happens to be an excellent baker? Well, I have no complaints. Although I groan when I see the four police cars and K9 unit in front of our warehouse. Fuck. I hate this bullshit.
At least, Jenna is already there. As soon as Keegan parks, she’s out the door of her fancy luxury car, her arms crossed as anger rolls off her. I really would not want to be any officer near her right now. Hell,Idon’t want to be near her. She makes Dr. Ranlen look like a damn puppy in comparison.
“Let’s get this over with,” she grumbles when we walk up to her, sliding off her sunglasses. Keegan and I trail behind as she marches up to the man who appears to be in charge. With a sneer, she looks him up and down while holding out her hand and demanding, “Warrant. Let me see it, now.”
“You know we didn’t have to wait on you,” the officer grumbles, but he passes it over to her.
“If you don’t want to get spanked in court again, you sure the hell did. I know for certain you’ve been told by your Chief to stop this ridiculousness. You have been harassing my clients. And it will stop.”
I cough into my hand, trying to cover a laugh unsuccessfully. From the officer’s red cheeks, it’s not helpful, and Keegan tosses a scowl in my direction, but I give him my most innocent look. Huh.He may have a point about me being a brat…
“Very well. Everything is in order,” Jenna states flatly as she waves Keegan and I forward.
Keegan unlocks the warehouse door. There’s nothing in there, we haven’t used this building in months, so I’m not even sure how it got on their list, but whatever. At least, it’s a nice day to be out. I do watch the dogs closely though. While I can’t remember killing anyone on the premises, that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. However, I know our cleaners are damn good at their job.
I raise my face to take in the sunshine as the officers spend pointless time examining an empty warehouse. Keegan moves back and forth, checking things out—as much as the officers will allow, which isn’t much—but soon joins me in soaking up the sun. Despite the scurrying of the cops, it’s a pretty silent day, broken only by their occasional whispered conversations, laced with frustrating tones, and Jenna occasionally taking calls.
From the sound of her heels striking the pavement, she’s coming closer, so I mentally brace myself for whatever other fuckery might be coming our way. Before I can open my eyes, sudden warm liquid hits my face and I recoil, wondering what the fuck happened. I have no time to process before Keegan is tossing me to the ground.
Wiping at my face, I open my eyes, glancing around. My stomach sinks when I notice Jenna laying flat on the ground, several bullet wounds to her face.Fuck. It wasn’t liquid…it was blood that hit me.
Shit. The first couple shots may have been muffled, but the rest can be heard over the pandemonium of cops diving every which way, yelling for back-up, and scurrying around like fucking rats.
Keegan shakes his head as he propels me forward on my belly until we’re behind the Camaro’s wheels. It’s not the best coverage, but at least it’s something. He slips his phone out of his pocket, sending off a quick message as we’re pinned down. Unfortunately, since there’s cops here, we can’t even try to shootback. We’re left with them defending us…which is not ideal. I'm pretty sure none of them would cry if we ended up with holes in us.
It doesn’t last long, though. A few more volleys and we hear two vehicles gunning it away. They must have been on the overpass, but fuck if we can do shit. Hopefully, Hollis can tap into the traffic cams and find who did this. When Allesandro finds out Jenna was killed…it is not going to be good. Heads will roll for that—even though he’s no longer involved in the Organizational, it won’t matter.
We stay down until we're given the “all clear” from the cops, as two more police cars come flying into the parking lot. The officer in charge stares down at Jenna’s dead body in disgust, before sneering at us. I try to have some pity as three of his officers are down—down, but not dead, I note. Still, my fury is ratcheting up the longer I’m here.
