And to exact revenge on his brother, to find me and grab me, he’ll have no other option than driving all the way to Pittsburgh.
We’ve checked every possible flight connection, and not one lands in time for Anton to make the auction.
“It’s a fifteen-hour drive,” Koby says.
Which is why I’ll call him around eight in the morning. Octavius should be in the air by then, and the heads-up will give Anton fourteen hours before the auction starts. Sixteen before it ends.
Koby slips his hand beneath the hem of my shirt, his palm full of my hip, fingers sinking into my flesh. He’s been holding on to me for dear life since Dante’s men took Hailey, Bianca, and Violet to the safe house.
“You know the rest,” I whisper.
“Don’t stop now. Keep going.”
I close my eyes and curl into him, inhaling the soap and leather clinging to his skin. “We’re expecting Anton to arrive sometime mid-auction.”
His grip hardens again, and I know he’s picturing Anton barging in, gun raised, fury overtaking the room.
At first, Carter wanted to do it differently. He wanted the confrontation on Friday at Noretto’s mansion, but without witnesses, the heat for Octavius’s death would fall on Noretto and maybe Carter, and a war would break out.
Witnesses are key, so that plan was scrapped and the auction became our focus. It sounded cleaner in Dante’s office while we picked it apart piece by piece. In reality, it’s a lot messier.
“There are still too many question marks,” Koby says, flipping onto his back, one arm draped over his eyes, frustration evident in every line of his handsome face. “What happens when Anton arrives? Octavius’s allies might shoot him on the spot. Anton might bring his own men. What happens after he kills Octavius? Bullets could fly everywhere. It was a blood bath the last time we were there, finding Violet for Broadway. Someone might even try taking down Noretto while he’s exposed.”
Risks upon risks. We spent hours chewing them down until nothing else could be said, but we can’t control everything, only prepare for the eventualities we can identify.
“That’s why Noretto’s hand-picking the guest list,” I remind him, pressing my lips to his shoulder.
The auction guest list will mainly consist of Octavius’s allies and a few neutrals, surrounded by loyal men who’ll shoot if the neutrals as much as finger their holsters.
Koby exhales a long, exasperated breath, then flips onto his side, his face hanging over mine. “There’s still time, hellcat. We can come up with a new plan. We can—”
“Enough.” I press my finger to his lips. “I can walk you through the plan ten times a day, but you don’t get to talk me out of this.”
The pained expression marring his face morphs into determination as he dips to kiss my forehead. “I’ll keep you safe. I promise. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
“I know.”
He settles beside me but doesn’t relax. His fingers wander, twitching against my hip, then slipping under my shorts. That’s been the rhythm of these last days: his worry translating into hunger. A constant need to ensure I’m here, real, his.
My legs part a little, giving him better access. I’d much rather have his hard body pinning me to the mattress than his restless mind dissecting the plan for the tenth time today.
But instead of checking if I’m wet and ready, he cups my pussy and continues the interrogation.
“What’s next, Leilani?”
I shift to face him, throwing my leg over his hip. “Seriously? Just fuck me already.”
He chuckles. “You’re the only thing that shuts my brain up. I can’t sleep without running through fifty different ways this could go wrong unless I feel you falling apart beneath me first, but not until you walk me through the whole thing, so...positions.”
I slap his chest and elbow his ribs for good measure. “Fine. You and Ryder will be on the auction floor.”
That one took a while to nail down. Koby shot down any plan that didn’t put him with me. He fought Carter and Noretto until they relented, his voice raw from yelling. I think Carter only gave in because he imagined himself in Koby’s place.
We settled on a simple, believable solution; Koby and Ryder will arrive late, and if Octavius asks, Noretto will say they’re there to speak with him on Carter’s behalf. No details, because those shouldn’t matter. We’re counting on Octavius being dead before the last gavel falls.
Koby’s hand slides higher, cupping my breast now, thumb grazing over the thin fabric.
“You’re driving me crazy,” I whisper, arching into his touch.
