I smile and nod.
He points to the man sitting beside Allie. “That’s Pope, Bishop’s little brother.”
Pope smirks at the description and gives me a little half-wave.
Atlas inclines his head toward a dark-haired man across the room. “Cass is the one beside Kennedy near the fireplace. This is their house. We chose to meet here because it has the biggest living room to cram all of us into.”
I snort. “That’s probably a good thing.”
“Yeah. Well, you’re about to learn that family meetings can get a little heated. It’s why we keep the littles out of the room when we’re doing this. All the kids are upstairs with Cass and Kennedy’s daughter’s nanny.”
Atlas does another scan of the room and stops at the only two people he hasn’t introduced. One man sits casually in an armchair, offering a soft smile while the second lingers in a shadowy corner with a glass of amber liquid in his hand.
A shiver rolls down my spine instantly, but Atlas doesn’t seem to notice.
“That’s Byron and Luca. And that’s everyone…except Jude, but he rarely comes to these things.”
He was the one behind the counter at the book store the other day—Angelina’s boyfriend…
Scanning each face in the room, I get a returned mix of interest and suspicion, but I couldn’t have expected anything else.
The Hawkes are notorious for closing rank and keeping their business dealings and family affairs very private. To be let into the inner sanctum, especially on a day like today when they’ve just been confronted by a man who clearly screams danger to them is unusual and is bound to have people on edge.
All I can do is try to smooth out any feathers I may have ruffled by showing up here. “It’s nice to meet all of you. I’m sorry it isn’t under better circumstances, but I just want everyone to know that I’m here to help. Any way I can.”
Bishop continues to stare at me, her arms crossed over her chest in that defensive posture she loves to take up. Her eyes carry a mix of emotions so potent that diving into them would probably be toxic and deadly, but that doesn’t mean I won’t try to survive whatever she has worked up for me.
But we have to make it through this meeting first.
Savage clears his throat. “Since we’ve all had the introduction to Gage, I think it’s time we get started. We need to figure out what to do about Satriano…and fast.”
BISHOP
I can’t concentrate on coming up with any sort of intelligible plan with Gage standing so close to me. That leather and spice scent of his seems to shift through the air and dive right into my lungs, and right now I need to be able to think without remembering what he tasted like when he kissed me in the park.
A damn Ranger?
It explains so much about him—the way he handled himself at the club, the vague statements he made that night in the park, his insistence that he could help us with security—but it also leaves me with so many more questions.
Ones I know won’t get answered while we’re here meeting with the family.
Or maybe ever.
He had every opportunity to tell me that night, to explain further some of his personal experience when he was talking about the stress and weight of protecting other people. But he didn’t.
There has to be a reason…
I walk away from him, making my way over toward the fireplace where I can lean against the mantle near Cass and Kennedy, putting the entire room between us and allowing me to watch him as he takes in the conversation happening around the room.
Dad crosses his arms over his chest, bracing his legs apart and looking every bit as intimidating as I’ve ever seen him. The fact that Satriano got so close to all of us today rattled him. Badly. “Our security at all the properties is locked down tight, so we don’t need to worry about anything with that regard.”
I snort, shaking my head. “Yeah? Then how did he waltz right into The Grind the minute he got back into town?”
He glances over at me. “You were there. You would’ve protected the girls.”
“Of course, I would have. That isn’t the point, Dad. He just walked in. The men who brought the girls over weren’t even standing at the door, they were sitting in their cars until he was already inside.”
Angelina sighs. “I can’t have armed security standing at the door, Bishop. I wouldn’t have any customers. It’s bad enough the place has already been blown and shot up. No one’s going to come if they think they’re not safe.”
