Gray doesn’t even look as if he cares, flipping the coin casually over his fingers as if they’re splitting chips at a casino.
“You haven’t changed a bit,” he says to Monroe, his tone almost friendly. “But if I’m going to put half a million dollars down for this family, I do want to know that they’re all still alive. Would you bring the other brothers out? I don’t want to discover there are pieces missing.”
Monroe snickers and waves vaguely, while two men at the back of the room disappear. We stand in awkward silence together, the sound of Flynn’s labored breathing cutting through the air. I wish the ground would open up beneath me, that the abyss would swallow me whole.
A few minutes later, there are scuffling footsteps, and I let out an involuntary cry of delight as Seb, Ben, and Scott are pulled from a side door and into the room. They’re battered and bruised but alive.
“All present and accounted for,” Monroe says. “Now, shall we get back to the business of the day?”
Seb, Ben, and Scott all stare at me in confusion as Gray nods. He pushes the coin over his palm with his thumb toward the ends of his fingers, and I wait for him to look at me, to have the balls to face his coldhearted choices head-on. But he doesn’t, keeping his eyes on the coin.
My heart is in my mouth as it flies upward, and everyone in the room watches it spin.
For a long time, it’s as if it’s suspended in midair above us like a shining star, shimmering in the light, and at the last second, Gray’s eyes find mine. Cold, calculating, and laser-focused on me.
The coin drops like a stone, hitting the floor and flipping, once, twice, three times.
Then it lands on its end, spinning in a semi-circle across the floor, and hits my shoe before finally falling flat.
“Heads.”
The whispered word falls from my mouth as my shoulders relax. Monroe’s mouth thins into a hard line as he puts his hands into his pockets and turns to Gray.
“Win some, lose some,” he mutters as if he’s just been given the most mundane news imaginable. “I was looking forward to our time together, Jacqueline.” Then he turns to Gray. “Where’s the rest of my money?”
“In the trunk of my car,” Gray says, and there’s something in his voice now, a thickness that wasn’t there before.
Then the guards on either side of Flynn release him, and before I can process what’s happening, he’s on his feet, lurchingtoward me, gripping my arm and pulling me from the room before another word is spoken.
I don’t have time to even glance at Gray before Flynn is dragging me towards Ben, Seb, and Scott.
Flynn marches me toward the exit, the darkness of the hallway merging into the cold darkness of the lot outside the warehouse. I have no idea which part of the city we are in, and I don’t care; I just want to get out of it and never come back.
“Are you okay?” Flynn asks urgently. “Did they hurt you?”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re sure?”
“Let’s just get out of here. Where’s your car?”
“Jones brought his,” Flynn says, his arm going around my shoulders as we walk out into the darkness.
I turn to see Gray striding out after us. Two guards flank him as he walks toward his car. Flynn stops beside it, Seb, Ben, and Scott next to him as Gray opens the trunk, pulls out another smaller duffel, and throws it at the feet of the guards.
They pick it up and go back inside without a word.
“Is that it?” Scott asks, his voice cracked and hoarse. “Who the fuck is this guy?” he asks, staring at Gray.
“Get in the motherfucking car,” Flynn growls, and Scott immediately complies, piling in after Ben and Seb, moving gingerly as they bend to climb into the car.
I move to follow them, when a hand lands on my arm, pulling me back. Without a word, Gray drags me around to the passenger side, forcing Flynn to climb in the back with my brothers.
There’s barely enough room in the back seat for three people, let alone four grown-ass men.
I slide into the seat, watching Gray walk around to the driver’s side, looking around him constantly as if Monroe might change his mind.
He opens the door and lowers into his seat, his gaze straight ahead, not even acknowledging I’m beside him.
