“Maybe he’s lying,” I say.
“Or maybe he’s keeping it on an external hard drive.”Hawke shrugs.“It’s what I would do.”
“Morgan’s not smart enough to hack our system,” Jagger points out.“He had to have snuck in a phone.”
“Maybe, but I wouldn’t write him off completely,” Roman interjects.“I asked Rafe about it,” he adds, mentioning his brother, who has as many connections in The Drift as we do in Harden Heights.“He says Morgan has been busy making friends since he came back.”
Fantastic.So now, not only do we have competition in the underground betting market, but our rival has evidence of us rigging a bet, and in turn, the power to upend our business entirely before swooping in and claiming every single penny for himself.
I need a drink.A stiff fucking drink.
“Well, speaking of shit hitting the fan, has anyone heard from Daddy Dearest?”I ask, mentioning our father, Titas Harden.
“Nothing,” Hawke returns.
Jagger shakes his head.“Me neither.”
“Do you think he knows?”Roman asks.
“If he does, I’m sure he’s celebrating,” Jagger mutters.
I believe it.Our father’s been trying to cut off our ties to Gus Toro for months.As soon as he found out we were dealing with Gus, he brought in our Uncle Judge to try to rein us in.Unfortunately for both of them, it didn’t work.
“If Tight Ass has a mole like we think he does, then he definitely knows,” Hawke points out.“But for now, I say we keep quiet and see if he reveals anything.”
“Good idea,” I agree.“I’ll keep brainstorming options for an event.”
“No sex,” Hawke mumbles.
I smirk back at him.“Not all of us believe in celibacy, but I’ll take your feelings into account.”
Hawke flinches toward me as if he’s about to hit me upside the head, but I stand my ground, showcasing my grin.
I guess that’s that.
3
JUNE
“Heyo,” Violet says as she closes the front door.The Bean Scene was slammed after my conversation with Bryan.So much so, I finally gave up on the possibility of Violet slipping in an extra break to help me with my homework, so I came home to study.Two hours later, my brain felt like mush.When I couldn’t make sense of another equation, I gave in to procrastination and texted Lexie, asking if she wanted to hang out.Because the girl’s a gem, she took a bus while I showered, then we spent the rest of Violet’s shift eating popcorn and watching reality TV.Normally, it’s not my cup of tea, but as long as it’s not math, I’m not complaining.
“Hey, you!”Lexie calls over the edge of the couch.“How was work?”
“Amazing, as always.”Violet shrugs off her coat, then smiles at me.“So, who was the cutie at the coffee shop this morning?”
I blanch.“Who?Ford?”It isn’t the first time Ford’s name has left me a nervous wreck.I doubt it’ll be the last, either.Still.I figured Violet understood not to bring the guy up unless she enjoys watching me squirm.Which I’m not.Because that would be weird.
Violet smirks.“I meant the other guy.”I’m grateful she has the decency to keep her amusement in check.Somewhat, at least.“The firefighter?”she prods.
“Oooo, June has a firefighter?”Lexie fans herself.“I love a man in uniform.”
“He’s only a friend,” I start when Violet’s pointed stare cuts me off.“Okay, he may or may not be a friend who asked me on a date.”
Violet’s jaw drops.She rounds the edge of the couch and plops down beside me.“Are you serious?I knew it!I seriously knew it.”She leans forward so she can address Lexie directly.“You should’ve seen the way he was looking at her at The Bean Scene.He was like an adorable puppy or something.And the way he approached her while she was sitting with Ford?—”
“You were sitting with Jeep?”Lexie interjects, calling Ford by the nickname she gave him after they first met.She reaches for the remote and pauses the show.Apparently, a retelling of this morning’s event is juicier thanLove Island.“Like, willingly?”
Lexie has a thing against the Harden Brothers, though I still can’t decide how much of it is a facade and how much is based on actual vehemence.Personally, I don’t think they’re too bad.Cocky, yes.A little entitled, sure.But who wouldn’t be when they were raised with a silver spoon for each of them?Even so, would I consider them evil or rotten or…intrinsicallybad?Not really, no.
