We follow him to his office, and he walks to the far corner. He carefully moves the table that sits over his floor safe and taps in the code that I already know is Casey’s birthday.
I’m shocked the guy hasn’t had his identity and everything else stolen, since that’s his code for everything.
He opens it and removes several stacks of bills. “Graham…” I stop myself because can I really refuse what he is about to do?
The answer is as simple as breathing.
No, I can’t.
It will take me time to get my hands on that much cash. Time I don’t have.
“Don’t worry, Jagger. I’ll transfer it from your portfolio.” Of course, he will. He manages them after all.
I swipe my hand over my mouth. All these emotions racing through me are more than I can handle. More than I can force away. The only thing I can do is embrace them. Like I do when I fight or play music.
A thump on the door grabs all of our attention. We turn and find Henry’s wide frame standing there, dressed head to toe in black. The former Marine and security company owner looks ready for combat as he tosses a black duffle bag toward Graham, that he starts stuffing with money. “I got what you asked for. I’m parked in the garage.”
The bag’s zipper closing rips through the air. Graham tosses the bag to me, and we follow Henry to the garage.
Standing beside the dark SUV is a guy I’ve only seen once, with Maddox’s mafioso brother. He opens the back of the SUV as we approach. “Aren’t you supposed to be watching my sister?” Will practically growls the words.
“I do what my boss tells me. Not you or Dom. And I needed a fucking break from babysitting.”
“Then who’s watching her?” Will demands with narrowed eyes, his fists clenched at his side.
“Don’t worry about your little princess. She’s handled for the night.” He turns to me, gesturing at the bag. “You won’t need that.”
“I’d rather have it just in case,” I say, still waiting on introductions.
He shrugs, tossing it in the back, and I notice the full arsenal in the back, complete with a fucking AT4. He looks at Henry when he steps back, then turns his attention to me. “I’m guessing Henry called Maddox, who called his big brother. Aka, my boss, or he just dialed Bastian directly because I was told to help however I can and to make sure the money isn’t needed.” I lift a brow, hearing a lot of subtexts, but no context. “I’m Christian, by the way.” He extends his hand. I take it, but I look at Henry.
“You called Maddox?”
“Maddox’s brother. Always his brother. You can’t tell Maddox anything. If I had, he’d be here too. His savior complex is a damn pain in the ass,” Henry shrugs, and I realize Christian must be mafia as well. “I was trying to get Christian’s number. I knew he’s been here working for a while, and we need the backup. This isn’t exactly something I can ask my guys to do.” He looks at Will. “No offense, but your brother is as willing to help as a politician.” Will grunts but doesn’t disagree.
“Let’s head out,” Christian orders.
When Graham moves forward, I slap my hand onto his chest. “Not you.”
“Excuse me?” he chuckles, looking at my hand and back at me. “You think I’m letting you go without me? You’re my little brother, Jagger. There’s no damn way I’m letting you do this alone.”
“I won’t be alone, but even if I were, you need to stay here.” I grip his shoulder tight, hoping the gesture relays how important this is to me. “If something happens to me, you have to take care of Noah. If something happened to both of us, that would leave him wide open for Dad again. He would bulldoze the shit out of Casey, and you know it.”
A storm swirls in his dark depths. He doesn’t like it. Not my reasoning. Not that I’m right. But he can’t deny it either. “Fine. But you better fucking come back.”
Henry’s heavy hand slaps the roof of the vehicle, and he jerks his head. “Will, you’re coming with us since Graham is staying here,” he orders, since Will is technically his employee. My brother’s mafia best friend and bodyguard will always be an anomaly to me.
Will clamps Graham’s other shoulder as he approaches the truck. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he comes back mostly unscathed.”
We all climb in, two Mafia men, one retired tactical specialist, and me—a wannabe musician and sometime cage fighter—silence descending as we exit the garage and head toward the coordinates.
Thanks to the traffic, we don’t reach our destination for over an hour. Throughout the entire ride, Christian feeds us information aboutBrett.Thanks to Phoebe knowing his last name and giving a near-perfect description, it didn’t take him very long.
It turns out Brett works for a New Jersey Mafia family. The same people who were partially responsible for Casey’s abduction a few months ago, and a rival of the Lucchese family.
The neighborhood is sketchy at best, with almost no working streetlights, windows boarded up, and dealers and hookers standing on every corner. Across the street, a dim, flickering streetlight illuminates a few junk cars and an old metal building being used as an auto repair shop. It’s surrounded by a tall chain-link fence that has razor wire at the top.
Fun times.
