He shouldn’t be drinking before a fight, either, but I’m not about to point that out.
I dart a glance his way as Raf heaves a disgruntled sigh, staring out the window into the inky darkness. He hasn’t looked me in the eye once since he got that call from Gideon. None of us were aware that he’d turned to my father for help with his accounts, but for some reason I’m still feeling guilty by association. It’s obvious Raf blames me on some level, too, whether consciously or not.
Daniel wasn’t able to move anything from the accounts that Ford put on ice, but he did open a new one for Gideon. It just received a massive influx of cash; enough to cover the missing shipment and then some. Enough to undermine our flawlessly executed plan.
“Where the fuck did he get the money?” I wonder aloud, chewing on the inside of my cheek.
“The source wasn’t traceable,” Ford mutters agitatedly. “And he added more protections on the new account so I can’t access it the same way I did the others.”
“So now we’re just fucked,” Raf growls.
“Not necessarily,” I say, hazarding another glance in his direction. “This is just a setback. He’ll never be able to connectthe missing shipment to us, so there’s no threat of repercussions. We’ll just have to find some other way to take the asshole down.”
“But now he knows someone’s gunning for him,” Ford unhelpfully points out. “We won’t get another chance like that one, we’ve lost the element of surprise.”
“Nothing we can do about that now,” I sigh, flipping on the blinker as I roll to a stop at an intersection, the hazy lights of Dyersville glowing in the distance. “We just need to wait it out. And in the meantime, we should probably discuss how we’re gonna manage this Ava situation.”
Raf growls at the mention of her name, hands curling into fists in his lap.
As if it wasn’t bad enough that Gideon always prioritized his mistress over his wife, he’s now seemingly prioritizing her daughter over his own son. The fact that he’s taken such a vested interest in Ava is a slap in the face to Raf, made worse by the ‘incentive’ he cooked up to ensure her safety. When he said he had my dadmove some things around, that wasn’t entirely accurate. He couldn’t move the frozen assets, but hecouldchange the name of the beneficiary on all his accounts. Ava just became the Romero family’s most valuable commodity.
To say Raf is pissed would be an understatement. His family fortune is now tied to his stepsister, which means it’s more important than ever to get her firmly under our control. It was all just a game before, but now, it’s a necessity.
“We already know what we have to do,” Ford remarks as he takes another pull from the whiskey bottle.
Raf glares out the windshield, jaw set tight. “Not happening.”
Ford heaves a sigh, rolling his eyes. “It’s the only way to make her truly untouchable, and didn’t Gideon say to keep her close?”
“That’s too fuckin’ close,” Raf snarls, looking to me for backup.
I wish I could give it, but Ford’s insinuation makes a whole lot of sense. “Well, it would’ve been helpful if Gideon mentioned that before we turned the entire student body against her,” I grumble, hitting the brakes to slow down as the warehouse comes into view. “We’ll look like hypocrites if we change course now without good reason, and we all know what’ll happen if there’s any perception of instability in our triad. But if we make her our Doll…”
“No,” Raf snaps.
“We can control her,” I finish as I swing the Escalade off the road and into the poorly-lit parking lot.
“No,” he repeats, banging a fist against the passenger window.
I lift my gaze to the rearview mirror and make eye contact with Ford, hoping he’ll jump in and help me out. He just shrugs and takes another swig of whiskey, eyes twinkling with amusement.
I swear the fucker gets off on conflict.
“Think about it, Raf,” I urge, pulling into a spot and shifting the gear into park. I need him to calm the fuck down; for him to see the same value in Ava that his old man does. Hell, asIdo, because I’m sure as shit not ready to let her go yet. The game has barely begun.
I stab my fingers through my hair as I twist to face him, keeping my voice at a low, even decibel. “It’s the only way to keep her exactly where we need her.”
“We don’t even have to make it official,” Ford chimes in, finally rejoining the conversation. Becausehewants this, too. Maybe even more than I do. “Just slip on the collar and everyone on campus will think it’s real.”
I glance back at him, brow furrowing. “Even if she’s not living with us?”
“Oh no, she’ll have to live with us,” he grins.
“Out of the fucking question,” Raf barks.
I heave a sigh, turning off the engine and pocketing the keys. “It’s the simplest solution,” I say, holding Raf’s gaze. “And you know that collar would look good around her neck.”
His eyes darken as he stares back at me, the muscle in his jaw ticking. “Keep talking like that and I’ll skip the fight with Ramsey and beat your face in instead,” he replies coldly.
