He watched me, making sure I understood what he was saying. “Okay,” I said.
“Don’t text words though. It’s too risky. I know the number. I’ll know it’s you.”
I stared at him for a little while. He confused me so much. He seemed like such a good guy. I didn’t understand how he could’ve gotten himself mixed up in this mess. I wanted to ask him, but I knew it wasn’t my place to say anything, so I just nodded to show him I understood.
Gently, he reached out and tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear. We both knew something had changed between us now, but what was going to happen from here on out, was anyone’s guess.
“You ready to go?” he asked quietly.
Was I? I took a deep breath. I knew I didn’t really want to go home, but I had to drop the damn bag off to Ken. I didn’t have to stay though, did I? I thought about the ticket Aiden had given me and made up my mind.
“Do you have a mirror?”
He nodded and stepped over to the wardrobe, opening the door to reveal a full length mirror stuck to the inside of it.
I tried not to cringe at my reflection too much. At least I wasn’t wearing any mascara. I desperately wanted to fix up my hair, put it into a pony or something, but I knew it was beneficial to leave myself looking that way. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to draw too much attention to myself on my way back to my car.
Mitch came to stand in front of me, his fingers softly brushing against my palm before slowly sliding up until his hand was gently circling my upper arm.
He swallowed and glanced down at his hand. “Sorry...” he said regretfully. It wasn’t a question, but he made it sound like he wanted me to answer. I nodded.
Slipping on my shoes, he led me downstairs. Thankfully, I didn’t have to pass a single soul on my way out the door.
Chapter 30
Noah
I watched Kaeli walk out the door with a burning sense of unease. I hated that I couldn’t drive her home, but TJ wanted to see me and I hoped it had something to do with the delivery. Regrettably, I had to put that first. It was the only way out for either of us.
Knocking on TJ’s office door, I waited for the muffled sound that told me I was good to go in then pushed the door open. The other guys were already in there. Vinnie and Pock in the seats in front of TJ’s desk, Davo lazing against the wall, and Mac sitting on one of the boxes in the corner.
TJ gave me a curt nod of approval, for what I wasn’t sure, then gestured for me to close the door. I quickly complied and found a seat on an old chest near Davo. TJ inhaled deeply as he took each of us in, then leaned back in his chair.
“I’ve just gotten word from Paulie that a number of people have ended up in hospital after taking a little blue pill with an X on it. Now, I know it’s not our fucking pills putting these people there, so I need you all to take care of whoever the fuck is trying to sell these piece of shit drugs as our brand before we start losing some major business. If this gets back to Mr. X, we can kiss this next shipment goodbye.”
A couple of the guys grunted their agreement. I just scowled. We were going to miss this next shipment over my dead fucking body. I was ready to go out and personally take out every fucker that was getting in the way of this nightmare of an assignment ending.
“I can’t have Mr. X catching wind of this,” TJ continued. “If he thinks there’s any threat at all, the shipment’s off. I really need you all to step up your game. These fuckers need to go down.”
We all nodded in agreement and looked to TJ for instructions. We all knew we’d be on the job tonight. Time was seriously against us.
“I know I don’t need to tell any of you how important it is for us to find out who the fuck is behind this. Vinnie and Mac, I want you to head down to Frank’s and get the feel of the situation there. If Bryce is there, get him to keep his ear to the ground. Davo and Mitch, I want you to go riverside. Check out the clubs. Find out what the word is. Pock, you’re coming with me. We’re going to pay Mono a little visit.”
We all nodded our confirmation and split up to do our jobs. I had no doubt someone was going down tonight.
And it was going to feel fucking good.
Chapter 31
Kaeli
I stared at the line waiting to get into The Crypt, the club Fighting Fate were playing at that night, and sighed. It almost ran half a block. Looking down at the ticket in my hand, I wondered for the tenth time if I really could be bothered at all, but then I thought about returning home and my resolve strengthened.
It was an odd thought, considering leaving home had always been my Achilles heel, but Ken had left on an overnight trip not long after I’d returned with his bag, which meant Mom was safe at home on her own.
Taking my place at the end of
the queue, I tried to blend in as much as I could. More people stepped in behind me, then even more. I discreetly watched them interacting with each other. They were high on anticipation.
