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Brantley
One bullet. Nine yards. It was clean, neat, and will never be traced back. The names that roll onto the list are there for a reason, but even if they weren’t, I would still do it. This is what I was manufactured for. It’s what I’ve been training for since I first learned of TEKC. I don’t flinch when the bullet explodes against their forehead. I move on, go about the rest of my life.
I push the door closed in Bishop’s office in the city and head straight for the liquor cabinet.
He turns in his chair. “The Gentlemen. You told Saint that they were handled?”
I take the first swig of whiskey before pouring more. “I did.”
Bishop pauses. I can practically feel his anger pulsing off his body. Possessive motherfucker. Anyone would think he’s the one with Saint. Or whatever the fuck we are right now. “You’ve claimed her.”
Another pour. Another sip. Another burn that slides down my throat to match the one I can’t seem to put out inside of my head anytime she’s near. “I don’t need to.”
“Stop being stubborn.”
Finally, I turn to face him, just as he leans back in his leather chair. His eyes bore into mine.
“If you’re risking her life by bringing her back too early, then we’re going to have a problem.”
I squeeze the glass cabinet behind me. “I’ve stopped trusting Veronica.”
He freezes. A range of emotions pass over his face. From shock to disbelief to anger. “Why? I thought she was the one person we could trust from the outside. You told me when we were kids that we could trust her whenever the time came. What changed?”
“And we could,” I say, taking the steps to the window seat behind his desk.
His eyes follow my movements eagerly, waiting for me to spill. I clench my jaw.
“But that was right up until the point where she made it very fucking apparent that Saint is far too valuable to her.” I shoot back the rest of my whiskey. “I want to know why.”
He tilts his head. “You know why. She broke the curse and that’s why. She’s obsessed with righting her wrongs within The Coven, regaining the respect she lost from all their elders.”
I shake my head, rolling my lips between my teeth. “That’s what I thought initially, but now something feels off. Until I figure her shit out, Saint is not to go near her.”
Bishop spreads his legs wide, and I scowl at him. “Don’t fucking man spread me.”
“What?” He smirks, closing them again.
I shake my head, flipping him off. “Madison not servicing that dick she so viciously claimed?”
He lets out a pained groan. “She’s fucking killing me, like usual.”
“Doesn’t matter.” I shake my head, thinking about pouring that third finger. “You’re both in it for the long haul.”
Bishop rubs his hands over his chin. “I’m going to fuck up this dad shit.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re ru
“What if they’re twin girls?” he yells, raising his hands. “I’m fucked.”
“No, if they’re girls, they’ll be the most protected little brats in the entire fucking world. Chill.”
“I don’t know, man. Tillie is a natural. Madison, not so much. And she and I are still not on good terms. We barely tolerate each other in the same room.”
“But you love her.”
Instant. “Yes.”
“And she loves you. So you’re both fucked.” I sigh, resting my elbows on my knees. “Which is why I need to figure this shit out with Saint.”
“Would it be so fucking bad to have her?”
I bore my eyes into his, tensing my fist around my empty glass. I need that third. “Yes. It would. I can’t give her the feelings she is going to want from me, B.” I point to my chest. “Dead as fuck inside, remember?”
He reaches for the pack of cigarettes on his desk, banging it against his chest before placing one in his mouth and lighting it. He inhales the toxic smoke.
“Saint will kill you for smoking that shit one day.”
He blows out. “I’ve cut back to five a day just to make her happy.” His knee jiggles. “There’s movement still going on in Riveredge that we need to fix.” Riveredge is the official name of the west side of Riverside. “The Gentlemen want your head and I don’t think they’re going to settle until they have it. There’s also the pressing issue of who it is that is feeding them information. There’s someone else working against us in this and we need to find out who, and I don’t mean someone in our Kings’ world.”
The door opens behind him, but neither of us bother to see who it is. Only a King would walk into this office without knocking.
“Bishop, we have the scan today to see what the genders are.”
His eyes straight up dilate in front of me. I snicker, leaning back. And Madison. Madison would walk into this office without knocking. He looks over his shoulder. “That’s not until three p.m.”
She squeezes the door handle. “I know. I’m going over to see Saint, so can you pick me up from there?” My lips roll between my teeth to stifle a laugh.
“Yes, Kitty. I will pick you up from there. Is that fucking all?”
I sigh, leaning back and attempting to block them out.
She smiles sweetly. “That’s all.” Before she gets to slam the door in his face, Nate and Eli walk in. They both take a seat on one of the many chairs scattered in the room.
“Tillie is at your house,” Nate says, nudging his head at me.
“Figured.”
“Did we all pick the worst fucking girls to settle with? They’re all different, but none of them are compliant. They all wa
“Oh, did you finally claim Saint?” Eli asks with a bold smirk.
“I don’t fucking need to. When is your little brain going to get that?”
Eli winks at me. “Maybe when I see it. Live, preferably.”
Bishop shakes his head, squeezing his eyes with his index finger and thumb. “There’s something we need to talk about. It involves” —his eyes go to Eli— “you.”
Eli’s smirk falters. “What?”
Just as Bishop opens his mouth, his office phone blares off and he answers, “What?”
“Are you all there?” Hector says, but his voice sounds different. Strained and exhausted. “There’s something I need to tell you all.”