Treachery

Over the course of the next few days, I’m feeling like myself again. I have a target in mind. A single focus. A punk bastard that will soon be crushed beneath my foot.

It’s helped alleviate a lot of the frustration I’ve felt since we discovered the servers are missing.

With those, there’s not much I can do until Taylor works his magic ru

I can do something about Clayton, though. There’s a world of hurt heading his direction that I’m excited to rain down. I can’t fully hold it against him for treating Luca like crap in their marriage.

Did I hate hearing him brag about it? Fuck yes. But I was partly - or entirely - responsible for it.

I can hold it against him for trying to kill her. And I am.

Which is why I called this family meeting.

As usual, the guys are sitting or standing around in their typical spots. Gabe is by the bar, Ezra and Damon are holding up the wall. Shane, Sawyer and Taylor are taking up the couch. Mason has an armchair to himself. And Jase is lounging on another couch like a damn Calvin Klein model.

Except for Gabe, none of them are thrilled about being here, but that’s too fucking bad. Luca is now part of the family, and we all take care of what’s ours.

I’m in battle mode, my mind focused on the task at hand, and I’m about to run these guys like I do the associate attorneys in our firm.

Blunt.

Direct.

And to the point.

There can be no fuckups or misunderstandings when it comes to the destruction of Clayton Hughes.

“Ezra and Damon, I need the two of you to take a scouting trip for me. We need a suitable location for a gauntlet, old school style.”

They perk up at that. Nothing excites these two more than the potential for violence. It’s a little disturbing, actually. Something I hope they’ll eventually grow past as the years stretch on without hearing from their father.

I glance up at them.

“Make sure it’s close enough that we can haul cargo without worrying about being noticed. The entire trail needs to be prepared and mapped so we can set up.”

Both rub their hands together in a mirror image. That’s normal with them, but still something you have to get used to. They are so identical that their favorite game is replacing each other. Thankfully, we know how to tell them apart. But very few other people do.

Done with them, I move on.

“Mason and Gabe, I need you two to find out what you can about Senator Hughes’s campaign. I need as many lurid details about whatever back-alley dealings the man has been involved in. Anything that can sink him, I want to be picked apart to the barest detail. And I need that information as quickly as possible.”

Gabe sips from his drink and cocks a brow.

“I’m sure our families can help with that, but they’ll want to know why we need the information.”

I hate involving our fathers in anything, but he’s right.

“Make something up. You’re good at that.”

The corner of his mouth curves at that. Gabriel is a professional liar.

My gaze drops to Sawyer and drags across to Jase. Both sit with bloodshot eyes and lazy expressions.

“I need you two,” I say, pointing between them, “to dig up what you can on Clayton’s business. Melody gave me a list of his biggest contracts, and you two are assigned the job of burning those contracts to the ground. I don’t care how you accomplish it, but I need his clients ru

They both nod, and I move on.

“Taylor, you keep ru

“Maybe Everly fucked him over, and he’s looking for her, too.”

“Jase, shut it.”

Back to Taylor. “Where are we on that?”

Taylor lifts an arm to rub at the back of his neck.

“I haven’t found Jerry yet, but that’s not surprising. He owned the firm with Luca’s father, so it makes sense that he can cover his tracks. But I did dig a little deeper and found he has three daughters. Two live in Georgia, so they’re out of reach, but his oldest is attending Columbia.”

Which makes her very much within reach.

“Undergrad or grad?”

Taylor grins. “Grad.”

Which means she’s not too young.

“Find out everything you can about her. We’ll figure out what to do on that later.”

My eyes land on Shane. “And I have a special assignment for you, but we don’t need to get into it at the moment. So do whatever it is you do in the meantime.”

Shane shifts in his seat. “You don’t know what I do? It’s like I said before: you never pay attention to me, and I really feel-“

“No feelings,” I snap.

He grins, and I can’t tell if he’s serious, or if he’s doing this to screw with me.

Looking between all eight of them, I’m happy to see they’re paying attention.

“The timing of this will come down to when I can get the next hearing set in Luca’s case. Clayton is to lose nothing until he’s ordered to pay her the money he owes and he’s deposited it in her bank. Anything he loses while they are still married, she loses. So prepare what you’re going to do, but no pulling the trigger until I say. Speaking of which.”

Holding up a finger so they’ll give me a second, I pull my phone from my pocket and hit speed dial for Lacey.

“Mr. Caine,” she answers on the second ring, “I’m surprised you’re calling me during normal business hours. It’s so unlike you not to wake me up in the middle of the night.”

Her smart mouth doesn’t affect me. Lacey is always crotchety before she’s had lunch.

“You do great work at two in the morning, but that’s not why I’m calling. I need you to reset the hearing on the Hughes case for two weeks from today.”

Her fingers click over her keyboard. “The judge’s assistant is on vacation through next week. I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

Unacceptable.

“Where is she taking her vacation?” I ask through clenched teeth.

Another few clicks followed by a heavy sigh. “According to her social media, she’s in Hawaii and is not accepting calls.”

It’s not too far, only completely across the country and into the Pacific Ocean.

“Fly to Hawaii and hunt her down. I need the hearing set, and I don’t have time to wait.”

Lacey grows quiet for a second before, “Will I get a vacation as well out of this? I’ve never been to Hawaii before. I mean, it’s only been two and half years that I’ve worked for you without being given one.”

Rolling my eyes, I relent. But only because I need something.

“Fine. You have twenty-four hours to hunt the assistant down and get back to the office.”

She blusters. “Twenty-four hours? I’ll have to fly there, find her and then go back to the airport immediately.”

This conversation is plucking at my last nerve. “Will you see sand, the sun, an ocean and a stupid paper umbrella in a drink while you’re there?”

“Well, yes, but-“

“Then it’s a vacation,” I bark. “Get it done.”

Gabriel groans from across the room. “I’m going to need to double her bonus at the end of the year. Maybe triple it.”

My thumb hits the end call button, and I’m back to the guys again.