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Turning around, I walk right out of the office and head straight for the kitchen to prepare some breakfast for us. Hendrick wants protein, so I’m hoping he at least has some eggs in his fridge. It’s this moment that I realize I’ve never actually cooked in his kitchen before, or for him.
Maybe he’ll hate my cooking. Maybe he’ll decide he made the wrong woman his wife. I’m not sure I can handle this pressure. There is a lot riding on these eggs. At least that’s how it feels as I stare into the refrigerator, which is surprisingly full of food.
HENDRICK
After breakfast is consumed, I leave Allison with the promise I’ll be back before her doctor’s appointment. The last thing I want to do is leave her, but I need to personally check in with my father. I also need to get this shit ready for Shelby and the US attorney general. What a fucking cluster this all is.
I cannot believe this is all going down the way it is. It’s the most bizarre turn of events that’s ever happened, at least since I’ve been initiated into the family as a full member. Who the fuck knows what crazy shit happened when my grandfather was running this show?
My father and brothers are sitting in his office. An office that is now free from any bugs. I know because I spent hours ensuring there was nobody watching him. My fucking cousin wasn’t that smart anyway, not when it came to that kind of shit.
“What do you have for me?” my father asks as I enter the room, without even lifting his head.
“Tait and Tatum are panicked, but everything they’ve been discussing has been more about saving their asses, surviving, and saving their sisters and mother. They haven’t even spoken about their father, except to tell the mother that he was not coming home.”
“And her reaction?” Wells asks.
Slipping my tongue out, I wet my bottom lip before I clear my throat. “Her reaction was knowing. She didn’t seem angry or upset, just resigned.”
“Good,” my father murmurs. “Hopefully, she stays that way. I didn’t want to hurt your aunt, but…” His words trail off.
“She loved him too much,” I say.
He hums. “Just like if something happened to me. They would have to kill your mother and you boys.”
“We would never rest,” Coleman grinds out.
Dad chuckles. “Three good boys. Loyal boys. How did I get so lucky, hmm?”
None of us answers. He doesn’t really want us to, either. He knows how he got so lucky. He’s the one who raised us. He knows that we are loyal to him, to the family. That we will never turn our backs on what is right, and we will never accept what is wrong.
“The skin game,” Wells mutters. “What do we do from here on out?”
“We know that Shelby is using the US attorney general and that he’s using her as well. We will have access to them this evening. Josiah and Prisma have given me a time, a place, and a key,” Dad states.
“They’ve agreed to all of the terms?” I ask.
“Terms?” Dad murmurs, arching a brow.
He’s making me spell it out, which is honestly fine. “Terms,” I repeat. “We’re immune to anything that goes down. There is no more contact with the family after this. And so on.”
“And so on is right, but yes, it’s all been signed. This is done, they get Shelby to do with as they wish. They get the whole operation,” he finishes.
Coleman grunts before he adds his own part to the conversation. “And the government doesn’t come for us. We don’t exist to them, not anymore.”
“Thank fuck for that,” I state.
“But you will keep watching,” Dad states. It is not a question. It is not a choice. It is an ordered demand, and there is nothing else to be said or done about it except to agree, wholly.
“I will be watching.”
“Good,” he says with a nod. “You have things to do today, I’m sure.”
Dipping my chin in a single nod, I take a step backward. “We meet tonight. Six o’clock here, and then we drive together,” he demands.
“Then we drive together,” I agree.
Turning to leave, I look behind me at Coleman. “Does your wife know about Shelby?” I ask. I don’t know why, but this seems important.
