“Axe’s number.”
Keeping the phone out of the camera’s view, I punch the number into my phone. It rings once as I switch it to speakerphone and start moving away from the compound again.
“What?”
“Axe, it’s me.”
“What?” this time sounding concerned.
“It’s Eli’s phone. Look, get her out of there. He’s gonna come back.”
“Yeah, I was just thinking that.”
“Get the girls out, scrub it down.” I glance in the mirror, seeing the concern on his face as he leans forward. “Get them out of there before they come back.”
“We’ll have them out in a couple hours.”
“Shit,” he pauses, almost as an afterthought. “Take Drew with you.”
My heart shatters as I think about her sprawled out in the bed as I left this morning.
“What?” the voice from the speaker asks my question for me.
“Her apartment’s paid for with club funds; they’re going to trace and search it. She needs to stay as far away from all this as possible.”
I realize as I watch him what I have to do. If the station found out I was letting him make this call, it would be my job. Hell, if the station found out I was fucking Drew, it’d be my job. When they find out all of this is a sham…
They’re going to do whatever they can to get to Z, and I have to figure out a way to keep them away from him.
And I know how that’ll end. I know what keeping her close to me will cause once it’s all out. They’ll question her; hell, they’ll even try to say she had some part in it.
I can’t have that.
I look at Z once more, and somehow my respect for him grows exponentially. He’s sacrificing himself to make sure Tate’s safe. He’d rather die in prison than her to be hurt.
I need to take a page out of his book and stop being so selfish. I need to worry about Drew. She was the complication that I had never anticipated. There’s no contingency for if I fell in love with anyone, especially not her.
I need to keep her safe from all this.
Safe from this life.
Safe from my decisions that are going to fuck up my life.
Safe from me…
She needs to stay as far away from this as possible.
I have to let her go.
Even if it kills me.
My eyes well up as I look back at the road.
“You can hang up.” Z says next to me.
Nodding my head, he tilts his.
“You okay?”
