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I nodded. “I know what you mean.”
Cane refilled his glass before he changed the subject. “I know you’re trying to kiss Griffin’s ass right now, but we’ve got to do something about the Skull Kings. I haven’t heard a peep about them, but after ordering a hit like that, I don’t think it will end quietly. If they’re anything like the way I remember, they’re insanely ruthless. I’m sure killing the entire team they dispatched made them realize they underestimated us…but I don’t think it’s over.”
It’d been on mind for the last few weeks. Their quiet surrender sounded too good to be true. Things like that never dissolved into nothingness. “Neither do I.” Now that my son was going to be a father in just a few weeks, this war needed to be dead and buried for good. I didn’t want my grandbaby to come into the world in the midst of a battle. They should only know peace.
“Griffin has some kind of relationship with the Skull Kings,” Cane said. “Based on what Conway said about the Underground. He was there one night, whether he was buying a woman or staking out the place. He might be able to help us.”
“Perhaps he can talk to them about dropping this feud,” Button said. “We aren’t even certain what instigated this provocation in the first place. Conway doesn’t seem to know what the problem is.”
“They must have realized that Conway was buying and freeing the slaves,” I said. “Maybe someone ratted on him. That’s the only thing that makes sense. They probably don’t appreciate the fact that Conway was making a fortune of their products.”
Cane nodded. “Probably. And I don’t think that’s something we can discuss calmly. The Skull Kings aren’t calm. They’re psychopaths.”
“Griffin might have something that could help.” He was a powerful man with a lot of connections. Maybe he had a special relationship with them and could arrange a peaceful negotiation. “Outright attacking the Skull Kings is the only other choice—and it’s a terrible choice. We’ll be fighting that war for three more generations.”
“I don’t like that idea either,” Button said. “Not when we only want peace.”
“Griffin will help if you ask, right?” Cane asked.
I felt pathetic asking him for help after what he did for my family. He didn’t owe us anything, not any longer. I hated to admit that I needed him, but I definitely did. “Since this concerns Vanessa, yes. I prefer to wait until Griffin and I have established a better relationship because I don’t want him to think I’m only behaving this way because I want something…”
“Well, you’re going to have to get over that,” Cane snapped. “Because we don’t have time for that shit. We need to pull him in now.” He tapped his fist against the table. “We’ve already wasted enough time.”
“I agree,” Button said. “Griffin is a smart man. I’m sure he understands that these are two separate issues. Since he loves Vanessa, I’m sure he wants to bury this as much as we do. He craves the same quiet life that we do…with our daughter.”
I’d hoped I could make progress with Griffin before I asked him for a favor, but that didn’t seem possible. Right now, protecting my family was the most important thing. I didn’t just have Vanessa, but a son, a daughter-in-law, a niece, and nephew…and so much more. “I’ll talk to him.”
“When?” Cane pressed.
“I’ll make the drive tomorrow,” I answered. “Ask him out for a beer or something.”
“Should I come along too?” Cane asked. “So we can get to work right away?”
“No.” I was the one who ruined everything with Griffin in the first place. I was the father of the woman he loved. It had to be me. “I should go alone.”
Six
Bones
My life was the same few variations on repeat.
It was simple. Predictable. Tame.
But I loved every second of it.
I used to work constantly, pick up women at a bar for dirty threeways, and get off on the corpses I would dump in the lake. My life was never the same, full of adrenaline and the unknown.
I traded all of that for Vanessa.
With no regrets.
I woke up at seven every day because I liked to get my workout finished before Vanessa woke up. She was usually cuddled into my side, her hair all over the place and her arm draped across my chest. It was easy to roll her onto her back, move between her legs, and fuck her quickly before I started my day. She moved with me slightly, her eyes barely open and her nails deep in my hair. Every morning, I woke up with a hard-on, and I liked to take care of that before I continued on my day. Before her, I would jerk off before I hit the weights. But now, I preferred her, whether she was really conscious to enjoy it or not. She climaxed most of the time, so her body was obviously aware of what was happening even if her mind wasn’t. I put my come where it belonged, deep inside that slit I paid for with my blood, and then left her there and went about my day.
