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“Nothing happened.” He looks away, and it makes me doubt him. “He showed up, we were civil, and he left.”
I didn’t see James when I was out cold, but I can’t imagine he was civil to anyone. “I need you to humor him.”
“I will.” He kisses my forehead chastely. “When I can channel my energy into just that, I absolutely will.” Putting his hand on my thigh, he rubs it, as if to reassure me that he’s speaking nothing but the truth. I can’t protest. To say James has a lot on his mind right now would be the biggest understatement in the history of understatements. “Until then, you should start building your bridges with him. Me showing up at your first dinner date will go down about as well as a cup of sick.”
I burst out laughing, and every muscle I possess pulls as a result. I just catch his satisfied smile before my body goes limp and I fall against his chest. “He offered, actually. He wanted to visit us.”
He stiffens.
“Don’t worry, I put him off.”
He relaxes.
Then James lets me be for a while, settled, sated, and getting a handle on the aftermath of my laughs as he strokes the inside of my thigh.
“Beau,” he says after a time, his hand pulling away and turning over in front of me, revealing his palm.
His palm covered in blood.
“Baby, you’re bleeding.” He goes to move, and I make myself a dead weight, taking his hand and steadying his shakes.
“My period,” I say quietly. “It’s my period.” I blink my foggy vision clear and snuggle deeper into his chest, feeling his arms envelop me tightly, his mouth resting on top of my head.
It’s my first since I lost our baby.
And another reminder that I’m empty.
9
DANNY
* * *
I stand on the deserted shore, my feet inches away from the rolling water, taking in the cove. I’ve been back in Miami for over two weeks, and I’m still breathing. I’m also still married, another achievement, considering how things are progressing, which is basically slow. I assured Rose this would be dealt with quickly and we’d be out of here before she knew it. But really, I accepted the moment I agreed to return to Miami that there would be no going back, not unless we kill every enemy. Yet with each man killed, another is born. I’ve almost accepted that.
That’s why I’m here at Byron’s Reach, covering all my bases, watching our plans move into territory I didn’t anticipate when I first met James. Plus, there’s been no word from The Bear. No moves made on his part. I can only surmise he’s letting the dust settle after removing The Enigma. Or, at least, thinking he’s removed The Enigma. I thought I’d diced with death in my time. James is putting my attempts to dodge the Grim Reaper to shame.
Across the water in the distance where Winstable Boatyard once stood is a construction site, cranes and scaffolding dominating the space where I once operated from. I see Pops there. I see him wandering the derelict land that once stood empty. And I see the extravagant cabin he built when I was fifteen. The jet skis. The good times.
The guns.
I haven’t yet told my wife about our imminent purchase of this land. Or about our plans to take back Miami. I’m more wary of Rose, her reaction and subsequent retaliation, than I am of a mass murderer on the hunt for me.
I hear the rumble of an old Jeep pulling away. “What do you think of him?” Brad asks, joining me on the shore.
“Well, he fits in around here.” The kid, Leon, is all blond curls, bandanas, boardshorts, and pot. But he’s smart. That was obvious very quickly.
Brad nods. “And this?” he asks, motioning in the general direction of everything.
“Perfect.” That’s exactly why we tried to buy it three years ago. Byron’s Reach is a prime location to ship anything illegal into the country. It’s secluded. Unmatched access. If I didn’t know better, I’d ask why the fuck it hasn’t been snapped up by a rival. Namely, The Bear. He deals in drugs, women, and guns. Or his minions do. But I do know better. After the massacre left behind three years ago when I sold my soul to the Russians and they turned on me, there’s an understandable stigma attached to this area. The latest body was dragged out of the water only a few months back. Unidentifiable. The criminals know this place was on the FBI’s radar. I should avoid it like the plague.
Should.
I won’t.
James’s offer to rent the land was snapped up by the legal team managing the Jepson kid’s estate. Now he’s in negotiations to buy it.
I smile, casting my eye across the still ocean, taking my shades off to get the full force of the sun reflecting off the surface. There will be jet skis flying across this water in no time. A bustling cabin. An arsenal fit to kick off a world war.
