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“Well, now we’ve got that all cleared up. Let’s get started, shall we?”
Beneath a cloud of smoke, her gaze flits between Xeno and I as she takes in our body language. I’m leaning into his hold, my hand resting against his chest. I know what she must be thinking, that I’ve given in too easily. Whilst I appreciate her concern, I don’t need her judgement. She might’ve made Beast work for her love and affection, but I’m not going to waste one single moment more playing games. Xeno’s fingers stroke absentmindedly over my bare arm as he takes the sudden silence as an opportunity to speak.
“Beast tells us that you’re reopening soon.”
“Yeah, just as soon as we get the place sorted. It’s getting a makeover first,” she confirms, before glancing my way. “I’ll let you know when we need you back, but if you need the girls to practice, let Beast know.”
“Yeah, Beast said. I will swing by this week sometime…”
She nods. “Good.”
“What have you done to secure Pen’s safety?” York suddenly asks, squeezing my thigh. “Because we were close to losing our girl last week and not one of us is willing to put her in danger again.”
“We’ve beefed up our security by double and have put in more stringent checks on any new members joining. No one’s getting close to your girl again. Not on my watch,” Beast assures me with a wink, before looking at each of the Breakers in turn.
“Has the new security been cleared? I need guarantees, not half-baked promises,” Xeno growls.
Grim cocks her head, tapping the ash from her cigarette into an ashtray. “Yes, they’ve been cleared. What do you take me for? You’re not the only one with somebody to lose.”
“Babe, I appreciate your concern, but I don’t need protecting. Never have. We all know I’m bulletproof,” Beast says with a grin.
He reminds me a little of York, another man who thinksLady Luckis on his side. Maybe it’s all just bravado, and I suspect it is a little with York, but Beast really does seem to believe he’s untouchable. I can tell by the easy way he holds himself and the frustration in Grim’s eyes. She
takes a sip of her champagne and twists in her seat to face Beast.
“That kind of arrogance will get you killed. Don’t talk stupid. I need you to be smart and stay the fuck alive until we can deal with this situation.”
Zayn leans forward, his elbows resting on the table. “No disrespect intended, Grim, but you didn’t check out the crew who brought in Malik's man thoroughly enough. If you had, then we wouldn’t be in this position now. You also knew that Malik wanted Pen and yet youallowedhim back in your club. So, forgive us for not trusting your word. Like Xeno said, we need guarantees.”
“Now listen to me, dickhead—!” Beast starts, glaring at Zayn. Grim holds her hand up and shakes her head, silencing him.
“You’re right. Ididn’tdo my job thoroughly enough, and for that I hold myself completely accountable. Which is why I’ve made sure that this time we’ve got Tales and everyone who works within it, protected by the best.” She sighs heavily, looking directly at me. “I allowed Malik Brov back into my club for selfish reasons, but I didn’t for one second think he’d dare try to kidnap you from beneath our noses. I underestimated him and that is something I’m going to have to live with, tolearnfrom. I was arrogant, certain of my position. I thought I was untouchable. I’m not. None of us are. Reputation only gets you so far, but there will always be people who will test your limits. Who will try and steal what you have.”
“Selfish reasons… you mean money, right?” I ask, fixing my gaze on her.
“Yes. Like I’ve always said, I’m a businesswoman and old habits die hard. Malik paid a lot of money to be seated closest to the stage. My greed and arrogance put you in danger and I’m sorry for it.”
“Looks like I wasn’t the only one who fucked up that night then,” Xeno remarks.
Grim cuts him a look. “I guess not,” she concedes, giving him a slight smile. “I give you all my word that I won’t be complacent again. These men and women we’ve hired were handpicked by Hudson’s head of security. Every single one has experience in the military and protective services. They’re completely off grid. The best of the best.”
“Completely off grid? No one’s completely off grid. You can’t take a shit these days without some motherfucker knowing about it,” Xeno says, looking pointedly at Hudson who managed to find out about the money they were saving and their plans to live abroad.
“They’reghosts,” Hudson says.
“Ghosts?” I question.
“For all intents and purposes, theydon’texist. The same rules we live by simply don’t apply to them.”
“Then why didn’t you ask theseghoststo help deal with Santiago? Why riskmymen?”
“Pen’s got a good point there,” Beast says, earning him a glare from Grim.
“Because I needed people who were already on the inside. People who were familiar with his businesses, who could gather information in plain sight without raising suspicion,” he explains.
I level my gaze with Hudson. “I understand your reasoning, but that doesn’t mean to say that I agree with any of it. Frankly, I wished you’d never approached them.” I’m very aware of everyone’s eyes on me, but I ignore them. I’m still pissed off with the whole thing, and I didn’t get a chance to voice my opinion fully the first time I met Hudson. Hence the verbal diarrhea now.
“Even if that meant you never seeing them again?” Hudson asks me, pinning me with his penetrating green eyes.
