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But that doesn’t mean I have to watch them with her or listen to this bullshit.
Gritting my teeth, I slowly look up, finding all three of them still staring at me. Fucks sake.
“Can we get on with this shit?” I rumble, speaking way more softly than I would have thought possible considering the torrent of emotions still streaming through me. I mayhaveto accept it but I’m not going to be nice about it.
Gage stares at me for a moment with his scrutinizing eye which further pisses me off. “Fine, we’ll start the meeting as soon as you tell us where you’ve been for the last few nights.”
I nod and scrub my hands over my face. I knew this was coming.
“I’ve been staying in my office atThe Denand before you go talking shit, yes, obviously I was avoiding her but can you fucking blame me?” I growl when Gage opens his mouth to add his two cents. “I haven’t just been sitting on my ass. I’ve been trying to find her piece of shit ex while working on logistics for the shipment this Saturday. If you fuckers haven’t forgotten, we have a big ass job to do in five days.”
It’s silent for a beat before everyone opens their mouths at once. I pour a few fingers’ worth of scotch and drop down into one of the chairs, getting comfortable for the onslaught of bullshit about to come my way.
“Why are you avoiding her? What have I missed?” Stone questions as Gage grunts “we obviously haven’t forgotten,” and Maddox shouts some expletives about the Remington kid.
“Wait, you didn’t tell Stone what’s going on with you? We assumed you would have filled him in when you disappeared,” Maddox interjects.
Stone is looking at me with concern and I can’t help but feel a twinge of regret for not coming to him with all this crap. All four of us are extremely close but Stone and I have a separate bond. We’re the outsiders, the non-blood brothers. Madd and Gage don’t make us feel any different intentionally, but the divide is still there. We are the two who had families before the Lunas. We have shared similar losses, even if our family situations were shit.
No matter how guilty I may feel for keeping him out of the loop, it’s got nothing on what I’m about to feel when I tell him this story. When the fuck did the four of us start talking about our goddamned feelings so often? I stand up again and pour three more glasses before passing them out. Might as well get fucked up if we’re having this conversation.
Thirty minutes and a lot of yelling later, we’re a bottle of scotch down and each of us is sitting in contemplative silence. Stone’s reaction to my day on the bridge and thoughts of suicide didn’t go over well, as I assumed. Maybe that’s why I didn’t tell him. I knew none of them would take it well, understandably, but I knew it would be more difficult for him. Stone’s emotions are precarious and unstable, to say the least. His brain may be huge but his demons are bigger.
“Right, so now that we’ve gotten that shit out of the way, can we move on?” I grunt.
“Did you find the kid?” Gage asks, looking between Stone and me. We both shake our heads.
“No and Delgado’s got nothing either. The asshole fuckin disappeared like we thought he would. I think it’s safe to say he’s out of the city and likely the state”
Gage nods and looks at Stone. “What about the cameras? Catch anything on the person who went back to clean up the mess?” Stone grimaces and I brace myself for whatever shit he’s found.
“The only person who’s come or gone since Remington left that night besides you three, is the roommate. You said your girl overheard the ex fucking the roommate, right? So it’s safe to say she’s likely involved. And the day following the attack, the neighbor’s outdoor security system shows the roommate coming home, going inside, and coming back out 78 minutes later with a bunch of black trash bags. She hasn’t returned since.”
“So it was her,” Gage states, and a round of nods and irritated “yeahs”, chorus around the room.
“Not it!” Maddox shouts suddenly in the tense silence. Gage scowls at him causing Maddox to throw his hands up and shake his head. “I’m not gonna be the one to break the news to Ella that her friend and roommate not only helped her ex cheat but also fuckin planned her sexual assault and probably murder. As far as I’m concerned, if the bitch participated and took off, she’s just as guilty as that motherfucker.”
“Christ, I thought she was your fuckin girlfriend or what the fuck ever. You don’t even have the balls to be the one to break the news?” I snap.
Fuck, what is wrong with me? I seriously need to get this shit under control.
Maddox growls at me, fisting his hands like he’s ready to take a swing at me. I don’t back down, if he wants a fight, he’ll get one.
I swear to God, we have fought more in the past two weeks than we have in the last ten years. And it’sallbeen over her.
“Moving the fuck on!” Gage barks, slamming his fist on his desk. “We will tell her together Maddox. She deserves to be brought in on this shit show. We have too much going on right now and we cannot afford to be distracted. Until we know where they are, she stays here, in this house, with protection and she doesn’t fucking leave. Understand?” We all nod and he continues, “Good. Moving on. Gus called me today and Maddox and I have to head to Vegas to meet with Matteo. We’re leaving tomorrow and we’ll only be gone overnight. When we get back, Nyx and Stone are leaving for SoCal to get shit set up. Any questions or updates?”
Maddox and I shake our heads but Stone holds up a finger while he types away at shit on his phone.
“Yeah, Raul just sent me a job,” he grunts, pulling his eyes away from his phone and looking up at a resigned Maddox. Gage stares at his little brother for a minute before he jerks a nod and looks back to Stone, jutting his chin out.
“Who is it?” Gage murmurs.
“Does it fucking matter?” Maddox snaps. “I’m doing it regardless, yeah? It’s my job. Let me guess, Gus needs the guy dead tonight? No details or cause, just a name and place?”
Stone hesitates, waiting for Gage to tell him to proceed before answering with a quiet, “yes.”
“I’ll be in The Vault,” Madd grunts as he storms out of the office.
