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“Maybe you’re right. Vex could pick McDade’s guys off one by one. When do you say stop? And what do you plan to do tonight? Go to the hotel with Vex?”
“No!”
“Stag with Ire? What happens when Vex finds out you’re not coming? Is he going to show up at the club?”
That would be horrific. People would get hurt.
“If I tell Conn, it’ll start a war.”
On an exhale, he put his cup down. “You want to cut them both out? I don’t know who could protect you against two guys like them, with their resources, their armies. Your brother would try—”
“I don’t want my family involved.” Hence how she got into the mess in the first place. “What do I do?”
“You’re not going to like it,” he said, resting a shoulder on the fridge.
“What? Help me out, Strat.”
“Loyalty’s the only weapon. You’ve gotta pick a guy and go all in.”
“I can’t do that.” Because one relationship wasn’t real and the other repulsed her. “I can’t.”
“Alternative is walking away from both. You pulled the pin. What you meant to happen doesn’t matter. No one gives a shit about intentions. You’re in it. Abandoning them both is risky. You could end up the focus of their anger. Embarrassing and disrespecting both of them would be crazy. Hell, that might unite them against you. Trust one of them, take the risk on one of them. It’s the only way out.”
“And if Conn blames me?” She worried about the injured men. Daly had been good to her. She didn’t want him hurt. “Then what?”
“If he’s going to blame you, he’ll blame you now or later. The truth will get out eventually; it always does.” Man, she hoped not. There were too many truths she wanted to keep secret. “If he finds out you were lying to him the whole time…”
“Okay,” she said, balling her determined fists at her sides. “So we have another problem.”
“What?”
She winced. “I don’t know where to find him at this time of day.”
He almost rolled his eyes. “I’ll make some calls,” he said, picking up one coffee to hand it over as he disappeared into his bedroom.
She should’ve told Connel that morning. Should’ve found out the condition of his people. Except by the time she tiptoed down to his office, it was empty. She hadn’t seen anyone and had left without security opening the door or a car waiting at the curb.
Strat was right. Coming to him, sounding off was a good plan. Now she just needed to figure out what to tell Connel… If he was in the mood to hear her.
SIX
“YOU KNOW THIS outs us,” she said to Strat in the driving seat.
“Can’t let you walk in there alone, Scamp,” he said. “Think I want to read your obit tomorrow?”
“He’s not going to hurt me.”
“I set up the meet,” he said. “They know this is coming from me.” Did they know she was with him? “I told you I can go in there alone.”
“And how would you possibly know Evander came to me?”
“Like you said, he and Ford used to run in the same circles.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t want your family involved.” If she didn’t want hers at risk, why should she risk Strat’s? “He might get mad. I know he has a short fuse.”
Strat glanced at her. “And you want to walk in there alone?”
“I’m more worried about you. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
