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I stare into her eyes, distracted for a moment as I try to pinpoint the color. Precision is vital in all things, and it’s been a low-grade irritation that I have yet to identify the exact shade of them. It’s not as dark as a well-brewed cup of coffee, but richer than milk chocolate. The color also has glints of gold in it that shouldn’t be there. They… confuse me.
This woman confuses me.
“Logan?” she prompts, reminding me that she asked me a direct question and I’ve been silent longer than is socially acceptable.
I blink, wrestling my thoughts back to the matter at hand.
“Of course I have,” I say crisply, the pieces all clicking together in my mind as I prepare to lay them out for my brothers. “I’ve memorized the schematics for the warehouse the drop is scheduled to go down in, along with the city planning files for the surrounding landscape. I’ve identified the Capside players most likely to be involved and reviewed all the details we’ve been able to document for each one. And I’ve established and arranged for the most effective weapons, escape routes, and equipment. Everything’s in place.”
“Holy shit. I can’t believe you pulled together a plan so quickly,” Riley says. She bites her lip, ducking her head a little as she murmurs, “Thank you for doing all of that.”
I nod stiffly, the relief and admiration in her expression making something in my chest react in a way that’s almost painful.
My hand twitches with the instinctive urge to rub at the uncomfortable warmth behind my breastbone. Riley’s gratitude means nothing to me. I didn’t do any of this for her.
I did it in spite of her.
I did it so that we can finally be rid of her.
I did it to return things to the way they were before she burst into our lives and disrupted everything.
At least, that’s what I tell myself as I begin to lay out the plan.
35
RILEY
Logan’s voiceis smooth and even as he speaks, explaining in precise and exacting detail how we’re going to get Chloe back and fuck Austin McKenna over.
I listen with rapt attention, my gaze glued to his face as I try to follow everything he’s saying.
I can barely believe it. After the shit show that went down after I saw her at the club last night, I honestly didn’t know how we’d get Chloe away from her captors, or if we ever actually would. But now, less than twenty-four hours later, there’s a full-blown plan to do exactly that.
Logan’s plan.
I bite my lower lip, trying not to smile. I’m not sure he knew how to handle me thanking him, but I really am so fucking grateful that the Reapers have someone like him on their side—and that I do too, for the moment. His intensity can be terrifying and overwhelming, but the way he’s so focused and thorough is also reassuring, in a way. It’s part of what’s always drawn me to him.
Logan pulls out a tablet, pointing to blue prints and grid-like maps on it as he walks us through things. Then he opens a still shot of what looks like the interior of a dimly lit warehouse.
“This feed is thirteen days old,” he says with a slight grimace that I’m guessing has to do with not having totally up-to-date information. “But I haven’t been able to find any evidence of current activity.”
“The Crimson Crows used to hold that area,” Dante says, nodding. “Not sure who ownership passed to, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s only maintained as a front. We bringing in support?”
Maddoc’s lips press into a grim line. “No,” he says at the same time as Logan.
“West Point needs to think Capside fucked them over,” Logan adds. “The fewer bodies in play, the lower the chance of either gang discovering our involvement.”
“Capside is gonna knowsomeonewas involved.”
“Yes.” Logan’s smile is malicious and so fucking terrifying that I’m ashamed of how much I like it. “And since McKenna will be sending in some insurance with the girl—”
“What? I blurt. “With Chloe? Insurance? What does that mean?”
“Enforcers,” Maddoc says calmly. “West Point gang members to make sure she does what she’s there for.”
“Enforcers that we’ll take out,” Logan says, “with the Glocks Capside favors.”
I lean forward, trying to absorb every detail of the plan as Logan goes into some technical shit about which equipment, by which he mostly means guns, that they’ll bring with them. Dante will be using one kind of ammunition favored by the drug dealing gang, and Logan will be loaded up with whatever West Side typically uses, so that if everything goes as planned, it will look like they were the only two gangs involved.
