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I leave the room and start to make my way downstairs, curling my hands into fists as if hiding the paint on my fingernails will make the memories of last night go away.
It doesn’t help.
It’s like Dante marked me somewhere deeper—and unlike the paint on my hands, which will eventually wash away, I can’t help thinking that the marks he left beneath my skin aren’t going to vanish when this is all over.
That those are permanent.
36
MADDOC
There’sa reason my father is gone, and it’s not just that the piece of shit who took him out had good aim. It’s that first and foremost, Jonas Gray was out for himself. For his own gain, always. No matter what it cost.
And sure, he looked out for me, was proud of me, taught me what I needed to know to survive, but I never had rose-colored glasses about that shit. If it came down to it, he would have sacrificed even me, his own son, to get ahead. When he died, I vowed I’d never make the same mistake.
Loyalty matters.
People matter.
Not all people, butmypeople do… and helping Riley Sutton puts my people, my brothers, in harm’s way.
“Madd?” Dante asks, zipping up the equipment bag full of gear and standing up from a squat. “All good?”
“You tell me,” I say with a tight smile. “Everything accounted for?”
He snorts, slinging the gear bag onto his shoulder, and gives me an are-you-shitting-me look.
Fair. I loaded the bag, Logan double-checked it, and Dante is smart enough not to walk into a firefight unless he knows first-hand that he has what he needs to walk back out. The gear is all accounted for.
That wasn’t what he was asking.
I scrub a hand over my face.
“Yeah,” I say to his real question, tamping down the agitation brewing inside me. “It’s all good as long as the girl gets her ass down here on time.”
“She’s coming,” Dante says, squeezing my shoulder in a quick show of support, but otherwise letting it go.
Good, because I’m not even sure what the fuck I’m so worked up about. Tonight will be dangerous because we run in dangerous circles, but that’s nothing new. There’s always a risk of something going south. That’s just life. But I don’t actually have any concrete reason to worry that my brothers will be hurt tonight. Not more than during any other operation.
The plan is solid. McKenna will take a hit, fucking with Capside is an added bonus, and the payoffwillbe worth it. If there’s one person I trust to get the details right, it’s Logan.
So why the hell am I so on edge?
“Yukon?” Dante lifts a brow, tossing the keys up and catching them again.
I nod. We’ve already decided on that, since it’s new and the Escalade I prefer is a known Reapers vehicle. The Yukon is also already loaded with what we’re going to need to make sure Riley’s sister stays off McKenna’s radar after the fact, so I know Dante wasn’t really asking. He’s just trying to get me focused.
I check the time, then look up to find Logan watching me. He presses his lips together, looking irritated.
“She’s late,” he says, flicking a glance over my shoulder, toward the stairs, and then away again.
“No, I’m here,” Riley says, coming around the corner. “Are we ready?”
Logan freezes, and my head snaps around at the sound of her voice. Dante grins eyeing her up and down like he’s already forgotten I told him we’re not fucking her.
Not that I can blame him. It’s an easy thing to forget.
I frown, shaking that thought off because it’s got no business in my head right now. Neither does noticing that Riley looks both determined and grim tonight, her multi-colored hair tucked under a black knit cap. The black tactical gear and bullet proof vest don’t show off her curves the same way the dress she wore to Club Prestige the other night did, but honestly, she looks even better like this.
