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“Fuck,Madd, you look like shit. Did you get any sleep at all?”
Dante grins at me and I flip him off, gratefully reaching for the coffee Logan hands me when I walk into the kitchen the next morning. We’re all up early, but they’re just as aware as I am of how much we need to do today to make sure our house is in order, so none of us linger once we’ve brought each other up to speed on the night’s developments.
I’m not the only one who barely got any sleep.
Logan stays at the house, holing up in his room to continue coordinating the search for Chloe and Dante heads out to make the rounds of some of our allies, shoring up those relationships to ensure that whatever comes down tonight, we’re in a position of strength to deal with it.
I spare a brief thought for Riley, but then dismiss it. She’ll keep herself occupied for the day, I’m sure, and I can’t afford distractions today. I need to fortify our territory against West Point. Go out and personally see to it that our perimeter is solid and my organization is secure.
It takes me all fucking day, and it’s worth it.
When I get back to the house that evening, it’s time to head out for the meeting with The Six. I’m going on a day and a half without sleep, but it’s not my first rodeo and I’m more than capable of pushing through, especially with so much on the line.
“I’m driving,” I tell Logan when his eyes stray toward the Audi. I know damn well that being in control helps him stay centered and focused, but tonight he’ll just have to deal.
Luckily, he knows me just as well as I do him—and knows all the reasonsIneed to stay in control right now—so he just nods and heads to the passenger side of the Escalade without any argument, Dante and Riley taking the backseat.
I glance in the rearview mirror as I start up the engine, meeting Riley’s defiant gaze as I prepare to pull out of the garage. The light catches, sparkling. She’s switched out the blue jewel she had in her nose earlier for another one. I liked the way the other one picked up the vibrant color she’s got in her hair, but this one—a bad-ass-looking little black diamond skull—definitely suits her.
Kind of like she suitsus.
Dante clears his throat, and I jerk my eyes away from her whiskey-brown gaze and get us on the road. It’s only once we’re halfway to downtown that I realize she never actually asked if she could come tonight. And that it didn’t even occur to me to stop her.
“Fuck,” I mutter, scrubbing a hand over my face.
“Problem, Madd?” Dante asks from the back seat, leaning forward.
I shake my head, but the real answer is… maybe.
Despite everything, I’m getting too fucking used to having Riley around, and bringing her tonight probably isn’t the right move since she’s an unplanned variable. Not to mention that she’ll be a hell of a lot safer if she stays off The Six’s radar.
What’s done is done though, because I’m not turning around.
And if I’m honest—even if it bites us in the ass later—I’m not sorry she’s here.
Shit was different with Sienna. Dante and Logan and I each have different strengths and weaknesses, but we always work in sync and always have. Except when she was around. She always managed to throw our rhythm off even before she betrayed me with McKenna, but having Riley here is different. Riley may have shot me, but Dante’s right. I respect her reasons for that, and instead of throwing the three of us off, it’s more like she balances us out.
That’s not an excuse to put her in danger though, so I’ll just have to make sure we don’t.
“Traffic’s bad heading into downtown,” Logan says, looking up from his phone. “You’ll probably want to take the bridge on Le Grand.”
I nod and make the adjustment.
“So what is this place we’re headed to, The Six’s headquarters or something?”
“Not sure wherethatwould be,” Dante answers Riley with a low chuckle. “They keep their details pretty private, and for good reason. But I have heard that they do a lot of business out of Saraven when they need to have meetings on neutral territory, so sure, I guess you could call it the public version of their headquarters.”
“You’ve never been? Really? None of you?”
I shake my head, and Logan doesn’t bother answering.
“Nah,” Dante says. “The place is pretty upscale. A members-only club that’s pretty exclusive about who they let in the door, and that’s most definitely by invitation only.”
“And those invitations aren’t necessarily the kind you want to get,” Logan says drily.
Riley laughs, but I hear the nerves behind it. Probably why she’s asking so many questions.
