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“No,” Jordan Sr. whispered, his tone the same as it was before.
I pulled the trigger. No second thought. No hesitation. Alan was fucking crazy, and I wasn’t going down this road again. He didn’t get to plead his case or beg. He didn’t get to draw another breath.
But he pulled his own trigger when I did mine. The guard to my left dropped to the ground. He was just behind me, over my shoulder. I felt the bullet fly past. It was a split second and had I moved, it would have gotten me. Alan wasn’t a good shot though he did take someone down, just not me. I could have been the one with blood pouring out of my neck, seeping into the carpet. I was so stunned; I couldn’t move to try to stop the bleeding.
Barry was quick to get there but it didn’t matter. The guard’s carotid artery was hit. He was bleeding too much and too fast. The life left him while Barry pressed his hands to his neck, blood seeping between his fingers.
Jordan Sr. dropped to his knees, reaching for Malik. His shoulders shook. And in a rare show of affection, JJ extended his hand and pulled his dad into his arms.
I leaned against the wall, letting it take the weight from me. My body trembled, the adrenaline of what happened finally crashing down. Greer moved to stand in front of me, to wrap me in his arms and hold me as tears I was trying to keep back fell.
I could have lost JJ today. Malik or Alan could have killed him. His dad could have chosen Malik over him. Fuck, it was too much. I couldn’t lose either of these men.
“I’ve got you, darlin’,” Greer whispered. “We’re okay.”
Heavy boots hit the hallway carpet in rapid succession as what sounded like a thunder of men raced toward us. Greer pushed me to the side and stepped in front of me. Jordan Sr. and JJ got to their feet. Guns were in our faces, but no more triggers were pulled. Jordan Sr. quickly put Barry in charge of talking with the guards and making sure none of them were working with Malik. I didn’t envy him having to do that. I had to go back through my employee and member records after the shit Alan did. I wouldn’t let that happen again. JJ’s dad was going to have to do something similar.
Greer and I put our guns away, no longer needing them.
JJ stepped close to us, wiped the tears from my cheeks. “I’m all right, Dex.”
“I’m not sorry,” I told him. The last thing I needed was for him to walk away from me again. I fisted his shirt and pulled him close. “I’m not going to apologize for killing him.”
“I’m not asking you to.”
My eyes were wide, wild with fear. “You can’t leave me.”
“I’m not.”
“Greer?” My gaze went to his. He was watching JJ and me, standing beside us, letting us work this out.
“We’re good. If you hadn’t killed him, I would have.”
A sob tore through the room. We turned and found Jordan Sr. on the floor again, his hands covered in blood as he smoothed Malik’s hair back from his forehead. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I didn’t want to do this. You gave me no choice.” He rocked in place, his fingers clutching Malik’s hair. “I loved you so much, Mal. You shouldn’t have done this. You should have come to me.” Tears ran down his cheeks. “Why didn’t you come to me?” He hunched over him, brought Malik’s face to his chest and held him. “Fuck!” he screamed. His pain was so heavy, so tangible, I could feel it. He killed the man he loved. A shot to Malik’s head, instead of letting Malik kill his son.
“Jesus,” Greer murmured and turned away, burying his face in my neck.
I held him, held them both, while we listened to the raw torment in Jordan Sr.’s cries. I wasn’t under any illusion he was a good person. He wasn’t. He killed JJ’s mom right in front of him. He murdered countless others and brought guns and drugs into towns and cities. But I was only human. I couldn’t help but react to what he was going through, to the sounds I heard, the pain so obvious in his cries.
My arms tightened around JJ and Greer. I held them as close as I could, thanking whoever was watching over us that it wasn’t JJ’s body on the floor. Or Greer’s. Anything could have happened in here today. It wasn’t lost on me how lucky I was to have them both alive while we witnessed another mourn.
I wasn’t sure how long we stood there before JJ pulled away and asked his dad what we could do. His dad looked at him with bloodshot eyes and tears still running down his cheeks. He told him with a raw voice, “Go. Don’t come back. If I need you, I’ll find you. You deserve better than this, than me. I don’t want you to have to bury the men you love.”
JJ crouched beside his dad and broke. He cried softly, the awful moment clinging to both of them. They embraced and with one final look, JJ rose to his feet, took our hands in his, and led us from the room. We didn’t stop walking until we were back in Greer’s SUV.
Blood coated JJ. I had some on me too from the guard who took a bullet meant for me. I thought Greer would take us home but instead drove us to Junior’s building in West Dremest. We didn’t have to go through the main lobby. The elevator took us directly from the garage to the penthouse, thanks to Greer entering a code.
The elevator dinged; the doors opened. It was like déjà vu to what we just went through but that was very real. And we weren’t walking into something unknown this time. We were in a place where family was. Where it was safe.
Peyton stood before us. I was sure Greer’s systems alerted Peyton to someone coming up. A myriad of emotions danced across his face before settling on fear. Fear his brother was hurt or JJ or me. Fear at the sight of the blood on JJ.
Chaos ensued quickly after he knew we were fine. Dominic and Junior appeared. Questions were asked, explanations were made. There was yelling. Lots of it and rightfully so. They were pissed we kept this from them. No matter how much Greer tried to get his brother to understand why he kept him out of it, the hurt was evident on Peyton’s face. He would have been there for Greer just as Greer had always been for him.
Greer finally gave in to the emotion which had been obviously choking him since we left Jordan Sr.’s building. He lunged for his brother, held on to him for dear life and cried. Apologies left his lips, promises of never doing it again. Fuck, it was hard to watch. This moment was just for them, and I felt like an interloper. Peyton forgave him when they broke apart and called Greer an asshole then hugged him once more.
As much as I wanted to get back to my home, to get my men in my bed so we could be alone, it was obvious how much Greer needed his family, and not just the one by blood. He needed all of us as much as we needed him. So, after showering the blood from us, trying to wash away the horrible day we had, we got dressed. JJ and I had to borrow clothes. It made me realize we should keep some of our things here just in case. I doubted we’d stay in the penthouse often, but who knew what was going to happen in the future.
Dominic was in the kitchen making popcorn when we emerged. Two bowls were already full, and he was popping more. “Movie night,” he said, putting a piece into his mouth.
