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“Looks like the peace treaty is going well,” a voice said from behind me. “Seeing the two of you talking brings me back.”
Swallowing thickly, I slowly turned around to see Hayes standing there. Kian’s father hadn’t changed much since the last time I was this close to him. He shared Kian’s brown hair, and their green eyes were startlingly similar. Standing next to him was his second in command—Nick, I think his name was. He was eyeing me with distrust, and the instant stab of dislike reminded me of my teenage years. I didn’t fucking like him, and neither did Kian—or at least he didn’t back then. But unlike me, Kian needed to at least act like he got along with his father’s most trusted man.
“Hayes,” I greeted him stiffly.
“Good to see you, Jace,” he replied, as if there hadn’t been years of animosity between his gang and Chris’s. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”
Kian was closest to the door, and he reached for the handle and pulled it open. I walked in behind him, my skin prickling from having Hayes and Nick at my back. Nerves had my heart racing when my gaze swept over the small interior of the café. It was empty except for Chris and one of his men sitting at a table. The street we were on was smack in the middle of Pacific Point, and it was the one place there was no gang activity because it was the line that separated the two sides of the city. Clearly, the café was closed for this meeting, and I didn’t see any employees.
“Jace, good of you to finally join us,” Chris murmured, ignoring that Grimrose was just as late as me.
“The trouble on campus is concerning,” Hayes said, dropping in the seat on the opposite side of the table from Chris as he got right down to business. “The Riot Crew showing up isn’t good for either of us.”
I took a seat at one end of the table and Kian sat across from me. We both stayed quiet as Hayes and Chris stared at each other. Fuck. The tension in this room was off the charts, making me wonder how bad it had been when they made the plan to get Kian and me back from the Phantoms.
Chris tore his eyes from Hayes to look at me. “You had her for three days, yet you weren’t able to find out who she works for.”
It wasn’t a question, but a statement. His face revealed nothing, but I was well aware that he was pissed and that he was fully blaming me for everything that was happening on campus.
“We couldn’t exactly torture her,” Kian spoke up. “Not when we don’t know who she works for.”
Hayes nodded in agreement. “Smart choice, seeing as the Riot Crew is backing her. We don’t need them to get involved any more than they already are.”
“What now?” Chris snapped. “We let her run campus?”
Hayes drummed his fingers on the table. “I didn’t say that. She’s important. That much is obvious. Jace and Kian will keep an eye on her until we figure out who she’s with and what their plans are with Little Haven.”
“Watching her is not enough,” Chris exploded, his fists landing on the table. “This is fucking ridiculous. This one girl is halting the plans I’ve been making—”
“You?” Hayes cut in sharply, a storm brewing in his eyes. “I’ve had men on campus for years, not you.”
“And she was running that college the entire time,” Chris responded, his voice rising in anger. “You didn’t get control of it.”
“It doesn’t matter now, does it?” Hayes raised an eyebrow. “Because we have asignedagreement that says we’ll both take Little Haven. Together. Unless you’d like to break the contract…”
“Of course not,” Chris answered smoothly, reining in his rage. “There’s more than enough for both of us to profit.”
Kian met my gaze, his pointed look proving he didn’t believe Chris’s words. I knew for a fact that Chris would never share Little Haven. Having to split Pacific Point with Grimrose was already difficult enough for him and his huge fucking ego.
“Until we figure out who’s backing her, we let her believe she has the campus,” Hayes said simply as his eyes darted between Kian and me. “You two watch her. Talk to her. Push her a little to see how serious the Riot Crew is about intervening.”
I glanced at Chris, and he jerked a nod, silently agreeing with Hayes, although I was sure the conversation would be different once we spoke without Grimrose in the room.
“On to our next issue,” Chris said, lighting up a cigarette. “The Phantoms have some allies that aren’t too happy about what we did. When we took them out, we fucked up a few business deals.”
“Someone tried burning down one of our warehouses.” Hayes crossed his arms. “I’m guessing it’s related to that.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, taking in this new information. Kian and I had been stowed away on campus with Rynn, so we hadn’t been keeping up with gang business. I had no idea who the Phantoms worked with, but it looked like we needed to find out.
“I don’t think they’ll come after you two in Little Haven,” Chris said, tapping the cigarette ash over the floor, “but you should be on alert just in case until we handle it.”
“We want weekly updates about her and campus,” Hayes told us. “And at some point, I’d like to meet this girl.”
Ice flooded my veins at his words, and it took some self-control to keep the emotions off my face. After what she’d done, I shouldn’t care about her safety. But the thought of her being in Pacific Point with either Hayes or Chris had dread slithering through me.
Hayes stood up, signaling the meeting was over, and I quickly followed his lead until Chris’s voice cut through the air.
“We need to talk.” He didn’t need to say my name to know his words were directed at me. “Family business.”
