by Nana Malone
I spread my arms, cocksure and grinning, like the asshole I was born to be.
“I don’t need to fight you.”
“Well, I need to fight you. You come with your guns, wearing arms, I didn’t know this was the pussy we were getting. Fair enough, I don’t hit women.” I put my hands up.
He scowled and then tossed the gun aside. “It’s your funeral, either way. I don’t care.” He had a slight Eastern European accent, but it was mostly British. He’d spent years here. He had done some of our training when we were young. He was the fixer of fixers. The guy Elite members called when their son had a DUI and needed his blood tests stolen from the nick so he wouldn’t be processed. He was the guy they called when their idiot son had assaulted some girl and needed to make any evidence of that disappear. He was that guy. And he’d been on the Van Linsted payroll for years. Van Linsted had chosen not to do anything about him taking his wife. Why?
Zolov smirked as he danced around me. He was quick on his feet, light. I remembered that. I had a longer reach than him, so he was going to stay out of range as much as possible. My only option was to wear him down. Make him work for it.
He came in quick with a jab. I deflected with one arm, wrist to wrist, turning him slightly, making a fist of my left hand and punching him straight in the temple. He staggered, whirled around, and scowled.
“You hit like a bitch.”
“Well, you don’t hit at all. It’s a bit sad, really.” And then it was on. He roared and came after me. Punches, kicks. I blocked most of them but took a couple. Interestingly, though, the impact was lessened. He frowned when he punched. He had expected me to go down and I didn’t. We were matched evenly enough. He was maybe an inch shorter than I was. He was built stockier, but I was faster. Leaner. And in this case, just as mean. He’d hurt Livy, and he needed to die.
I heard a popping sound to my right, and just as my eyes skittered to make sure that none of my guys were down, I caught a hit straight to my nose. Searing pain. Jesus fucking Christ. And then he was on me. I was on the retreat. I had to block the moves, covering my head as he was raining hell on me. When he came up for an uppercut, I rolled on the ball of one foot, adjusting my weight slightly, and he missed. That was my shot. I came in, both hands up under his arms and around his neck, yanked him down, and delivered knees. One. Two. Three.
He finally got his hands up and blocked me on the knee, trying to hold it. Which was fine by me, because as he tried to use leverage to pick me up, I swung the other leg, more than prepared to fall on my ass if I had to. I grabbed him then and cracked our heads together.
He cursed and staggered backward, releasing me. With both feet on the ground, I whipped out a good front kick and snapped his head back. I was on him. I jammed my thumbs in his eye sockets. He howled and exposed his neck, and I punched again. Another throat punch.
As he coughed and sputtered, he tried to wave his arms about to protect himself. Then he reached into his jacket, and out came a knife. Curved. Deadly looking. That was one hell of a widow-maker kind of knife. I hadn’t done enough knife-fight training, so I eased out of the way as he coughed and staggered toward me.
He swung wildly and caught a slice in my arm. I cursed under my breath and glimpsed to my right and saw that Sebastian and Lucas had their guy down.
Lucas came to help, and I shook my head. “No, stick to the plan. Get out.”
Bridge was fighting Van Linsted. Roone had his guy down, and he was zip tying him. Then he came for me. I shook my head. “You know what you have to do. Go.”
With them gone, it was Bridge and I against Van Linsted and Evan Zolov. We were either going to both walk out alive or both die there.
I felt another slice of heat across my arm, but it was the slice across my belly that was too close for comfort. I could feel the heat against my gut, but the heat wasn’t immediately chased by pain. No. It felt like fire, but it didn’t hurt. I didn’t dare glance down. I planted an open palm to his nose, and he cursed as we danced around each other, going blow for blow.
I heard Bridge grunting. He had Van Linsted by the throat, but Van Linsted bucked his hips and rolled him over, which was not an easy feat. Bridge was a big motherfucker.
I had to end this. I had to help him.
In our ears, East shouted, “Someone tell me what the fuck is going on. The alarms were tripped. You might have another guard in there soon. You have to get out. We do not have time for this.”
Zolov came at me again with the knife, but this time as he went to swipe, I blocked it with a high stance guard. And then with my thumb placed on his wrist and my middle finger on his thumb, I twisted. He howled, dropped the knife, and then I let go.
I unleashed the control that I’d held onto for most of my life. The thing that told me the right thing to do. The thing that told me to be good instead of bad and not to bring violence down on the people that were just pure assholes. I let it go. I twisted until I heard a crack, and then I went for his face, releasing the anger and the fury of what he’d done to Livy, how he’d sent Todd after her, how he’d tried to kill her. He’d terrorized her. He’d made her unsafe. He’d tried to take her from me.
I kept punching, occasionally throwing in kicks. Letting the rage take over, and God, I felt so fucking good. But then something was hooking on my arm.
Bridge. What the fuck?
“Stop, Ben.”
I fought his hold.
“You can fight me if you want but stop. He’s done. Tie him up.”
My eyes came into focus. He wasn’t just another demon to fight. This was Bridge, my mate.
Marcus Van Linsted was on his side, barely bloodied. I looked at Bridge and said, “I thought you were going to kill him.”
“I would like to. But it’s going to be far more satisfying watching him tumble down from his high tower.”
Evan was bloody and limp and trying to slip away by crawling. “Uh-uh-uh, where do you think you’re going? I am sure Interpol will be so interested in speaking to you.”
I knelt behind him, setting my knee on his back as I wrenched both of his arms behind him. I then used the zip ties and tied them securely. Then I tied his feet as well before dragging him to the side and propping him up. “Just so you know, it was me that did this to you.” Then I pulled off my mask so he could see.
The one eye he still had partially open widened, and he gritted his teeth. “You’re a dead man.”
“You’re welcome to come for me. But if you go after the woman I love one more time, no one will stop me from finishing you.”
And then Bridge tugged me out. We took the hallway to the left, not giving a fuck that we were on the cameras now. The police were already on their way. We still had three minutes to get to our egress site. In our comms, East’s voice was clipped. “I’ve got the king. Lucas is next. Roone is already at his exit site. Tell me you two idiots are going to make it.”
I winced. “Yeah, we’re going to cut it close though. Cops are already on their way. Someone triggered an alarm.”
“Yeah, Van Linsted did it on his fucking phone.”
“How did he know we were going to be in there?”
“I don’t know. I wish I fucking did,” East said. “He might have known, but he might have just been putting his own security on the jewel. It’s the kind of thing he would do. That jewel was his future. Get out of there. You’re both in one piece?”
I winced as both my arms throbbed, but I said nothing. “Yeah, more or less.”
Bridge seemed perfectly whole, but he was more taciturn than usual. Quiet.
“Are you all right, mate?”
His gaze shifted to me as we took a left in the hallway and then a right toward another entrance to the tunnels. His voice was low when he asked, “Were you going to kill him?”
That was a good question. And I had no real answer other than, “I don’t know.”
Bridge nodded. “It’s a good thing I was here then. We don’t want that punishing your conscience
.”
That was just the thing though. For Livy, I could have done it without even hesitating. “Yeah, thank God for that.”
He moved aside the grate and shoved me through it as if I might change my mind and go back upstairs to finish the job. I went through the tunnel and he followed, moving the grate, pulling the chain through the bars and wrapping it back up as if it had been like that all along. “Let’s get the fuck out of here. That jewel is more trouble than it’s worth, and I can’t wait to give it back to Downs.”
“Amen to that.”
23
Ben
“Are you sure he didn’t recognize you?” Roone asked.
It could potentially be a problem, but I was done fucking about. “I’ve left that on my I don’t give a shit list. I’m done worrying about Marcus Van Linsted. As soon as this is done, I’m going to tie this all into a neat little bow and give it to Interpol. He’s going to jail for a very long time, and no one is going to believe him if he says that I robbed the Grimwald Authenticators vault.”
Roone just shook his head. “It was a risk, but I’ll trust you.”
I lifted a brow. “Now you trust me?”
He applied antiseptic to my wounds and started to sew. It might not be staples but that shit still hurt. And I got the impression my cousin was making it hurt on purpose.
Sebastian sat back against the seat in the van as East drove like his last name was Hamilton instead of Hale. “So this is it? We’re done?”
I reached under my vest to my pocket and pulled out the bracelet.
Sebastian whistled. “Jesus Christ, that thing is enormous.”
“Yup, and absolutely worth the risk.”
Once we got rid of the van, we we’re going straight to Downs.
Bridge shook his head. “I can’t fucking believe we pulled this off.”
Lucas grinned then. “What’s not to believe? I am the master.”
Sebastian didn’t say much, he just watched his brother. “Yeah, you are very, very good at this. You miss it, don’t you?”
From my position, I lifted my head so I could see him answer, even though I could hear him. My ears were still ringing from that hit.
Lucas’s voice was hoarse. “Yeah, I do. I guess third time is the charm, but I’ve been after this thing for weeks.” He reached out and took it from me and held it between his fingers. “And like a woman, she was worth every trial and tribulation. Jesus, are you sure you’re not going to keep it?”
“We’re not keeping it. You’re not keeping it.”
Roone plucked it out of Lucas’s hands. “You know what? Let’s just go ahead and leave this van so that someone here doesn’t attempt to rob it.”
Lucas rolled his eyes. “You steal a couple of things, and people start to think that you’ll always be a thief.”
Sebastian watched his brother. “You would rather be a thief than a prince. Am I right?”
Lucas shook his head. “No. You can’t compare the two. It’s like trying to compare pussy and oral. Both are outstanding. One is just more of a challenge and requires more of my brain. I like the challenge, but I don’t actually want the things. It’s not like I need them now. I just like pitting myself against the impossible. Or sometimes, like now, against someone who needs to be taught a lesson.”
Sebastian nodded. “Well then, maybe we think of a way that allows you to use your skills. Obviously not for anything dangerous, but if you have a skillset that can be used for good, then maybe we should do that.”
Lucas lifted a brow. “You’re serious?”
“Yeah.”
Lucas nodded. “Right, okay. Because Bryna suggested that I steal from the rich to give to the poor.”
Sebastian dropped his head back against the side of the van. “You two are a match made in heaven. When are you going to make her an honest woman?”
He laughed. “Sooner than you probably think.”
Roone nudged my side. “Are you going to be okay?’
“Yeah, I’ve been worse.”
On my other side, Bridge nodded. “Right, when have you been worse?”
I winced as Roone sewed. “Jesus Christ, mate. Okay, probably not ever. But in for penny, in for a pound. Christ, mate, that really hurts.”
Roone grinned. “Quit bitching.”
East pulled up under an overpass three miles from Grimwald, and everyone piled out like they were exiting a clown car. Even in my semi-patched-up condition, I knew what we needed to do to get away clean. East grabbed the side panels and the team started to peel.
Patch by patch, the white paint turned to a brilliant blue. All said and done, the peel job took less than a minute. When we were done, Bridge took the ball of chemical plastics to a bin at the edge of the overpass and tossed it in along with a match. He was the last to climb back into the van.
From the front, East asked. “Seriously though, are you okay?”
I met his gaze in the rearview mirror. “Yeah, now that it’s almost over, I’m absolutely better.”
“All right, we’ll drop these gits off, but let’s get you to Downs first. The sooner we’re rid of that jewel, the better for everyone.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
Once we were on our way, Bridge helped me turn from dingy ne’er-do-well back into the billionaire twat that I played in the media. I was careful not to disturb the newly stitched injuries as I eased into spring cashmere. With a change of clothes and a bottle of water to wash my face off, I was almost a new man.
Bridge handed me the jewel inside a second little pouch Lucas had provided. “Wish me luck.”
Bridge nodded. “We’re really close to finishing them. Toby would be proud of you.”
My eyes stung and I sniffed and nodded, finally letting go of the unending wild emotions. “Yeah. Thank you for being there. Keeping me level.”
“Anytime.”
From the front seat, East groused, “Are you two going to hug or what? Get moving.”
I stepped out of the van, slamming the door shut, and off they went, an unlikely band of brothers. I found it interesting that they were warmer brothers to me than most of the men I’d been inducted with, the men who were supposed to be my actual brothers. Three blocks up, I crossed the street. The Majestic Hotel was one of the premier boutique hotels in London. We didn’t own it, unfortunately, but it was a beautiful property. Very old-world 1920s. Elegance unsurpassed.
I knew exactly which room Downs was in, so I skipped the front desk. Less cameras that way. We had a video of me leaving Bridge’s house time-stamped forty minutes earlier, and now there would be footage of me walking into Downs’s hotel exactly according to plan. If Downs tried to screw us, he’d be implicated, but the video gave me an airtight alibi.
I gave two sharp raps at the door, and he pulled it open. He frowned when he saw me. “What happened to you?”
“Nothing. Can I come in?”
He stepped aside and gestured me into the suite, leading me to the massive living area. I could see the double doors to the bedroom. “What are you doing here?”
“Relax, no one followed me. No one knows you’re here still. But,” I pulled the pouch out of my pocket, “I have something that you want.”
Downs’s brows rose. “You’re serious?”
“Yes, that was your requirement, was it not?”
“Yes. The jewel was my requirement, and you were able to take it?”
“Yes, I was.”
He lifted a brow. “Dare I ask how this happened?”
“Like we discussed, it’s better that you don’t know the details. But you have what you want, and now I’ll expect to have what I want.”
He pulled open the pouch, reached in, and pulled out the beautiful jewel. He whistled low. “I never thought I’d see it in my lifetime. Not this close at least.”
I winced as my arm brushed against the chair I eased into. “So, Mr. Downs,” I glanced up at him, “do we have a deal?’
He lifted the jewel that was th
e size of most of his palm. “We do have a deal, Mr. Covington. You will have the votes you need.”
“Excellent. That’s exactly what I needed to hear.”
24
Livy
“You know you guys didn’t have to keep me company, right?”
Bryna chewed her thumbnail as she shifted her feet under herself on Jessa’s couch. “Are you kidding? This kept me from losing my damn mind. So really, this is for me.”
Telly sipped her Cosmo. “I know these are so played out, but God they’re so delicious.”
Jessa asked, “Don’t you love my giant Cosmo glasses?”
I’d only had a few sips of a regular-size glass because I was too nervous and keyed up to let alcohol go to my head. I’d had half of mine. Telly had finished her whole giant one, and her words were slurring slightly. “I’m so glad I got to know you guys.”
Jessa grinned. “Me too.”
Ariel chimed in. “Me three. You guys are a hoot, and Telly, you are pretty badass with the keyboards, so you’re Team Ariel for sure.”
Penny rolled her eyes. “What about Team Penny?”
I smiled at the queen. “Well, I’m Team Penny. Also, I’m ridiculously jealous. How is it you’ve recently had two babies?”
She laughed. “They are a handful.” Then she checked the clock. “Uh, actually, that is my cue to go call my daughter. She should be up from her nap now.”
I nodded. “Have the nanny send pictures. I want to see baby cheeks.”
She laughed. “Understood.”
Ariel grinned. “Kiss my goddaughter and Cash for me.”
“Yes, I will give them all the virtual kisses.”
When she excused herself, I looked at the clock and bit my lip. “Okay, it’s heading toward one o’clock. I need to get back to Covington House.”
Jessa watched me closely. “Are you sure? You know you can stay the night.”
I shook my head. “I’m not going to sleep. And honestly, when I wake up, I want the first thing I see to be him.”