Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 154882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 774(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 774(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
“That was six months ago. What’s he done since?”
If anything, his smirk widened. “Trust me, he has plans. Grant’s got something for all of them.”
“How did he get his hands on the stuff to blow the warehouse?”
“Everyone’s got friends, baby.”
That was so close to what I told Genny and Sunny, I shivered.
“Friends that are a helluva lot easier to make when you say you’re looking to take the Merchants down a few pegs. Every gang, loan shark, and crime family in Waterford, Leighbridge, North Quay, and Harlow are chafing under their rules. We want the chains around our necks gone. That’s how I know he’ll be very interested in what you’ve got to say.”
“Lochlan Grant.” Eyes on Vito, I dialed Sienna and gave her the name.
“I’ll call you back in five minutes,” she said.
Sienna called back in four.
“Grant checks out, sis. Thatcher didn’t have to look up the name. He’s a loan shark like Vito said, and earlier this year, Genny taught him a painful lesson. Turns out, he got loud with Sunny after that. Threatened to stop paying him his cut, so Sunny sent Makai to change his mind.”
I whistled. “That’ll cause a grudge. All right, we’re good here. Bring the stuff.” To Vito, I said, “Send your boys out.”
Vito jerked his head at them. They filed out, and minutes later, Sienna came in.
“Pleasure doing business with you.” It was Vito’s superpower turning a simple sentence into the foulest catcall. “Here’s my number.” He put the card in Sienna’s hand. “Call me when it’s time to get serious. Or, you know, just call me.”
Growling, he snapped his teeth at her, blowing kisses on the way out.
“Ugh. Somehow, Genny downplayed how disgusting that man is.”
I hugged her to me. “Let’s get out of here. I’m due for twelve showers, and Sunny’s going to take them with me. Not a bad tradeoff.”
“Hold on,” she said. “Let me text our invisible friend that we pulled it off and he can bring the car around back.”
Sienna and I made for the back door, saying goodbye to Cooper’s and my double life. Lochlan Grant was the guy we wanted. Working to keep Sunny rich and then, when he branches out, Genny kicks his ass and humiliates him in front of his family. The cherry on top, he tries to get out from under the Merchants’ hold and gets his ass kicked for that too. Hatred like that boils until you think if the Merchants won’t set you free, you’ll free the world of the Merchants. Oh yeah, Thatcher needed to speak to Lochlan Grant.
The two of us stepped out into the alley.
I asked Sienna, “Did Thatcher say if Grant is b—?”
“Don’t move.”
Hands seized me from behind, hauling me off my feet and away from Sienna. Any thought of screaming fled as the muzzle dug into my temple.
“I knew it,” he hissed. “I fucking knew it!”
My eyes bugged, but Sienna said it for me. “Ryker? What the hell are you doing?!”
“Catching you two traitors the fuck out is what I’m doing. I heard everything.”
“Ryk—”
Ryker snaked around my throat. His arm was a band on my windpipe. “Shut up! Say another word and I paint the brick with your brains.”
“Ryker, calm down,” Sienna shrieked. She threw her hands up, tears spilling over. “It’s not what you think. You have it all wrong.”
“I have it wrong?” He shook me. “I knew when I saw you pawing around on that shelf that you knew about the vault. You stole the diamonds, and when I followed you to get them back, I found you sitting there, waiting. So I waited too. It was even worse than I thought.
“You targeted Sunny. Tricked him!” Emotion ravaged his words. “I bet you convinced him to keep your relationship a secret to stop the crew looking up the truth about you. All so you could get revenge for something Sunny had nothing to do with!”
“R-Ryker,” I rasped. My nails raked his arm. “Lis-ten...”
“He would’ve stopped Adams if he’d known the truth. You should’ve known that. If you spent more than ten minutes with Sunny, you’d know he hates men like Adams. He would’ve hunted him down for—”
Sienna rushed him and Ryker whipped the gun on her, skidding her to a hard stop. She tripped and hit the concrete.
“Sienna!”
“All of this to get back at his family—take down the Merchants.” Ryker shook against my throat. “For that, you killed him.”
“I didn’t!” Bane! Where are you?!
“Liar,” he hissed, pressing the gun deeper. “You get tangled up in his life and then he just happens to be killed by someone else, just in time for you to infiltrate the crew and steal for Vito Bernardi.”
“No, Ryker, you... have to listen to me! You don’t understand!”
He cocked the hammer. “This is for my friend.”
“No!”
“Sunny isn’t dead!” Sienna shot up and grabbed him, fighting to tug me free. “Let her go!”