“Thank you,” I say, smiling up at him. “For helping us out.”
“I don’t believe a person should have a set of balls in order to do what they want,” he states.
I like Bones. The guy has this air about him that totally screams don’t fuck with me. But he also just signed away his life to a two-million-dollar contract to help me and Jasmine start our own business.
“To the three of us and our future.” I lift my glass.
We both look over at Jasmine. She stares down at her champagne; it bubbles in the flute. Her green eyes are intense on the drink, and I wonder if she thinks we’ve made a mistake. If she has doubts about going into business with me.
“Depend on a man to feed you, and you give him the power to starve you.” She looks up at me. A slow and devious smile spreads across her face. “Here’s to us—two women who are going to feed our-fucking-selves.” She throws back her drink, and Bones laughs.
I drink my champagne in one gulp and know what I just did was the right thing for me. For her. For the three of us.
Things are about to change, and I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of it.
Bones cell rings, and he gets up to move to the back of the plane to answer it. Jasmine looks out her window at the dark sky, and I pull my cell out. Hovering over Cross’s number, I think about texting him, but I’m not sure what I’d say at this point. Plus, I’ve never been a coward. I’d rather talk to him face-to-face.
I go to pocket my phone when it beeps. I look back down at it to see it’s a message from Mitch. I don’t even open it. Turning it off, I lean back and close my eyes to get some sleep on our flight home.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CROSS
ON MONDAY MORNING, Titan, Bones, and I are sitting in the conference room when the door opens. We all get to our feet when Grave walks in. He messaged us an hour ago wanting a meeting this morning, and it’s the first time he’s ever done that.
“Grave …”
He holds up his hand to stop Bones. “I’m not staying.” Running his hand through his hair, he swallows nervously. “I just wanted to tell you all that I’m taking some time off.”
“Of course,” Titan acknowledges him first.
“Whatever you need,” I add.
“Good.” Bones nods once.
“I … uh, April and I are going to get away. After the baby …” He pauses, collecting himself with a deep breath. “We need some time away. Together.”
“You don’t need to explain yourself, Grave,” I tell him.
He places his hand in the pockets of his holey jeans and averts his eyes. “It’ll only be a week. Maybe two at the most.”
“Take as long as you need.” Bones goes to step toward him, but Grave steps back, moving to the glass double doors, and Bones stops.
“I need to grab a few things from my office.” Grave turns and leaves.
Bones rushes after him. I plop down in my seat and run a hand down my face. Leaning back, I stare up at the white ceiling, trying to get my head on straight. I’m not in the game. Between Grave, April, the baby, her brother, and then Alexa, I’m totally fucked. I’m not sleeping at night, which isn’t unusual, but it’s worse than normal.
Titan leans forward, placing his elbows on the table, and runs his hand through his hair when Bones returns. He slams the glass door shut, surprised when it doesn’t break. “Fuck!” he hisses.
“He’s not going to talk to you,” Titan states.
“Nothing new. He never has before,” Bones hisses.
Titan stands, straightening his shoulders, and turns to face Bones. “You may be able to lie to yourself, but not us. This time is different whether you want to believe that or not.” Then he too exits the conference room, stomping off to his office. Fuck, it’s going to be a long day.
I hang my head when I hear Bones throw the coffee pot, and it shatters against the wall.
“Sir?”
“What?” Bones shouts at Nigel as he enters the conference room.
Nigel is unfazed by our outbursts by now. He’s seen us at our worst. Placing his hands behind his back, he rocks back and forth on his heels. “Luca is down in the meat locker, sir. And he has brought a visitor.”
Bones’s eyes go from Nigel to mine. I stand, nodding my head. This is what I need—what we all need. To bury our heads in work. Get our hands bloody.
“We’ll be right there,” Bones tells him.
He turns and exits the room, to go get Titan, and I stand from my chair, pocketing my Zippo. The three of us step onto our private elevator and head down to the basement. Walking off the elevator, we make our way down the hallway to the metal door. Bones opens it, and we enter to find Luca Bianchi at the head of the room dressed in his black three-piece suit with his arms crossed over his chest. His adopted brother, Oliver Nite-Bianchi, stands behind the man tied to the metal chair in the center of the room.