“But...”
“Billy’s right,” Viper interrupted. “We’re not playing games with this asshole.”
I gave Everleigh’s hand a quick squeeze, then said, “They have some questions for you, and I’m going to need you to answer them the best you can.”
“Questions about what?”
“DeLuca.” Viper leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “We need you to tell us everything you know about him.”
“But I don’t know anything.”
“I’m betting you know more than you think.” He studied her for a moment, then asked, “How many guards does he have at his place?”
“I don’t know. I was always confined to my room or his office.”
“You didn’t see any guards? It was just you and DeLuca?” Viper pushed.
“I didn’t say that.” Country grumbled something incoherent under his breath which only seemed to make Everleigh more nervous. She wrung her fingers in her lap as she tried to remember something that might help them get the answers they needed. “He always had two guards posted at his door and two more downstairs. But I think there are at least fifteen in all. At least, that’s what he had on the payroll.”
“See? You did know something.” Viper seemed pleased—at least, momentarily. “What about properties? We haven’t been able to find anything except the house in Belle Meade.”
“I um...” She thought for a second, then told him, “I don’t know anything about them, but I do remember there being two separate properties. One was on Riverdale and the other on Malcolm.”
“We’re gonna need more than that.” There was no missing the urgency in Viper’s voice when he said, “We need the exact address, Everleigh, and we need it now.”
We all watched as she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. I had to give it to her. Even under Viper’s intense pressure, she was holding her own. It took her a moment, but the second she opened her eyes, I knew she had it.
“229 Riverdale and 879 Malcolm.”
“That’s good. That’s real good.” He turned to the man sitting next to him, then asked, “Are we good to go?”
He nodded, then started typing away at his laptop as he replied, “Yeah, I got what I need.”
“Good.” Viper turned his attention over to Lynch, then said, “Take her back to the family room.”
Lynch nodded, then stood and motioned for Everleigh to follow. I could tell she didn’t want to go. I’m sure she had a million questions racing through her head. Hell, I had the same damn questions, and like her, I was itching to ask every one of them. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the time. Viper wanted her to go, so she had no choice but to stand up and follow Lynch out of the room.
She was just about to walk through the door when she suddenly stopped and turned to face the group. Tears filled her eyes as she announced, “I’m really sorry about all this. I never meant for anyone to get hurt. I just wanted to make Antonio pay for the horrible things he’s done. I never would’ve dreamed that he would come after Billy’s daughter.”
“But he did,” Country snapped angrily. “And if anything happens to her...”
“Country,” I warned.
“I’m really sorry.”
My heart ached to see her so upset, but Everleigh’s apology stirred a notable change in the brothers. The room felt a little less hostile as they started whispering amongst themselves, and I had no doubt that they were sharing their thoughts on what had just taken place. It seemed that Everleigh had made them see that she wasn’t that bad after all—which wasn’t an easy feat.
Kiersten wasn’t just Country’s ol’ lady.
She was one of their business partners. She ran the Manor—all-natural marijuana farm with some of the best weed around. She not only sold her stuff to the brothers, but she also helped a lot of people who were in pain and had no other means of help. While working with her, the brothers had all grown to care a great deal about her. In their minds, she was one of their own, and they’d do
whatever was necessary to bring her home safely—even if it meant putting their lives on the line to do so.
The second the guys started to quiet down, Country turned to Viper and asked, “So, what’s the plan? How are we going to get Kiersten back?”
“There is no plan, at least not yet” Viper answered. “We gotta give Menace a chance to look into the addresses Everleigh gave us.”
“We don’t have time for that all shit,” Country argued. “We got no idea what that motherfucker is doing to her. We gotta get over there and...”