17
Theo
The Prodigal Son
Libby stalks my hotel room in a Griffin shirt and panties. Her legs look magnificent from this angle –“this angle”being me in bed, leaning against the headboard, with a cup of coffee in one hand, and both eyes trained on her ass while she nervously wrings my shirt and dials a number on her phone.
I should be nervous. I mean, inside, my heart is racing, and sick sludge coats my stomach, but on the outside, I focus on Libby’s perfect body. Her nerves are enough for both of us, and her face is so fucked up, I’m finding it hard to focus on my own problems when I have her right here in front of me.
“Dolly?” Lib stops in the middle of the floor and meets my gaze with dread in her eyes. “Uh, hey. Officer Tate here.”
“Mmm.” I grin and watch Lib’s face burn red. “Officer Tate. I never thought that would turn me on. But here we are, and I’d let you use your cuffs.”
Lib bats at me, despite the fifteen feet of space between us. “Yes, the chick cop. I was hoping Kane was in? I’d like to speak with him… A warrant?” Lib’s brows furrow. “No, I’m not questioning him… Dolly, do those boys make you ask for a warrant every time the police call?”
I chuckle and take a sip of my cooling coffee. I’d like to think that’s a sign of guilt and another strike in their column, but I have a general dislike for the boys in blue too, and I can’t say I’ve ever spoken to a single one without asking the same question.
Except Libby. She’s an exception to every rule.
“No, no one is in trouble, but I was hoping to have a meet with one or both Bishops. When?” Her eyes shoot to me. “Uh… as soon as they’re free.” She begins pacing again as Dolly the receptionist talks in circles. “Both of them are free at eleven?” She gulps. “Five-hundred-dollars-an-hour consultation fees? Woman! I will get a damn warrant and take them to the station.” She throws her hands up. “I don’t know! I’ll find a crime and prove it was them.”
My soft chuckles turn to a full laugh. They really don’t like the cops.
“Book me for eleven.” Her eyes come back to me again. “Yes, the women can be there. I don’t mind. I’m not bringing trouble. Boardroom at eleven. Alright. See you guys then.”
She hangs up and stops for a full minute. She stares into the space ahead of her, holds her breath and lets her chest shudder, then she lets it all out again and turns to me. “Fuck, Gunner.”
“It’s gonna be okay.” I climb off the bed to snag her hand, and pull her with me until I lay back and she straddles my thighs. I set my coffee cup aside and hold her down when anxiety pulses beneath her skin. “Why areyouso nervous? This technically has nothing to do with you.”
“I don’t know…” Her green eyes flicker between mine. Her left side is as beautiful as always, but the right is dark purple and makes me want to rage against the prick who is still in the cage a mere few miles away. “I agreed to letting the girls come because, I mean,I’mcoming, and you wanna ask Soph stuff anyway. It’s only right to say Jess could attend too.”
“It’s a whole family affair,” I insert dryly.
Her fidgeting hands stop. “Right. But Sophia is smart. She’s genius smart. Jay is the hothead, and Kane is the true soldier. If you want to know which one is most like Colum, it’s Kane.” She shakes her head when my body turns rigid. “That’s not to say he’s bad. He doesn’t hurt people. But he’s the most soldier-like. He can turn his feelings off and get a job done. He’s quiet, watchful,extremelyprotective of those he loves, and if the rumors around the station are true, the coldest.” Her voice turns quieter. “He doesn’t hurt innocents, Gunner, but I know for a fact he slit a man’s throat when the guy was going to hurt Jess. Nobody fucks with his family.”
“Okay…” I know she said she wouldn’t share their information, but she’s already begun, so I file it away for future dissection. “Jay is the fighter. Kane is the soldier. Sophia is the brains on legs. And Jess?”
She pulls in a deep breath until her chest expands. “Jess…” She exhales again. “Well, she’s the queen. She’s the heart of Kane’s world. And Kane’s world is the only world that matters. Now she’s full-term with Bishop babies, which makes him vulnerable. And a vulnerable Kane is the most dangerous of them all. I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if she’s not at the meet today. He might not let her.”
“And everyone else at Checkmate?”
“It’s a brotherhood,” she whispers. “It’s an army, yes, but they form their army with love, not threats or pain.”
“Must be nice,” I grumble. It bothers me thatnotbeing in that club bothers me. It’s insane to even consider it, but the exclusion annoys me almost as much as their connection to Colum. “I wonder if maybe you should stay away from this today.” I catch her hands when she winds up to argue. “If Kane keeps his girl away, then that means he’s ready for violence. And you…” I cup her face. “You need to rest.”
“Absolutely not. I made the call. This ismymeet. I’m not watching you walk in there and hoping you come out again.”
“You don’t expect me to come out alive? You think they’ll attack?”
“No, I thinkyou’llattack, and then they’ll be forced to react. I’m going there to make sure you behave, because if shit goes bad, it’ll be because of you. Because you hit on their girl, or because you made a threat. Becauseyouare vulnerable right now, and a vulnerable Bishop is the most dangerous of them all.”
* * *
We woke at seven.
Libby let me have her body again, despite the pain I know she feels in her head today.
At nine, she made the call and organized the meet.