Brock told me that he was going to have me ride with Hawk on our bail jumps from now on, and I was excited for it, but I still had no clue how I felt about Bonbon.

“Uh. Yeah.”

Bonbon pulled her arm from Hawk’s hold and almost seared me with her gaze. “And you tell your man, chopped liver and garlic. He’ll know what I’m talking about.”

Hawk cursed again. “Okay. We’re done. No more late night scavenger hunts with you.” She began guiding Bonbon past me, giving me a tired and exasperated smile. “Again, so sorry. I’ll see you at the office later.”

“Yeah.” I watched them go. “Later.”

A whole uneasy feeling took root in my chest. I had no clue if I wanted Bonbon as an ally or an enemy. She was terrifying in both cases.

Chapter Fifty-Nine

BREN

We had another shocking moment when a month later, after Cross went on a bail jump with me, after he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and he was alone against the bail jump. Cross got in the way. The guy outweighed Cross by two hundred pounds, but hadn’t mattered.

Cross took him down, but he didn’t get out of that fight unscathed. And Brock swore that all my guys would get the right training because we couldn’t take in our bail jumps already roughed up. Shit happened, but apparently that was frowned upon.

That night was when our surprise happened.

CROSS

Someone was pounding on the door, and at the same time, ringing the doorbell.

They sounded as if they were alternating. Pound. Ring. Pound. Ring. They were jabbing at the bell.

Bren and I were coming out of our room, and at this point we weren’t hurrying to the door as fast as we would’ve a few days ago.

Zellman got there first and yawned before nodding at the door. “It’s your brother.”

My brother.

I was jolted at hearing that, but I didn’t know why.

As soon as he said it, he turned back to his room and we heard a female speak from inside.

Bren and I shared a look.

Zellman was drowning his sorrows the only way he knew.

The basement door swung open and Jordan came out. “What’s going on?”

Bren asked, “You alone down there?”

“What?”

Pound.

Ring.

I went for the door, flipping the light on as Bren commented, “Never mind. It’s Blaise.”

“Oh. Gotcha.” And Jordan swung around, the basement door shutting once again behind him.

There was a pattern here.

As I opened the door, I glanced at Bren. “You can head to bed, too, if you want?”

Her answer was to take a perch on the couch’s armrest and she smiled, the same bags under her eyes that Zellman had. Yeah. We all looked the same.