Chapter Thirty-One
Linc
He’d walked to Dom’s house with Madden’s hand in his. He knew that she’d accepted their relationship, their future. He could see the change in her eyes, in the way she looked at him. He’d made love to her, and then she’d opened her heart. She told him about her childhood, which explained so much.
Madden was a wild one; she was full of fire and spirit. Like him, she’d had a good run. She’d lived. Truly lived, in a way that few other people ever did. She saw the world, and she’d learned to stand on her own two feet. Madden knew Madden. And Linc fucking loved that about her.
They’d had a nice dinner, zero talk of Franklin or the fact that Brooks and Grimes were coming back to town. Corey had insisted. She wanted them to have a normal meal, talk as friends. As family. But now, they were all gathered on the back patio, taking up every piece of furniture.
“Who wants to start?” Keller glanced around, looking at everyone, waiting for a volunteer.
Baze snorted. “Where do we start, is the more important question.”
“Do you guys do this all the time? How come we’ve never been invited before? You wound me.” Jasper was sulking, his butt on the ground and his forearms resting on his bent knees.
Jace slugged him in the shoulder. “Quit whining or we won’t be invited back.”
Linc had been surprised to see the twins at the dinner table when they walked in, but then he remembered how much of all this involved them. Franklin was their father. They’d spoken against him to the Feds. And now Brooks wanted them to do it again, dig deeper and spill more secrets. Those boys sure as hell needed to be here tonight.
“I’ll start.” Dom was massaging Corey’s lower back with one hand and holding a beer in the other. “Baze, Kel, Linc, and I called Agent Brooks this afternoon. We put him on speakerphone and told him what happened on campus. The attack on Riley and someone ransacking Jasper and Jace’s dorm room.”
“Keller told me today when he got home that Brooks is headed back to Haxton.” Molly glanced at Kel and then toward the younger boys gathered on the ground. “He wants to talk to the twins again?”
“Us? Why?” Jasper furrowed his brow, clearly confused.
“They want more information,” Jace answered.
“Do they want us to fucking die?” Jasper got to his feet, brushing the dirt from the back of his pants. “Because that’s basically asking the same thing.”
In Linc’s opinion, Jasper wasn’t that far off base. Franklin was a monster. Linc had seen firsthand what that man was willing to do to his own children. The violence, the malice he dealt without feeling or a shred of compassion for his own blood. It was unlike anything Linc had ever witnessed before.
Jace spoke up, his voice as calm as always. “They haven’t found men willing to talk, willing to go against my father.”
It wasn’t posed like a question, but Keller answered him anyway. “They did find men who were willing to talk. Criminals facing hefty sentences, willing to make a deal.”
“But they turned up dead.” Jace shook his head, chuckling quietly. “Morons. My father has just as many men working for him in prison as he does on the streets. Let me guess, suicide, like Bull?”
Linc nodded. “Two men, found dead the morning they were supposed to make their statements.” He had his arms over the back of Madden’s chair, his hands playing with her long hair as he spoke. The small act alone kept him calm, kept him grounded.
“They aren’t doing it. No way. The Feds can’t keep the boys safe. That’s blatantly obvious by now. Brooks will need to figure something else out. End of story.” Corey crossed her arms over her chest, resting them on her pregnant belly. Dom was still rubbing her back, no doubt trying to keep her from going postal.
Madden shifted in her seat, pulling her legs underneath her. “What about whoever attacked Riley? What if they are still here? Maybe Brooks could take him down? Who does this Franklin guy have on his payroll at St. Leasing?”
All eyes went to Jace. Whether anyone liked to acknowledge it or not, he’d spent the most time with his father. He’d lived with him growing up, experiencing his particular brand of abuse firsthand. Jasper’s eyes were trained on the ground, his hands on his hips. Linc knew that the kid hated what his twin had suffered while Jasper had lived a good life with their mother.
Jace sighed. “No one that I know of. But that doesn’t mean anything. My father may have been grooming me to take over for him one day, but it wasn’t like he shared secrets or a made-man roster with me.” He hung his head for a moment. “Bull is dead. My father had him killed in lock-up before anybody could question him. If we want to avoid the same thing happening again, then these Feds can’t take the next guy to jail. They’d need to get him to a safe house or something.”
Riley leaned his head against the wall at his back, rolling it to look at Jace. “How are we supposed to trap a violent criminal? Tie up one of the girls to the train tracks? We don’t know who this guy is. Hell we don’t even know how many of them are here.”
“Ox.” Jace pursed his lips, nodding. “My father would have sent Ox.”
Linc held his hand up. “Wait. Ox? Your father’s two main guys are named Ox and Bull? You’re kidding me, right?”
“They’re men for hire—they don’t use their real names.” Jace shook his head, like he was baffled by Linc’s question. “If Ox is still here, still watching all of us? Then he’ll see the Feds. We’d need to lure him out, before he realizes why the Feds are back here, and before he can tip off my father.”
Madden glanced at Linc then across the patio to Corey. “This all seems insane, you know that, right? Like some kind of bad mob movie. Like Riley said, how do you plan on luring him out? If this Ox guy is one of Franklin’s top men, I doubt he’s stupid enough to fall for a trap.”
Corey chewed on her lower lip. “We don’t have another choice. I’m not letting Brooks waltz into town and get Jasper and Jace killed.”
“Here is what we do.” Baze stood up and started to pace the length of the patio. “We call Brooks, we tell him to stay in town. They can stay at our apartment and I’ll couch surf. Hopefully Ox is hanging out closer to campus and won’t even notice that they’ve come to town. We’ll let the agents know we suspect he’s still here.” Baze threw his hands up, letting them slap to his side. “Maybe they’ll be able to think of a way to draw him out.”
Dom nodded in agreement. “We can try to meet with them tomorrow. Maybe lunch? We all have to be on campus or Ox could get suspicious. Plus, it’s only the second week of school. McCormick might get upset if we suddenly disappear for a whole day.” The last thing any of them wanted was to see that old man upset.
Molly sat up straighter. “I can meet up with Brooks. He can come to the studio, act like he’s there for a class.”
Keller’s head swiveled around. “The fuck?”
“Don’t start with me right now, Byrne. Brooks knows we’re together, and we’ll be in a crowded yoga studio.” She turned to address the rest of the people on the patio. “This way I can fill him in on what we’ve discussed tonight. And they can start to come up with a plan.”
Corey rubbed her hands on her belly. “Jace, can you write down a detailed description of what Ox looks like? That way we can all keep an eye out for him.”
He nodded.
Keller got to his feet, pulling Molly up beside him. “I’ll go make the call.”
“Wait.” Baze held his arm out, stopping them from leaving. “We have one more matter to discuss. Boys, go inside.”
Riley pointed to himself. “Me too? I’m pack.”
Baze shook his head. “Get inside.”
Linc swallowed past the lump in his throat. He never actually thought Baze would do it. But sending the younger boys inside made it obvious; he was going to put Madden and Linc’s claiming to a fucking vote. Linc stood tall, lifting his chin. “Don’t do this.”
Baze waited until the back door closed before he spoke again, “I’m sorry, man. I swear I am. But this situation could cause a lot of problems for the pack. For the boys. Problems we can’t handle right now.”
Linc knew Baze wasn’t entirely wrong, but putting something like this to pack vote was not okay. It wasn’t even in the realm of okay.
“You two need to finish the bonding process before someone winds up hurt.”
“You aren’t putting this to a vote. That’s…it’s messed up, man.” Linc stood his ground, his hands clenched at his sides.
Baze glanced at Madden, then back to Linc. “It’s already done.”
“You sorry son of bitch.” Linc lunged at Baze, getting in one good right hook before Dom and Keller intervened. “How could you?” They’d gone behind his back.
Madden stepped between him and Baze. “What’s going on?”
“I’ll never do it.” Linc ignored Madden’s question and trained his eyes on Keller. “You said so yourself. I physically can’t do anything to cause her pain. I won’t force her before she’s ready.”
Keller gave him a sad smile. “It’s time, Linc. You know it is. You won’t have to force her. She’s ready even if she thinks she’s not. I can tell. She’s different tonight.” She was. Linc had sensed the change in her as well. But she asked him for more time, and he’d damn well make sure she got it.
He made eye contact with Dom. “We have it under control. It worked fine today. She left work when she started to feel—”
“Linc.” Baze’s tone was clipped.
Linc took a step forward, shrugging off Kel and Dom, his resolve as hard as stone. He wouldn’t back down on this. They could all fuck the hell off. Madden was his mate, his girl. He knew what was best for her, what was best for them. She’d just started to come around. She had let her guard completely down for the first time. She trusted him. “You won’t win, not this time, Baze. Madden is mine, my responsibility.” He moved forward again, causing Dom and Keller to follow him. “Don’t fucking push me.”
Baze’s jaw was clenched, the muscles working overtime as he met Linc’s glare. Dom moved quickly, jumping between them as Keller went to stand in front of Corey and Molly. Dom held his arms wide. “We’ve never fought each other like this, and we sure as hell aren’t about to start.” He looked at Baze. “They’re close, you know they are. You can tell, just like Keller can. For right now, they’re controlling it.” He turned to Linc. “And you. You know Baze’s concerns, all of our concerns, are more than valid.”
Linc nodded once then turned to Madden, holding out his hand. “Come on, let’s go home.” Her eyes were full of question, her brow furrowed. It was unlike her to not stand up and immediately demand answers. So she knew what Baze and he had been talking about. Or she felt trapped, felt confused and unsure of her place here. Linc hoped like hell it was the first option.
Trapped and insecure were two emotions that Madden didn’t handle well.