Page 61 of Break You

“Okay, I’ll ping his details when we’re done here. We done here?”

“Yeah man, we’re done. Thanks.”

“No problem. Now let me get back to loving my woman.”

“Nope. Don’t say anything else.”

I hung up to the sound of his laughter.

Asshole.

Seconds later my phone dinged with Dillon’s contact details.

I was in business.

* * *

“So, here’s the deal. You know now what’s required of you, and that you have a choice. You do this, or you walk away now, but either way, you understand the consequences of breathing a word of this to anyone. Ever. You know what you signed up for when you got into this. You remember the oaths you took, and the promises you made. Still, there’s the door. If you’re not in this one hundred and 10 percent, feel free to walk through it and literally never look back.”

Silence.

“Anyone? Last call…”

Nobody said a word or moved a muscle.

“Good. Okay, let’s do this.”

I smiled inwardly. A lot of thought and strategy went into choosing the cygnets each year. They needed to have enough balls and brains to go the distance, no matter what challenges and tests their membership brought their way. Getting it wrong and selecting a weak link was a major threat to the organization, even if the cygnet in question chose to leave. In fact, especially if he chose to leave. We had measures in place to mitigate against any blowback—measures that had worked for generations—but that didn’t mean it was a risk anyone wanted to take.

I tilted my chin in acknowledgment—it was the nearest they’d get to a thanks from me—then stepped outside the room to put the final plans in place. I’d explained to the other members of the Northern Cross what needed to happen, and they—led by Drew—would handle the rest of the logistics with the cygnets, coordinating them in groups based on what needed to be done. I had a bunch of other details to pin down, and not a lot of time to get it all done.

I ducked into my office next to the boardroom, sat down and started making calls. I’d already pinned down Dillon, and his side of things, as soon as his number came through from Zed, but I had a bunch more people to lock in place, and time was of the essence if my elaborate plan was going to come off. It had to. It was now or never. I’d get one bite at the cherry, and if I screwed it up, it was over for good. I’d have to concede defeat to Pixie, thus looking like a total moron to the rest of Cygnus and Rocky. In short, failure wasn’t an option.

Not that it ever was.

Rocky

I showered quickly, hoping it would clear my mind a little, as well as wash off the events of the past twelve hours—especially everything that had happened between Xavier and me. I didn’t know exactly how he fit into all the business with Cygnus Dei, but there were too many clues pointing in his direction for there not to be a strong connection. My suspicion, based on everything I knew was that he was front and center. The thought sickened me to my stomach, so I pushed it to the furthest corner of my mind.

I dressed hurriedly, then grabbed my phone—it had been in my purse when I’d checked it through, along with every other item that had been in it when I put it in my locker at work before it went missing.

Whoever was doing whatever the fuck they were doing to me, and for whatever the fuck reason, clearly didn’t want anything I had. It seemed to be more mind games than anything—pretending they were going to kill me, infiltrating all areas of my life to prove they could. They wanted me to feel watched and hunted, like they were the monkey on my back, and it was working. I felt stalked. I wondered if when I left my house a little later I’d be observed, followed, or even approached.

They’d been in my home, and my room at least twice that I was aware of, and I had no idea if, or when, they’d be back, or even if they were still there, hiding out somewhere. I had a moral obligation to tell Erykah for her own safety, but knowing she’d understandably want to do the right thing—as any normal person would—and call the cops, I just couldn’t make myself do it. Not yet, anyway.

I knew in my heart I shouldn’t be protecting Pixie’s criminal interests, but he was my brother and I loved him. Not only that, but I trusted him with my life. If he said he’d take care of something he’d take care of it. Exactly how, I had no idea, because he wouldn’t tell me. I needed to speak to him, though, to work out my next move, or our next move, or whatever the fuck were the other options available.

I picked up my phone, and before calling Pixie dashed off a quick text to Kik.

Me: Hey, bitch, where’d you run off to last night? You hiding something?

Her ping in return was instant.

Kik: I had to take care of something. No biggie. I’ll call you later.

Me: You’re being cagey and weird, and I don’t like it.

Kik: Have you looked in the mirror lately? DO IT. When you do, you’ll see the definition of cagey and weird looking straight back at you.

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