Page 176 of Brutal Collateral

“Mr. Bronson votes No.”

This continues with senator after senator casting their votes.

“Aye.”

“No.”

“Aye.”

Shane listens, checking his phone back and forth to see if what each side’swhipcounted matches the actual outcomes. When he meets my eyes, his wink tells me that so far everyone’s keeping their word.

But with the nextNoresponse, Shane mutters a curse under his breath and looks like it punched him in the gut.

“Shane, what happened?” I ask, my voice was tight.

“Hornin did a last-minute deal with Valentine,” he grumbles.

But with the recentAyebeing announced, Shane looks up sharply. Smiling, he says, “Looks like Johnson flipped, too. We’re back on track.”

Ares shifts from side to side. “How will we know if more plan to flip?” he says, his accent smooth and controlled.

Shane answers after a moment looking at his phone again. “Bothwhipsjust sent an email, urging members to stick to the votes they counted on or there will be consequences.”

Ava whispers to me, “Thesewhipshave the leaders’ trust to go into these votes and not walk out looking like idiots with their tails between their legs.” Her knowledge is unrivaled in this room. “Whipsare third highest in both houses’ leadership, members don’t want to cross them.”

There’s no getting around politics anymore running a crime organization. I need Ava to monitor these backroom deals for me, see things even Shane can’t see.

I want her as the tip ofmyspear.

Whether she’s knifing someone to death, or crippling thempolitically.

Ares takes a seat, still watching us, his fingers tapping a steady rhythm on the arm of his chair.

Finally, the pro tempore reaches Kyle Miller. “Mr. Miller, Kyle.”

The room here holds its collective breath. Even the Senate floor goes quiet.

“Why can’t we see these fuckers?” I ask Shane, annoyed to only see the person recording the votes.

“The C-SPAN camera is stationary,” Ava answers. “Only when the other networks cover votes, you see all angles.”

The pro tempore looks out into the chamber where Miller sits. “Mr. Miller, Kyle?”

My jaw clenches so tight it hurts. Not to lose the deal, but to think a man would put his honor at stake for a son with sexual assault allegations against him.

Ava’s hand brushes against mine, grounding me. She leans closer and whispers, “No matter what, we’ll get through this.”

I tilt my head in agreement. Her words, her confidence inusloosens the knot in my chest.

“Mr. Miller, Kyle?” the pro tempore calls his name one last time.

If there’s one thing I know, family loyalty makes men unpredictable. Especially fathers. Kyle Miller has had a long career and a relatively successful one. Then along comes his son, who should have been a Navy SEAL with an honorable record. But he made the mistake of attacking my wife and as far as I’m concerned, he deserved to drown in that ocean.

Men who underestimate Ava either end up dead or paralyzed. Ask Brandon Keller. Oh, wait. You can’t. He’s the one who ended up dead, thinking he could keep her in a cage and then try to bargain with her.

Rand is a violent criminal. And just how far will Kyle go to protect his piece-of-shit son?

“Come on, you bastard,” I mutter under my breath.

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