Page 69 of Deadly Little Hearts

I head over to the large black leather couch in the corner and take a seat.Freya sits next to me, and Gage falls into a chair opposite us.

“Can I get you any drinks?”Zeke asks, and I nod, listing off our order.

“We’re expecting someone else,” I say to Zeke, just as there’s a knock at the back door.

Zeke disappears and comes back with Mia.Her high heels click against the floor.She flicks her straight, long hair over her shoulder as she stalks toward us.

I don’t trust Mia; she’s the reason my mother, brother, and sister left again.It’s not the first time my mother’s fled, either.Every time this happens, when she finds out about my father’s affairs, she leaves, but she always comes back.He forces her to return to his grasp, and I hate him for it.They are better off away from here—at least I don’t have to watch out for them that way.They are safe, and that’s all I want.

“Martini, please,” she says to Zeke as she moves past the bar.

“Mia,” I say with a nod.

She smiles, taking a seat on a chair next to Gage’s.“What can I help you with?”she asks, pursing her fake lips together.

“My father owes members of the Hood weapons that he’s taken from us and promised them,” I say, getting straight to the point.We don’t have time to fuck around; they have Lucas.Who knows what they’ll do to him while we try to recover their goods?

Zeke places our drinks on the table between us, and I thank him.I’m not worried about him overhearing our conversation; he’s one of our most trusted men.He sits on the board and knows better than to gossip beyond here.

“Yeah, and?”Mia takes her drink and sips it.

“We need your help finding him.”

Mia puts her glass back on the table, crosses one leg over the other, and leans back.“What’s in it for me?”

Fucking hell, this bitch.

“What do you want?”Gage asks, and she looks between him and me, completely ignoring Freya next to me.

“I want power.To be the first woman councilor for The Brotherhood.”

I laugh, grabbing my glass of scotch and downing it.“That’s never going to fucking happen.”

“You let Freya sit at the table and have power in decisions,” Mia whines.

“That’s different.She’s one of us,” I say with a small smirk.“You’re not.”

Mia’s face falls, and she looks at Freya with a mixture of hatred and adoration.She wants to be her, but she never will be.There’s only one Freya LeClair, and she’s ours.

“Well, before she was Dominic’s plaything, she was with my brother,” Freya says, looking between Gage and me.“If she can help deal with Dominic, find her a role.This shit needs to be dealt with.It may help bring peace and stability, serving The Brotherhood, adding new perspective to the table.”

The room falls silent.I ponder Freya’s words.New perspectives aren’t always bad—but they’d need to be from the right people.There’s no way in hell I’d ever let Mia join The Brotherhood, but she doesn’t need to know that.She just needs to think we will so that we can get to my father.The clock is ticking, and the more we fuck around with Mia, the less time we have.

“Fine, you’ve got yourself a deal,” I say, and Mia grins.Gage makes a grumbling sound, but I ignore him.His eyes bore into my skull, but I’ll fill him in after she’s gone.

“He’s set up base in Freya’s old place,” Mia says, and Freya sucks in a breath through her teeth.

“Over in Daringhood?”Freya asks.

Mia shakes her head.“In Daringville.”

Freya’s cheeks turn pale.

“How many men does he have?”I ask, desperate for more details.

“I-I’m not sure,” Mia stammers.

“How many?”I repeat.“Take a fucking guess.”

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