Page 10 of Explode
Of course I didn’t want to deny my marriage to Kai, in fact, I wantedevery single person on the damn planet to know Kai had been my husband, even if it was only for a few days.
“But surely I can appoint you as my second in command and handcontrol over to you?” I said feebly.
Miles shook his head, his features softening. “It doesn’t work thatway, Riley. Once you are appointed the head of the family, that’s it. You can’t just hand it on to someone else. There’s only one way someone else will ever be able to take your place.”
“Which is?” I asked through gritted teeth, not really needing to ask.
He swallowed nervously but held my eye as he spoke. “For someoneelse to take over, you have to die. Even if you decided to run away from Hollows Bay, and years passed, you would still technically be deemed as the head of the family. You’d be fair game if anyone decided to stake a claim.”
The knot of anxiety that had been building in my stomach since thismeeting started grew to the point it was about to burst out of me. No wonder Miles hadn’t dropped this little bombshell on me all those months ago when he first told me about Kai’s wishes, it was likely to push me straight off the cliff into insanity.
Right then, I wanted nothing more than to bring Kai back from thedead so I could murder him all over again. Why the hell hadn’t he made Miles his 2IC the minute he found out the truth about Hendrix?
I stared back at Miles, the weight on my shoulders growing to epicproportions as reality sank in.
I didn’t have a choice in the matter.
Even if I decided to leave Hollows Bay after this shit was dealt with,I’d be forever looking over my shoulder, waiting for someone to come for me. My future reunion with Angel crashed down before my eyes. If I was always at risk, then she was too.
I’d said it before, and I would say it again, but damn Kai Wolfe. Damnhim straight to the pits of hell for putting me in this situation.
I broke away from Miles’ intense stare and looked over at Jack, Tank,and Ash. The three of them stared back with sympathetic looks on their faces. Sympathy wasn’t going to help though, I waswayout of my depth and backed into a corner.
And there was only one thing I would do when I was backed intoa corner.
I would come out fighting.
“Miles, I don’t have the first fucking clue about running a city or Kai’sbusinesses,” I said with a shaky voice, trying to hold back the tears that threatened.
Disbelief romped through me that I was even entertaining thisridiculous situation. I grabbed the beer and took a long swig, relishing the cool liquid as it slid down my throat.
When I put the bottle back on the table, Miles scooted his chair closerand took my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “You can learn, Riley. And I’ll be right by your side.”
“What if I fuck it all up,” I asked, closing my eyes and taking asteadying breath as the weight of the monumental task being asked of me sank in.
“You won’t. Do you think Kai would have wanted Hollows Bay left toyou if he didn’t think you were capable? Why do you think he didn’t appoint me as his 2IC when he had a chance?” When my only reply was a small shake of the head, Miles continued. “Riley, Kai saw in you what I see. You’re a good person, a strong person who fights for what is right, and you want to make lives better for people. Kai knew that, and that’s why he wanted you to look after Hollows Bay. He was striving to make it a better place, and he knew you were the right person to pick up where he left off.”
A ball of emotion clogged painfully in my throat, I had no words tosay back. It never occurred to me why Kai would’ve left Hollows Bay to me, but now Miles had said it, it dawned on me that with the money and resources available, I’d be able to make a difference to people’s lives.
Even though Joe Mason, the man who helped me all those yearsago, turned out to be a raging pedo, he’d still helped us when we had nothing and no one, and I’d vowed to repay the favor someday.
Maybe that day was now.
There was just one problem. Standing in the way of me being able tohelp anyone were two gigantic assholes.
Taking a deep breath and swallowing past the lump, I met Miles’gaze. “So what do we do about dumb and dumber?”
Miles chuckled. “Which one is dumb, and which one is dumber?”
“They’re interchangeable,” I replied, as a tear slid down my cheekdespite the smirk playing on my lips.
“It’s your call, Riley,” Miles replied, dropping my hand, his features hardening. “If you think a deal can be made with the Bianchis then I’ve got your back.”
I thought it over as everyone stared at me, awaiting my decision. Butthe answer was staring me in the face. We needed the Bianchis on our side. Even if Mr. Bianchi refused to give us his men to help with our war, we at least needed him to give us some breathing space to move forward with our plan.
Coming to a decision, I looked over at Jack. “Can you really get ameeting set up with the Bianchis?”
“It’ll take a couple of days, but yeah, I’m sure we can do it.”
