Page 34 of Blood
“Everleigh. We’ve been looking for you,” the man at the center of the table says, his voice commanding authority over the room.
Everleigh moves slightly out from behind me. Her chin is jutted out. Fuck, I hope she doesn’t say something stupid. Both our lives are on the line here, and we’re sitting ducks without any weapons. “Well, I’m here. No thanks to my worthless brother. Did he tell you why he wanted to kill me?”
Dante’s arms cross over his wide chest. “I know plenty. And it appears you do, too. A little too much.”
A gun cocks, and Everleigh lets out a terrified squeak. My fists clench as I try to remain calm, even as one of the other men holds a gun to her head.
“Please. I don’t know anything. I just wanted to find my brother.”
I hold Dante’s gaze. “Everleigh may have found information in her search to reconnect with her brother, but she poses no threat to your organization.”
Dante’s eyebrows shoot up, just briefly, before he schools his features. “Do you think there’s something I don’t know?”
Everleigh gives a barely perceptible nod. “Lots. Like who my brother really was. He killed my parents because he found out he was adopted. He wanted to kill me because I’m their biological child, not because I knew anything about their deaths. I didn’t even know who was responsible for that until I was in his apartment and he told me.”
Dante clears his throat. “And why should I believe that? Asher was my third-in-command here. And now he’s dead, too, and that one’s on you.”
“Well, he was an assh—“
Dante and I hold our hands up at the same time, and thank fuck, she closes her mouth. The sass really does come out when she’s scared.
I pull a phone from my pocket. “Asher’s cell phone. Check the messages. And for what it’s worth, she did kill him in self-defense. I walked in on him about to rape her.”
Dante quirks one eyebrow but remains silent, so I continue.
“He had Everleigh—his sister, regardless of blood relation—tied naked to the bed. He had his dick out, at her entrance. Tell me you wouldn’t take care of a man that had your woman in that position.”
A muscle clenches in Dante’s jaw. He holds out his hand for the cell phone. I hand it over, and he leans back in his seat, scrolling through the messages.
There’s plenty on there that’s just Asher rambling, and lots of messages that he wrote to Everleigh over the last week while she didn’t have a phone. As he gets more desperate, he implicates himself. I’m just glad Everleigh never got those messages, although she certainly got to see a side of him that I wish she hadn’t. Some of those text messages are burned into my mind.
Asher:Where are you?
Asher:You better be dead, slut
Asher:You ruined my fucking life, the only way you can fix it is to be dead now
Asher:Fuck, you better be dead or never come back. If they find out they’re going to kick me out of the gang
Asher:When I find you, I’m going to fucking destroy you like you destroyed my life.
Dante’s still scrolling through the phone when he speaks. “Based on the information here, Asher lied to this group, and to me, to get us to sanction an execution based on a personal vendetta rather than a threat to the organization. Further, we may not be good people, but what Asher did to his sister crossed a line. For that, his blood would be spilled.” He makes a subtle motion with his hand, and the man holding the gun to Everleigh’s head steps back. Dante makes eye contact with Everleigh.
To her credit, she holds his eyes, her chin never wavering.
“The hit that was taken out on you will be revoked. Your membership in the Kings of Blood has been solidified by the blood you spilled, not of Bobby Martinez, but of Asher Mason.”
Everleigh swallows. “Thank you, um, sir.”
Dante isn’t finished, though. “However, your brother Asher racked up a sizable debt during his time with the Kings of Blood. A large part of the reason he was so high in the organization was his promise of bringing in funds that never materialized. You might have noticed his apartment and lavish lifestyle. He led us to believe that he had money, or that he would be coming into money, and we allowed him a line of credit based on the anticipated return. Now that he’s dead, that debt will pass to you.”
Everleigh’s face drains of color.
I step in front of her. “Everleigh will not be joining the Kings of Blood. She is under my protection, and as such, her debt will be managed by me. I’ll initiate a wire transfer back to you for the amount paid for her death. Following that, we can discuss the outstanding debt and come to an agreement that suits the Kings of Blood, but I don’t want Everleigh involved.”
Everleigh is gaping at me now, shaking her head. I ignore her. Unlike Asher, I do have money. Even a few million isn’t a big deal.
Dante shrugs. “Given the circumstances, I’ll accept that. However,”—his eyes narrow—“if anything regarding the deaths of Bobby Martinez, your parents, or Asher is leaked, it will be traced back to you, and your blood will be spilled. I will be in contact to discuss the repayment of Asher’s loans. Do not disappoint me.”
