Page 12 of Graves & Griggs
“No need for introductions; we know who you all are. Where are Skyla, Seraphina, Jackson and Brooks?”
Mentioning the names of their woman and children sets them all off, and predictably Asher Putnam is the first to step toe to toe with me, pushing his gun against my stomach.
“What the fuck did you just say?”
I look at the impassioned hothead and roll my eyes. This is the leader of the Brethren? Seems like an ill fit, but what do I know about running a secret society?
Zayden tsks. “Dominic, don’t set our hosts off like that.” He smiles to the room before his gaze settles on Asher. Zayden’s friendly demeanor vanishes in a moment.
“I suggest you remove the gun pressed against my brother before I cut out your entrails and shove them down your goddamn throat.”
That seems to catch Asher off guard; he turns to Zayden, visibly disgusted.
“What the fuck?”
Griggs sighs and shakes his head. “Look, Graves, we’re just trying to protect our family, same as you. The sooner you tell us what you want, the sooner we can all go about our lives.”
Zayden looks to me before speaking. “The Four Horsemen are after us. A job went south with them, and nine hours ago, they tracked down our safe house and attacked us. We need a safe place to keep our family so we can take care of them properly.”
“And fast,” I add.
Everyone in the room seems to relax a bit as Ronan Putnam speaks.
“So that’s it? You just need us to look after your wife and kid?”
“Kids,” I correct.
“And no,” Zayden says as his gaze turns to Griggs. “We’ll be requiring your handy-dandy hitman as well. Maybe a few others if you can hold your own.”
“And if we say no?” Asher asks.
I look to him, surprised at his boldness, before reaching for Walcott. He tries to fight me off, but I subdue him easily, pressing my gun to his temple. In an instant, every weapon is drawn on me, but I don’t care. I see the look of fear in Asher’s eyes as I hold hostage the man he loves.
“Then I suppose this will turn into one big turkey shoot.”
“Enough with the dick measuring,” Ronan grinds out. “Let Liam go, and we can discuss what you need further.”
“As a matter of fact, hand over your guns,” Wesley adds.
Zayden lets out an amused laugh and shakes his head. “That’s not happening, but we will lower our guns in good faith. Right, brother?” he says as he holsters his gun and raises his hands in surrender dramatically.
I push Walcott to the side and do the same, securing my weapon before I lift my hands. Zayden and I don’t need to converse to understand the situation here. They don’t trust us as much as we don’t trust them, but they don’t want a fight any more than we do. The woman they love and their children are here, same as us. They’re a neutral threat for now, which is good enough for me.
Once our weapons are lowered, Griggs lowers his gun beforelooking to the others. Slowly, they all do the same, Asher being the last to finally do so.
“Well, now that we have the warm and fuzzy greetings out of the way, how about you go get your family and we’ll get ours. Make the kids feel more comfortable and all,” Zayden tells—not asks—them.
I see several hesitations before Ronan and Wesley nod, then disappear down the hallway that I watched Skyla vanish from.
“I’ll go get them,” I say to Zayden.
“Sounds good! We’ll play catch-up while you’re gone!” He grins, waving to me like a fucking psychopath.
Asher and Liam give him uneasy looks before I hear Griggs and Zayden begin discussing our situation.
When I step out of the house, a door is thrown open, and Aries runs for me, Ryder close behind him and then Blake, yelling at them to get back.
I crouch down and scoop the boys up. “Did you forget that I said to wait in the car?”
