Page 18 of Promise of Hellfire

I raised my eyebrows. “Oliver didn’t tell you?”

He shifted on his feet and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I wanted to hear it from you since you were there.”

Hunter cleared his throat. “No talking shop until after we eat.” He turned and began pulling plates from the cabinet, muttering to himself about how this was the way the rest of the year would go.

He had a point. Growing up, there were certain superstitions you followed on New Year’s. You didn’t wash laundry or you would wash someone out of your life. If you swept, you would sweep out all of your luck. And finally, New Year’s day set the tone for the remainder of the year.

Apparently, I would spend the next year discussing potentially committing felonies.

After we were given the all-clear, everyone milled about the kitchen area, ladling food onto plates. Ash came up behind me and gently checked me with his shoulder.

Ash was one of Oliver’s oldest friends and the therapist that was “suggested” to me after I was kidnapped. As much as I wanted to fight seeing him initially, I actually enjoyed our sessions. He was a sounding board for everything hectic going on in my life and the chaos that sometimes filled my head.

“How are you doing?” he asked under his breath, the sound getting lost in the conversation surrounding us.

I gave him a weak smile as I grabbed a fork from the countertop. “Who knows?”

He nodded at me as he placed a piece of cornbread on his plate. “Understandable. Are you going to have time to come to our usual session tomorrow?”

I sighed and shrugged my shoulders at him as we moved toward the table. “With everything going on–”

He cut me off by placing a hand on my shoulder. “There’s no need to explain. Just know that if you need me, I’m a phone call away.”

I set my plate down at the table and glanced around, looking for wherever I laid my wine glass. “Don’t worry, I will.”

“Have you been writing like I suggested?”

I spotted my glass near the stove and refilled it before returning to his side. “Some, but I promise that I’ll try to make the time.” I respected Ash’s opinion that writing down the things bothering me might be therapeutic, but with everything going on, carving thirty minutes out of my evening felt daunting.

While we ate, everything felt normal, or at least as normal as a gathering of this type could be. People ate and laughed at the stories the older men told of their glory days. Normal seemed like such a strange term to describe lunch with crime bosses, arsonists, murderers, and whatever else. Victoria and Kourtney were the only ones here whose hands were clean.

After the table was cleared, the discussion turned to business. The events of the next few days needed to be executed with a degree of care and precision to ensure things went down without a hitch.

“Hunter, you’re taking care of the situation with Chief Palmer?” Oliver asked.

Dominic tipped his chin towards Olly. “Actually, I’ll be assisting with that.” They hadn’t filled me in on all the details yet, but I would gladly allow them to handle part of the specifics on their own.

“What’s the plan for the Rose?” Ignacio inquired, propping his head on his hands. “Are we just storming in there? How are we going to move the girls?”

Paul frowned. “Oliver and Marie are going to drive a van over and park nearby. On my signal, they’ll pull into the parking lot and wait there.”

Olly scowled at Paul’s words, and Ethan laughed. “Don’t tell me you thought you were going in with us. You were just shot in the chest.”

Oliver stared at Ethan. “Have you taken a good look in the mirror lately, playboy? You look like hell.”

Marie placed a hand over her mouth, trying to hide a smile. “Yes, but he didn’t spend nearly a week in the hospital.”

Rory looked at me and mouthed, “Or take a bullet to the chest.” The corner of my mouth lifted involuntarily. I should have known that Oliver wouldn’t be thrilled to take a supporting role.

Marie gave Rory a wink before she turned to Oliver. “I know I don’t usually get involved in these things, but you can’t drive right now. If Nia found out, she would have a fit. You’re already skating on thin ice with her.” Oliver scowled at her words but kept his mouth closed.

Paul cleared his throat and started speaking again, picking up where he’d left off. “Some of the women are going to require medical care. I think we should take them to one of our safe houses.”

“Wait, the two of you are going to be there?” Victoria asked with wide eyes.

Aldo, who had been sitting silently the entire time, simply raised his eyebrows. “Where did you think we’d be? Safe at home tucked into bed?”

Dominic rubbed the stubble along his jaw and closed his eyes. “As far as medical attention, I’ll contact Nia and have her on standby. Ash, you should be available as well.”

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