Series: Like Us Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 177
Estimated words: 174544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 698(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 174544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 698(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
It’s my last solid plea.
Akara looks sympathetic but firm. Thatcher just looks pissy, but that’s his normal face.
“Come on,” I say. “Just think about it.”
“We don’t have time to think about it,” Akara says. “Look, as your friend, I get it. You want less people dealing with your family, but we’re going.”
I blink slowly. “What about the rookies? You inviting them too?”
“No, we need the other bodyguards on-duty. They’ll be with whichever clients need security today, so Quinn, Frog, and Gabe are being shifted around. Banks, you’re on the highest risk client.”
“Right on,” Banks says. He’s kicked back against the wall, arms threaded loosely over his bare chest. “And what about Oscar?”
“He’s in Amsterdam,” Thatcher says.
Knew Oscar has been MIA on comms, but I didn’t know where his client Charlie ran off to. There are too many places on a map to guess.
So it’s just Thatcher, Akara, and Farrow joining me, and whatever Triple Shield bodyguards are in attendance.
“We’re good to go?” Thatcher asks.
Akara nods. “We leave now.”
I’m trying to collect myself, but it feels like an animal is wrestling inside my chest. Fuck me.
Farrow tells them, “We’ll be right behind you.”
They say they’ll see us in the parking garage. I lean on the cupboards, and Farrow rounds the kitchen island. He rests against the butcher block.
We say nothing at first.
Then again, it feels like we say everything. So when I finally utter the words, it’s like he’s already heard them. “I don’t wanna do this with this many people.”
“I know,” Farrow breathes. “You can do this on your own. You can.”
“Why didn’t you tell Akara that?” I ask quietly.
He looks to the left, gathering his thoughts, then comes back to me. “We can do everything alone, you and me. Because we have done everything alone, Donnelly. See, I always thought our independence was a strength.” He pauses. “But it’s not always one. We’ve just learned how to live without the things we really need.”
It strikes me hard.
“A parent who cares,” he says. “Someone who makes you dinner at night. Who knows if you didn’t come home.”
My eyes burn, and his words flow through me like a visceral truth I never saw. One that might’ve always existed. I intake a sharp breath.
“And man, you need someone looking out for you if you’re getting swept into this mess,” he says. “I know you wanted it to just be one or two people, but with the restraining orders against your two cousins—”
“Ryan and Patrick.” I name them.
He nods. “Both security firms know your family was behind the attack against Beckett now. They want to take down those fuckers as much as the parents do, and it’s personal for Triple Shield.”
Because O’Malley, an Epsilon bodyguard, was beat to shit and landed in the hospital on Halloween. It was barely a week ago.
I begin nodding, accepting this, finally, but I ask in a short breath, “Do they know anything about Luna? About me asking Lo to date her?”
“No. I don’t think Lo wants that getting out, not even within security.”
“That’s good.” Less people who know, the better.
Even trying to be with Luna has a lot of complications, but actually being with her could cause waves too, I know that. It’d mean that over 50% of Kitsuwon Securities 24/7 bodyguards are romantically involved with clients. A number that won’t be favorable to any of us, most especially Akara.
I don’t know the kind of impact it’d have, so telling him I’m even in love with Luna isn’t high on my to-do list. He’s already done too much for me.
“You ready?” Farrow asks.
“Yeah.” I straighten off the cupboards. “There’s only now.”
6
PAUL DONNELLY
“You were right,” Lo tells me at the Cobalt Estate. “The best shot we have at taking down the Donnellys is through you.”
Feels like all of Alpha and Epsilon have swarmed Papa Cobalt’s office, plus some faces I’ve never seen. Must be lawyers or private investigators. They cram around me like I’m a lightweight fighter in this afternoon’s pay-per-view match.
Donnelly vs. Donnelly.
Akara, Thatcher, and Farrow are the only ones that I know are truly hoping I end up on two feet. This would’ve been so much worse if they didn’t push to be here. Thank God my friends have brains and that shiny five-star perseverance.
Price and Akara are talking quietly while an Alpha bodyguard pops open a black hard-shell case, but my head swings back to Papa Cobalt as he speaks.
“In order to present a strong case against your family for the assault or other crimes they might’ve committed, we need them to incriminate themselves.” Connor pauses in front of me, his perfectly fitted navy-blue suit making him look like the billions he’s worth. “That’s where you come in.”
I see the fancy mic and electronic gadgets in the black case.
Shit. “I can’t wear a wire.”
“Why not?” Price, the owner of Triple Shield, asks first.