“You know, with you on our team, I’m actually starting to believe that.”
I bite my lip to hide my smile, then lift my chin. “Who else?”
“The only one left is Adrian Reyes.” Ryland’s lip curls. “His dad owns a massive law firm and has cut deals with most of the criminals in town. He’s dirty as fuck.”
“That’s it?” I count off in my head, tapping my finger against my glass. “So that means four out of the twelve are dead already.”
“Yup,” Theo says. “Jack, Xavier, Devin, and now Carson.”
None of us mention Marcus, but the kitchen grows silent for a moment, and I’m absolutely certain that’s where all of our thoughts have gone.
The guys’ search for him has yielded no results so far, and the only upside to that is that it means there’s still no body.
Until I see irrefutable evidence, I won’t let go of my hope.
“All right,” I say after the silence drags out a beat too long. “Then I guess the next question is, what do each of them want? What do they need? Or even better, what are they afraid of?”
Theo’s brows pull together a little, and he gives me an impressed look.
“Vicious.” He shakes his head, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. “None of us wanted to drag you into this world, but you’re adapting to it fast.”
I flex my fingers, remembering the pain that radiated up my forearm after I punched Natalie. Then I let out a breath that’s almost a laugh. “Well, I’m pissed the fuck off.”
We spend the rest of the evening discussing the ins and outs of the power structure in Halston, and how the various families have interacted over the years. It’s a lot to take in, but I suck up every bit of information like a vacuum, determined to turn it into something useful later.
Like a weapon.
Over the next several days, Theo and Ryland continue my crash course in the underworld of Halston, where the criminal and elite classes war with each other and occasionally work together.
It helps, having something to focus on. It doesn’t fill the hole in my heart, but it distracts me from the gnawing pain.
On Wednesday, Theo and Ryland both drive me over to Duke’s. Theo pulls over outside the bar, and I peer out the front passenger window at the large, weathered sign that hangs out front.
I can’t work here anymore. I don’t need the money for rent, and there are other things I need to be focusing on. Besides, there are too many memories of Marcus in this place.
But a twinge of regret fills my chest anyway. I like Duke. He hired an amputee to work as a bartender, and he put up with my ups and downs in the months after I got hired.
He’s part of the reason I survived and got my feet back under me, and I’ll always owe him for that.
“I’ll be right back, okay?” I glance over at Theo and Ryland, wondering if they’ll accept my subtle hint that I want to go in alone.
It says a lot about how our relationship has changed that they both accept without question.
“We’ll be here.” Theo gives my leg a squeeze. “Take your time.”
I’m sure that’s not quite accurate. If I take longer than five minutes, I have a feeling both men will show up inside, ready to fight whoever they have to in order to get me out in one piece.
They’re still on edge. We all are. So I can’t really blame them for being protective.
I slide out of the car and close the door with a quiet thunk. When I walk inside the bar, the place is almost empty. I deliberately picked a time when it wouldn’t be crazy busy so I could have a word with Duke.
The stocky bald man stands behind the bar, and his eyebrows shoot up when he sees me walk in. I called in sick for about five days, and ever since then I’ve just been trading all of my shifts away. I know he knows something is up. He called me two days ago, but I didn’t answer. I wanted to do this in person.
“Ayla.” He sets down the glass he just rinsed, stepping toward me as I approach the bar. “Where have you been? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s fine,” I lie. “I just… some stuff has come up, and I don’t really have the time to work here anymore. You probably already figured that out, but I wanted to tell you myself.”
Duke’s eyes narrow. He flicks a glance toward the front windows, taking in the car idling in the street outside. It’s early evening, but still light enough that I’m sure he can see inside the vehicle.