Damaged Goods

Too bad that isn’t possible. Eros would never allow it. They were too big to use as an ally; he’d want to eradicate them. Squash them and the empire they’d built, twisting it in his claws and turning it into something much darker.

“Hey, you with us?” Keir asked, his voice far too loud to be asking for the first time. I shook my head and blinked, clearing my thoughts, and glanced up at him.

“Yeah, sorry,” I mumbled, stepping closer to finish inspecting the carnage. I’d let the crews clean up, but my merchandise needed to be moved. “Dani, can you grab some boxes from the back? I want to get my stuff out before the crews come.”

“On it,” she said, walking off as I moved into the glass, the shards crunching under my boots.

“Here,” Kyrell offered, pulling a black pair of leather gloves from his pocket and handing them over. It definitely beat getting bits of glass stuck in my skin.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, my eyes landing on a thick chunk of something resting under the pile of games. It was barely visible, and I couldn’t tell what it was. After pulling on the gloves, I shoved the games out of the way, revealing a wad of… duct tape? What the hell? “Do you see this?”

“Don’t touch it,” Keir said, Kyrell already pulling me out of the way. He glanced at the cops outside before grabbing it and holding it up like he was listening to it.

“It’s soft,” he mumbled, already walking to the back hall. He passed the closed doors and went for the kitchenette, setting it in the sink. After pulling out a switchblade, he started cutting through the mass of tape, an awful smell escaping as he hacked away at it. Once he revealed a bag, we all stepped back. The blood and flesh inside was clearly rotten, the smell so bad that Dani gasped and ran away. As I fought down the bile quickly rising in my throat, the sound of her vomiting echoed from the bathroom. What the actual fuck?!

“Fuck,” Kill said, taking out his own set of leather gloves and covering his mouth and nose before getting closer. Ky opened the bag, and they peered inside, a string of curses following.

“Nope, out of the store, now. You’re closed today, and no, you don’t even get to help with cleanup. Our men will handle it,” he bit out, already turning away. Killian and Ky both went in and cleaned up once Dani was out of the restroom, walking out with their game faces on. “We need a cleanup crew in here.”

“What was it?” Dani asked, still a bit green. Give us fresh blood and gore any day, and we could handle it, but rotting body parts were not the same.

“A hand. A hand of one of our own, to be exact. I’d know that tattoo anywhere. We all have one,” he said, turning his hand over and showing us the small tattoo on the meaty part of his palm. It was a skull with flowers around it, a mix of dark and classy. I didn’t know how I’d never noticed it before, but at the moment, I was far too pissed off and grossed out to care.

“Why would they send it to me?” I asked, this fucking day just getting odder.

“No clue, but let’s go. Family dinner tomorrow night, we need time to figure out who went missing and when. Then we can discuss this and get you a protective detail,” Keir said firmly.

“Okay, well, that’s pretty far off,” I pointed out. “For now let’s focus on the issue at hand.” Ouch, Sana… bad pun.

“I could use a meal,” Dani supplied helpfully, all four of us turning to look at her like she’d lost her mind.

“What? I’m fine, and now my stomach is even emptier,” she said, rolling her eyes at our judgmental gazes.

“She’s got a point. I can send messages from a restaurant. We have a cafe over on Manley Avenue,” Ky said, already turning and heading to the Lexus.

“We won’t all fit,” I pointed out, but they simply unlocked the doors and held them open. “What about my stuff?”

“We’ll come back once the window is fixed,” he promised. “I’ve got guys that are less than a few minutes out.” It was honestly a better option than letting them find out about the guns this way. At least my office is locked.

“Dani, you can take front,” Keir said, sliding into the back, Killian doing the same on the other side. I glanced from the small space between them, to the guys, and they sent me a sly grin as Keir patted his lap. “Come on, Princess. I know what you can do while sitting on my lap.” Letting

out a sigh and ignoring his comment, I crawled in, trying and failing to sit between them before he yanked me onto his thighs.

“Just be good, Baby Girl,” Kill warned me, hand resting on my knee as Ky pulled out onto the road. At least the cafe isn’t far.

“Wait… by family dinner, you mean?” Dani asked, trailing off at the end and leaving the rest unspoken.

“Yes, at the estate. The full Family,” Kyrell answered. “And no, since you’re both under our protection, they won’t need to know who you are. Just try not to mention your last name.”

“Oh good, walking right into the lair of the beast. Sounds like a great plan,” she deadpanned, glancing out the window and mumbling under her breath. We all rode in silence the rest of the way until we got to the cafe, getting out and bypassing the growing line.

“Cousins,” a hostess greeted from the kiosk, “the family table is open as usual.” The guys each kissed her on the cheek before heading for a door in the back. I half-expected it to be an office or kitchen, but it was another dining room, this one with a large rectangular table, big enough to seat a crowd of thirty.

“We have a big family,” Ky explained as we settled at one end. I felt a bit extra sitting with so many empty spots, but the guys acted like it was normal.

“So, who do you think sent it?” I finally asked, but Keir held up a hand. The door opened a few seconds later as the cooks came in with a few platters of food, setting them in front of us before plates and utensils were added. Dani and I exchanged a look, half-amused but also half-annoyed we couldn’t just order our own food. It all looked so good I couldn’t complain, and once the coffee was out here, Dani was in her happy place.

“What can I get you to drink, Bosses?” the younger kid asked, barely old enough to work but grinning at the guys like he was in front of a celebrity.