Buttons and Blame (Buttons 5)

“Did it sound like they killed her?”

Cane shrugged. “He wouldn’t give me a concrete answer. Smart asshole.”

“I saw we hit the whole building hard. If she’s there, great. If she’s not…then that’s too bad.”

“I agree. Adelina will just have to deal with it.”

I kept pacing, my hands moving to my hips. “Nightfall?”

“Yeah. I think it’s the best time. We’ll have a boat approach from the coast. We can hit them on two sides.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“We’ll blow out all the windows and hit as many casualties as we can. Then we’ll strike from the front.”

“But what if Adelina is in the way?”

“Her room is in the front of the building.”

“But there’s no guarantee that she’s there,” I reminded him. She could be with Tristan in his bed for all we knew.

Cane swallowed the lump in his throat. “I suppose.”

“I say we enter the house on all sides and take out the guards silently. The less time we give them to prepare, the more likely it is we can get out with Adelina.”

“Alright. Let’s do it your way.”

“Okay.” I kept pacing.

“How’s Pearl taking all of this?”

“You already know the answer to that, Cane.” I stopped in front of him and eyed the tables with nearly completed weapons. My whole life had been about guns. It was more comfortable to hold a weapon than a glass of scotch.

“Is she going to be a problem?”

“Definitely. I’ll have to drug her and smuggle her out.”

He sighed. “Why am I not surprised? I’m sorry you have to do that.”

“She wants to hit Tristan with us…says she’d rather die with me than live without me.”

Cane’s expression hardened. “You don’t have to do this, Crow. If you want to leave with her, I completely understand.”

“No. I’m in this—for better or for worse.”

Cane nodded in gratitude.

“When should we do this?”

“Tomorrow night,” he said. “If we wait any longer…”

He didn’t need to finish the sentence. “I agree. Let me know when you have the other twenty men.”

“I will.”

“And should we recruit anyone else?” I asked. “As backup?”’

“I’m not sure if anyone would help us, considering who Tristan is. They probably want to stay out of it.”

“Yeah, probably.”

“I’ve made all the arrangements for Pearl. Lars is going with her.”

“Good. Would hate for anything bad to happen to that old man.”

Lars had been with my family since I was born. I’d never seen him slow down or take a break. We were his family, and he enjoyed serving us. “If we die, I know his loyalty will shift to her. She needs someone to look after her.”

“We both know that’s not true.”

Button could handle herself, just not in a gunfight. “Do you think she loves you?”

“Yeah. She seems annoyed with me most of the time, but I know she—”

“Not Pearl. Adelina.”

Cane’s face fell at the question. “I don’t know… I hope she does.”

Hopefully, this wouldn’t all be for nothing. Even if we got her out and defeated Tristan, it would be shitty if she returned to America and moved on with her life. It would make all of this sacrifice a bigger burden. But that probably didn’t matter to Cane. Whether she wanted to be with him or not, Cane would risk his life to save her anyway. “Well, you’re about to find out.”

* * *

I came home later than I usually did since I was organizing things at the base. Button probably already had dinner, and she was anxious for me to get home. We would have another argument about her staying behind.

An argument she would lose.

I suspected she was going to fight me every step of the way. I’d have to arrange for the men to transport her while she was unconscious. She would wake up in a beautiful place, one of the few places on earth that matched the beauty of Tuscany. She would be pissed at me—but she was always pissed at me.

She wasn’t in our bedroom when I came home, probably avoiding me. I showered then went downstairs into the dining room. She wasn’t there either. It didn’t smell like food, so it seemed like dinner had never been served.

I left the dining hall and ran into Lars.

“Hello, Your Grace. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“I’m looking for Button.”

“She’s outside, Your Grace.”

“Thanks, Lars.” I walked past him.

“Your Grace?”

I turned around. “Yes?”

He wore a restrained smile. “Not everything is as bleak as it seems…” He drifted away and walked back into the kitchen.

I had to scratch my head at the comment. Lars had never been cryptic before. Perhaps his comment had to do with the fact that they were both leaving tomorrow. If that was his way of trying to make me feel better, it was a waste of time.

I walked onto the patio and found her sitting on one of the lounge chairs. Her legs were crossed and pulled toward her body, and she sat perfectly straight. She had the posture of someone doing yoga without the mat.