Hendricks matches the brow. “That’s why I’m here, isn’t it?”
“And now we have a party,” I say with a grin.
Hendricks nods in my direction but speaks to Jake. “How have you put up with this asshole for this long?”
“I drink a lot,” Jake says, the corner of his mouth ticking up.
Mason shifts in his seat. “Just to clarify, we’re planning to take out a branch of a mafia family.”
“No, we’re taking out the whole fucking tree.” Hendricks smiles.
If I were anyone else, that smile would make my balls shrivel.
Hendricks continues. “My sources indicate that Turner’s built layers of protection. Legal, financial, and political. He’s positioning himself as a gubernatorial candidate, which gives him institutional backing. He has law enforcement in his pocket. He has shell companies hiding his assets, and he has enforcers who’ll keep the operation running even when he’s busy committing other crimes. We dismantle it all piece by piece. I’ll look into Turner’s setup, coordinate the intelligence, and identify the weak points. When the time comes, we move, fast, precise, and total.”
“How long?” Jake asks.
“Weeks. Maybe a month.” Hendricks doesn’t sugarcoat it. “This isn’t a quick fix.”
Jake nods. “What do you want in return?”
Hendricks smiles—cold and professional. “A marker.”
“A marker,” Jake repeats.
“A future favor. Unspecified.” Hendricks says it like he’s discussing the weather. “I help you take down Turner’s operation, and when I need something from you—any of you—you deliver. No questions asked.”
The room goes silent.
Mason exchanges a look with Jake. They’re in for their women. Turner wants the ranch Emma inherited from her dad for its access routes through the ridge, and Lily had been kidnapped and in his network when she was eighteen. A marker is a small price to pay for peace of mind where they’re concerned.
Jake looks at me.
I’m in it for them, of course. They’re my brothers in every way but blood. They’re the only family I’ve ever known, and their women are my family now too. I’d scoffed when Jake said we should buy this ranch, but it’s the first home I’ve ever known. No one is going to fuck this up—especially a megalomaniacal asshole who’s spent his whole life confusing fear with respect. I grew up with guys like that in foster homes.
But I have one more consideration now: Harper. Sooner or later, Turner is going to become her problem. If I can keep her from tangling with him, I’ll do it.
So I shrug. “We were going to owe him anyway.”
Jake turns back to Hendricks. “Alright. You’ve got your marker.”
“Good.” Hendricks extends his hand across the table to Jake and they shake on it. Then Hendricks stands. “A woman named Laura will be here in twenty minutes to pick up the victim. You can trust her. I’ll be in touch within forty-eight hours. In the meantime, keep your heads down.”
“Copy that,” Jake says.
Hendricks turns to me. “You copy that too, Riot? No more exploding vans in the night?”
I smile slowly. “You know how I like to make things go boom.”
Shaking his head, he turns and walks out the way he came. We hear the door close behind him and a few minutes later his car taking off.
Mason exhales. “Well. That just got a lot more complicated.”
“Yeah.” Jake runs a hand through his hair. “But we need to finish this, so if we need to handle complicated, we will.”
“It’s not the first time,” I point out. The only thing different are the stakes. Jake has Emma and their baby to consider, and Mason’s in the same boat with Lily—I’m sure they’ll have a kid or five eventually.
And I’m right there with them. Jake and Mason became my family by necessity in the unit, but when we bought Blackthorn Ranch together, it became a choice.