Page 71 of Barinov

“What’s that?”

“I know you’ve got Mac and Rez on dancer detail, but Ellie really wants me to go with her to Paris.”

“And you’re asking me for permission? I’m touched,” I say, smirk tugging at the corner of my mouth.

“Aren’t you like the leader of this whole assignment?” Briggs asks, all business.

“Right!” Cade busts out laughing. “Lex, the new leader of the Black Books.”

“I don’t hate the sound of it,” I say, shrugging. “But no, I don’t give a shit if you go to Paris as long as you keep Little Whitmore safe.”

“I will.” He nods. “Thanks.”

“So, since you are the newest member of the Trifecta boyfriend club—I’ll get you your membership card soon,” I tease. “We should probably figure out who the hell you actually are.”

“Membership card?”

“And shirt,” Cade adds, finger pointed in the air. “A Rico special he made us last fall.”

“Of course he did,” Briggs laughs. “But, okay yeah. What all do you wanna know?”

“Well considering my boyfriend was all ‘oh no my sister loves a gunrunner’ the other day,” I say dramatically while winking at Cade. “Maybe start there.”

“Hey,” Cade gripes. “I got over it.”

“Thanks to Haley,” I mutter.

Briggs huffs a quick chuckle. “Alright, I guess it’s no secret that I run the Ashen Sons out of Knoxville.”

We both nod.

“My grandfather, Ashen Briggs, started it years ago. Then my father took over when he died. And a while back when Dad got sick—”

“Oh I’m sorry,” Cade cuts in, his voice quiet.

“He ain’t dead yet. Just didn’t want to mess with any of it while he was goin’ through his treatments.”

“Makes sense,” I add.

“Yep. So it was up to me or one of my brothers to take over.”

“Brothers?” Cade asks.

“I’m a triplet,” he admits. “Like I said it was up to me, Ty, or Brett to take over. So Pops thought it would be a great idea to pin us against each other. To see who was better at the job, I guess.”

“Sounds like fun,” Cade laughs.

“Not exactly. He put the three of us on a clock. First one to get their shipments down to Mexico and back without any hiccups would take his place as head of the Ashen Sons.”

“What happened?” I ask.

“The hell you think happened? I fuckin’ won.”

We all laugh as the senior’s performance comes to an end.

“¡Bravo!” Javi cheers from back up in his chair, looming over the dancers, waving and snapping his fingers. “Alright, Legacy. Halftime prep. ¡Vamos!”

Everyone starts moving. Rez fades into the background, blending back into the mirrors. The Legacy girls form a loose circle in the center. Ellie and Haley step forward, leaving one empty spot in the formation.