Page 77 of Disobedient Pawn

“Did she say she’d like to go out again?”

“Uh…no.”

“Did she give you any indication that you’d be able to get her into bed before Christmas break?”

“Fuck….”

“Well, that answers that. I wouldn’t even give him three points. Two is more accurate. His odds are getting longer, but I might put this fancy new hundred down on him as a long shot,” Theo said, handing Liam the money he’d just won from Myles.

“Yer all a bunch of fuckin’ pricks. I just want ya to know that,” Myles said, making us laugh.

“Hey guys, I overheard you have a bet going on. Can I join in?”

I recognized Evan from family parties at Blake and Theo’s. He was Lisa’s brother and already a senior, but he seemed more of a gamer than a partier.

“Sure, pull up a seat.” Liam offered.

As the guys talked, my mind drifted to how I would access my father’s office and his drawers. He never left the door unlocked and always locked his desk, even on the rare occurrence he forgot the door. I needed to get into those drawers. We were into much more than local drugs, guns, and washing money. We had an entire network, and from the look of some of the girls my father brought to his ‘special ceremonies,’ we were trafficking as well. I had to find a way to gain access to all that information and then find ways to stop or disrupt it enough that my father was viewed as incompetent and unfit to lead. My talk with him after everything went down with Hammer had left me with more questions than answers.

“What the hell happened out there, and how did you let Devin get shot?”

My father stomped around his desk. It was strange to see him without a suit on and even stranger that he didn’t lead the conversation with a punch to the face. Such wonderful family traditions. Not that I wanted him to hit me, but I had failed to complete the deal, and failure was never an option. It didn’t matter how I failed or if it was even my fault. None of that matter to my father.

“I don’t know what Hammer was up to. He didn’t have any money with him, and the back of the truck was filled with men. I thought Liam and I did a good fucking job chasing them off and keeping our product.”

“You mean you, Liam, and Devin.”

“No, I mean me and Liam. Devin evaporated into thin air and only reappeared to be shot.”

“I doubt that. Devin is a dedicated member of our Order, and you should be happy to have him with you.”

I screwed up my face. Did he just compliment Devin? I couldn’t remember the last time he complimented anyone. He certainly never complimented me.

“ How is Devin doing?”

“I don’t know. I don’t give a fuck about him. I kept him alive until the doc came to get him, and I haven’t heard since.”

“You should care about him. Devin is a rising asset to the organization and can be utilized,” my father said, and I glared. “He makes the perfect weapon.”

I wanted to yell, “I fucking know that already. You just sent him after me.” I wish I had proof, but that would take some work.

“I wouldn’t hold out too much hope for that happening. He is volatile, unpredictable and the only position Devin wants is yours. To get that, he has to go through me and I will not let that happen,” I growled and clenched my fists. My father’s brows rose and I could see the shock in his eyes.

“It’s good to finally see you passionate about your legacy.”

I wasn’t passionate about the order or my legacy, but if that’s what he wanted to think, I wasn’t going to correct him. .

“I can’t prove it, but I think Hammer only shot Devin to make him look like a victim,” I said, not acknowledging what he said.

My father snorted. “I find it stranger that neither you nor Liam has a scratch on you, but Devin is in the hospital with a hole in his leg.”

My hands balled with the accusation.

“You must be joking?”

“I don’t joke when it comes to business.”

“And I don’t screw up deals. In fact, the only deal that has gone wrong is the one where I was forced to take Devin. That’s a mighty big coincidence.”