Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 73042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
I force myself to look away when I realize I’m staring at him.
Funny thing is?
He’s staring at me too.
Another good reason to look away. I know I look terrible with my bald head. At least I’ve put on a few pounds and my complexion is pretty good now. But the hair will take a while to come back.
“Let’s all sit down.” Falcon moves out from behind the bar and takes a seat next to Savannah on the loveseat. Hawk and Vinnie take recliners.
Vinnie swirls his whiskey in his glass.
“All right,” he says. “If you want my help, spill it. Spill it all.”
Eagle looks up.
Falcon shoots him a glare. “Hawk and I will tell the story. You stay still.”
Eagle bites his lip. “You think I don’t know this is all my fault?”
Falcon lifts a hand to shut him up. “Eagle, I went to prison for you. I went to prison because you fucked up. I forgave you, but I can’t have you going off halfcocked. I’m going to tell the story.”
Savannah sits, rubbing her forehead. Falcon takes her hand.
Falcon takes a deep breath in. “Eight years ago, Hawk and I found cocaine stashed in an old barn near the border on the Bellamy property. We didn’t know who it belonged to, figured some mule had placed it there and would be back to get it some other time. But we didn’t want it on our property, so we brought it home and flushed it.”
Hawk darts Eagle a look.
“But then we found out Eagle had stashed it there for a guy he was working for—”
I throw my hand over my mouth. “What?”
As much as I love my baby brother, I want to punch his pretty face in.
“Just let me finish. Please, Ray.” Falcon rubs his forehead. “Anyway, we found out later that it belonged to—”
“Please don’t.” Eagle has buried his face in his hands. “I can’t relive this.”
“You don’t have a choice,” Hawk says. “We thought this was all buried forever.”
“I never meant to hurt anyone,” Eagle says.
“We know that,” Falcon says. “I didn’t have to go to prison for you. That was my choice.”
Eagle buries his head in his hands once more.
Vinnie clears his throat. “I think you’re going to have to give me the short version. I want to help you, because Sav loves you. But I’m up to my eyeballs in shit with my grandfather. You’ve got no fucking idea how bad the situation is.”
Falcon looks at Vinnie. “I have a feeling I probably do. Let me finish.”
I sit, my jaw dropped, as I listen to my brother recount what went on eight years ago.
“We needed cash to pay for the drugs we’d flushed. Otherwise they’d take it out on Eagle’s ass.” Falcon draws in a breath. “I was the only one who had access to my trust fund at that point, but no way could I get that much cash right away from a bank. You have to put in an order.”
My heart drops. “Grandma,” I say.
Falcon nods. “Yeah. I went to her. I’m not proud of it.”
“She’d do whatever you asked.”
“And she did. She gave me the cash. So we made arrangements to meet Vega at the old barn where the drugs had been buried, but Vega didn’t show up. At least we thought he hadn’t. Two minions did.”
“Two big thugs,” Hawk says. “You should have seen them, Ray. It was like a movie.”
Falcon doesn’t react to our brother’s attempt to ease the tension of his story. “We stayed in the barn and watched from the doorway as two men got out of the truck. They were thugs, like Hawk said. Muscles on their muscles. Two against three, and we were all armed, but they most likely were too. We told Eagle to hide in one of the old stalls while Hawk and I took care of things.” He glances toward Eagle. “And you should have stayed fucking put.”
“Easy, Fal.” From Hawk.
“They asked to see Eagle,” Falcon continues. “All we wanted to do was give them the loot and get them on their way. But they clearly wanted to give Eagle a once-over. Hawk and I weren’t about to let that happen.”
“You fucking should have,” Eagle mutters.
Falcon glares at our little brother for a moment before continuing. “A minute later, another man got out of the truck. He must have been hiding in the backseat. He was as muscled as the minions, and he wore steel-tipped cowboy boots, jeans, and a black button-down shirt. His features were sharp and pointed.”
“Diego Vega,” Vinnie says, his voice low, like a growl.
“The one and only,” Falcon continues. “He demanded to see Eagle, but we told him no. And then…” Falcon draws in another deep breath, holds it a few seconds before blowing it out. “Eagle comes up behind me and takes my piece.”