at you, kicking the ass of our scary brother.” I hear Mills speak. When I turn toward the door, he’s not alone. Pierce and Henry are with him.
“This is where we say goodbye,” Mane says, walking toward the door. “Call if they don’t ground you. If they do, see you in a couple of weeks.”
“Let me go,” Vance warns me.
“No, you wanted to play rough. We’re playing rough,” I say.
“I just want a fucking explanation about what I saw and heard. You have to come clean to Henry. The equipment will be returned next week. Who are you mixed up with?”
“What equipment?” Henry asks.
Pierce grins, walking toward us. “So, we finally get to see you practicing some of your ninja moves. You ready to tell us what the fuck it is that you do when you’re not playing music?”
“He’d have to kill us,” Mills jokes.
I glare at him. “You want to take his place?”
“Dude, I like you more when you play buffoon.” Mills lifts his hands.
“Release me,” Vance orders.
“Not until you calm the fuck down. I can be here all day.”
“What equipment?” Henry asks again, picking up the USB.
“He sold—”
“Shut up, Vance.”
“Beacon.” Pierce says my name with authority. “I’ve been cool about your secrets, but your time is up.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Beacon
Trust begins with giving my brothers a warning before I tell them.
“You can’t tell anyone about this. You put me and yourselves in danger,” I forewarn them, looking at each one of my brothers.
“Why is Beacon staring at you with a murderous glare?” Hayes says when he enters the living room where everyone is sitting, except me.
“He’s explaining to us why he had Vance pinned to the ground.”
Hayes raises an eyebrow. Mills brings him up to date. My brother nods and looks at Vance and then me.
“That’s a nice change of pace,” Hayes says, taking a seat. “So, after this you’re killing us?”
“It’s not about killing anyone for knowing the truth. This is a serious matter. I’m trusting you to keep my secret.”
“I can’t promise I won’t kill you,” Vance warns me.
“You try to hit me, and I won’t stop this time.”
His nostrils flare, but he says, “Just don’t give me a reason.”
“H-I-B was formed long ago. It has a few subdivisions, and I work for one of them…”
They listen without interruptions. When I finish, Henry chuckles. “You work for them.”
I nod and grin. His bodyguards are part of H-I-B. Even though he pays them, since they arrived in Baker’s Creek, they’ve been working for me in a capacity.
“Do I at least get a family discount?” he asks.
I snort. “No.”
“I don’t care who they are. They can’t use our equipment for their gain,” Vance protests.
“How so?” Henry asks. “I am confused about that part. Why didn’t I know it was a H-I-B product?”
“Listen, I can strip our credentials from it,” I say, avoiding Henry’s question.
Henry shakes his head. “If you need them, I guess they can stay. So, you can take this one down?”
“Focus, Henry,” Vance insists.
“He’s starstruck,” Pierce tells him. “His baby brother can take you down. Let’s remember he’s scared shitless of you.”
“Bear in mind that this has to stay between us,” I remind them.
“Are you telling the wives?” Hayes asks.
I stare at them and shrug. “I trust them, but the less they know, the better for everyone.”
“The equipment,” Vance insists. “I’m not comfortable having other people accessing it.”
“Because then you can’t access it for your people?” Henry is the one who asks. “Listen, I’ve been speculating why we have the new set up. It’s great, but do I really need that much for my hotel? I swear I thought you were handling some operations from there.”
“I’m not,” Vance growls. “I told you, once I quit, that was it. We set up everything because the company who sold us that shit recommended it. It sounded like a good idea at the time.”
“It is a good idea. Even if we can’t use it, you get to see what’s happening all over the world,” I remind him. “Well, within the premises of the hotels. That’s something that as the chief of security you should be proud of doing.”
Henry points at me. “Are you running an operation from there?”
“It’s an asset, but there’s nothing running from there,” I explain. “I can take it down if you prefer.”
“No. As long as you’re using it to help, I’m cool with it. I trust you,” he says, and all of us stare at him.
I’m not sure what confuses me the most. His cool demeanor or