that would’ve impressed truckers and sailors alike.
Fernandez was the man responsible for Polly’s kidnapping…and more. It had been one of the biggest blows to them all. Polly had somehow stayed human, stayed bright after inconceivably dark shit.
Not dark like midnight. Dark like a fucking abyss leading straight to hell.
Duke still had nightmares about the vision of her being chained in the back of that truck. Walking around for months with no light, no life in her. She’d managed to get herself out of it. Get fucking Heath out of it. Didn’t mean those marks weren’t still there.
More proof that these women were stronger than all the men in this room put together.
“Goes without saying, we get this fucker behind bars, we get a piece of justice for ourselves in addition to sparing others from his shit,” Keltan continued. “She’s on her way up now. But I’m not gonna take this job unless each of you is solid on this.”
“She’s a woman in need,” Luke said immediately, glancing to his wife. “She’s most likely gonna die an ugly death if we don’t take this.”
Keltan nodded. “Odds are high.”
No one at the table hesitated.
I was not someone easily intimidated. It had taken training, obviously. But life had given me enough shit that I’d learned that being intimidated was the same as being afraid, and being afraid was weak.
I was both intimidated and afraid sitting at this table.
Of course I wasn’t showing it. My expression was carefully crafted into that “I’m better than all of you” expression I’d mastered over the years. It was born out of the need to survive by lying to myself. In truth, I was the worst of the lot. Born into trash and dirt. It hid somewhere underneath expensive body creams, a fake tan, and perfume.
“Ms. Edwards, you understand the gravity of the situation you’re in?” Keltan asked me after we’d all sat down. He hadn’t introduced me to anyone, something I was used to being as famous as I was. But I didn’t think this was about fame. This was about infamy. I’d worked with many of the men at this table. I’d been a total fucking bitch to each of them. I hadn’t wanted to. No matter what people thought, I didn’t want to be thought of in this way. Not by men who had shown to be nothing but decent. A lot of decent men would’ve walked out on me, and I wouldn’t have blamed them. But the Greenstone men had a reputation for keeping their word.
So they’d worked with me. I’d paid them handsomely. But it wasn’t about the money. It was the respect I’d failed to show them because I was utterly fucked up.
I purposefully looked only at Keltan and not the rest of the table. Specifically not the muscled, blond-haired, blue-eyed Nordic god that hated me.
“I think I’m aware that witnessing a murder is somewhat serious,” I said dryly.
The man did well to hide his own loathing for me. He clung to the professional mask well, they all did, except the beautiful woman staring at me. To most other men, her look might’ve been seen as mild. But her eyes were narrowed in a way only women could recognize. In a “I know your game, and I’ll rip your hair out if you try and fuck with me” way. She scared the heck out of me. I also loved her leather jacket. I didn’t think there would be an opening for me to ask her where she got it from.
My tone was snooty and arrogant. Meant to rub them the wrong way. I’d do anything to not be treated like what I really was. A victim.
“You are aware of the reason you’re here?” Keltan continued.
I sucked in a breath. “Not entirely.” I glanced beside me at Andre, who was looking serious, which in front of all of these handsome men meant the situation was dire. “I’m aware that I need protection, but I’m not aware why it needs to be at midnight.” My tone was clipped. Unimpressed. It was low of me to speak to Andre like that, in front of an audience, no less. Outside of my norm for sure. I had my reputation but I had my limits. Demeaning people in front of anyone—or demeaning them in general—was not part of my repertoire. But holding on to my façade was getting trickier.
Plus, Andre knew me as well as anyone could, and he likely knew the score. His emotional skin was