CHAPTER TWENTY-FOURAlec
I woke up groggy with a pounding headache. I hadn’t fought Florrie, part of me hoping that she would get away. I shook my head and stood on shaky legs. I needed to find out if Florrie made it out of here, but I needed help. With Craig on her side, there was no way I could take on both of them and come out on top. I raced for the door, throwing it open and heading for Cap’s office. Except, when I stepped into the living area, Cap was already there, arguing with Chris.
“We need to help them get out of here,” Chris argued.
“No fucking way. Do you realize what we’re risking if we do that?” Cap shouted back.
“This is all your fault,” Chris said, turning to me. “You should have fought harder for them. What the hell were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that this wasn’t a battle we could win. Besides, he’s going to a good home-”
“That’s your fucking excuse?” Chris shouted. “You know jack shit about these people. Whatever your research is telling you, that says nothing about what it’ll be like when they get back to Utah. You have no fucking clue what’s going to happen to that kid.”
“Just because you had a shitty upbringing doesn’t mean that he will.”
“No, but I sure as fuck know what happens in homes like that,” he spat.
Sinner sauntered in, walking like he didn’t have a care in the world, but I knew that his whole body was thrumming with tension. The question was, whose side was he on? “Alright, everyone just chill. You’re ruining my afternoon off. Now, let’s all just take a step back and think about this logically.”
“You be logical, I’ll be realistic,” Chris shot at him.
“Hey now, there’s no need to get nasty. I was just going to point out that this would have happened no matter what Alec decided to do. These people found out about Reid and they wanted him. You can’t blame Alec for that.”
“We can blame him for being a pussy,” Jules shot back. “And you by association.”
Sinner held a hand over his heart. “That hurts, man.”
“You’re siding with the wrong people,” Jules said.
“Now, look at this from my point of view. One, I’m already in enough trouble with Cap on a day to day basis because of Maggie. I really don’t need to add to the pile of crap that’s poured on me by siding against Cap.”
“Thanks, man,” Cap nodded.
“No problem. B, I very rarely make mistakes.”
“I don’t know, fucking Vira seemed like a mistake, but you still did that,” Cazzo grumbled.
“Hey, I said I very rarely make mistakes. And you couldn’t technically count that as fucking. Besides, you should be on Cap’s side with this. You’re a part owner in the company,” Sinner shot back.
“Yeah, well, as part owner, I’m fucking telling you that this is wrong.”
Enough of this shit. We couldn’t just keep hashing this out. We needed to move before Florrie got away with Reid and ruined her fucking life. “Enough! Cap, we gotta stop them. If she leaves the property with Reid, she’s fucked. There’s no helping her after that.”
“That’s her choice to make,” Chris said, pulling his gun and pointing it at me as I stepped for the door. I stopped in my tracks, raising my hands slowly. I had expected some push back from some of the guys, but never in my life had I thought one of them would pull a gun on me.
“What the fuck are you doing, man?”
“I’m doing what I have to to help Florrie.”
“Whoa,” Burg said slowly. “Just calm the fuck down. This is insane.”
“Pick a side,” Chris spat.
I glanced at Cap, who nodded slightly. He pulled his gun, holding it right on Chris. “I get that you want to help Florrie, but this isn’t the way to do it. Shooting your teammate isn’t going to help.”
“Neither is not helping one of them. Do you know how fucking ridiculous this all is?” Chris asked. “So you all went along for the fight when I went after Ali and my kid. You took on two fucking gangs for me, but you aren’t willing to help Florrie when she wants to fight for her fucking kid?”
“It’s not the same thing,” I argued. “You were getting your kid and Ali out of danger. Reid isn’t in danger.”
“You think he’s not in danger,” Chris argued. “Your woman is telling you something different and you’re not fucking listening!”
Sinner pulled his gun, aiming right at Chris. He had two guns on him now, but his was still pointed directly at me. Suddenly, everyone was pulling guns. Cazzo was pointing his at Cap. Hunter and Derek were on opposite sides, aiming their weapons at each other. Jules had his weapons drawn, pointed right at Burg. Ice was right behind Chris with a gun pointed right at his fucking head. Lola, Gabe, and Rocco all had their guns pulled, but looked unsure of where to point them. Storm and Chance both took up protective stances around Chris, aiming right at me, while I just stood there, hoping not to get shot.
“Everybody just calm the fuck down,” I shouted, trying to lower the tension in the room. This was fucking insane. “Look, this isn’t your fight. This is between Florrie and me.”
“No, that’s where you’re wrong,” Cazzo argued. “I’ve seen this before. Hell, look at what I pulled Vanessa out of. You can’t expect us to sit by and let that happen to Reid.”
“Not this time,” Ice said, pressing his gun against Chris’s head. “You know I would do fucking anything for you guys, but we have to draw the line somewhere. I can’t fucking do this again. I’ve risked everything for this company. I’ve put Lindsey in one bad situation after another
