“You okay?”
My eyes slipped closed at the sound of Maggie’s voice. I needed her right now. She was my rock, always on my side through anything. I leaned back in my chair and motioned her over. When she slid into my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck, I finally felt a little at ease, like everything was going to be okay.
“What’s happening?”
I sighed and kissed her. “Everything’s falling apart. Reid’s going to live with his relatives. The court order came through. Florrie and Alec came to blows when Florrie wanted to run away with Reid. There was a blowout in the panic room. Everyone was down there, guns drawn and threatening each other. It was absolute chaos. And now we need to have a team meeting to figure out where we go from here.”
“Whose side were you on?”
I huffed out a laugh. “You know me, always on the side of the law.”
“Not always.”
“Well, most of the time. I know we can get back to where we were, but in the meantime, all the teams are broken. The only ones that are on the same side are Knight and Lola, and I can’t send them out on jobs.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I mean, most of them just chose a side, but Ice actually aimed his gun at Chris.”
“Wow,” she said, her eyes popping wide. Chris and Ice always had each other’s backs. They had been together forever, but this was threatening to shred their team apart.
“I know. It’s really fucking bad.”
“You’ll figure it out. You always do.”
“I love your confidence in me.”
“Well, there’s a reason I married you.”
I nodded, but rested my head against her chest. “I’m so fucking tired. This company is my home. These people are my family, but we’re all falling apart. We’ve always had each other’s backs, but what do you do when there’s literally a fucking civil war in the middle of the company?”
“Who’s the north?”
“I am, and anyone who sides with me.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
“This is no longer just my company. They all bought in. I don’t have the same control that I used to.”
“Yes, you do. They might have bought in, but you’re the heart and soul of this company. You started this with your sweat and blood. This company is strong because they have you leading them. No one else takes on everything here like you do, and no one wants to. So unless they’re willing to step up and take control, they don’t have the final say in any of this. Besides, when everything went to hell when Chance was taken, you were the one that pulled us out of that mess, constantly working to figure out how you would get us all home and back to our lives.”
“So, how do I handle this?”
“You already know how. You walk into that meeting and you tell them how you’re going to work this so that everyone can stay together. You take charge like you always do and you make it clear that you’re in charge and if they want to stay, they need to fall in line. Don’t second guess yourself right now. Just be the man you always are.”
I smiled up at her, kissing her softly on the lips. “What would I do without you?”
“Oh, you’d definitely fall apart,” she chuckled. “But I would too without you.”
“I needed to hear that,” I whispered before I kissed her. My phone buzzed, interrupting my moment with Freckles.
“Yeah?”
“Alec’s awake.”
“Alright. Everyone in the conference room in five.”
“On it.”
I hung up with Rocco and held Maggie a little closer, needing her strength to help me through this meeting. I would help everyone through this crisis, but then it was time for a much needed vacation. I was going to take my family somewhere warm and relax on the beach for at least a month. Well, at least a week. We’d see how long Maggie and I could stay away.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVENAlec
I groaned as the bright light seeped into my brain. My head was pounding so hard that I thought about just knocking myself out again so I could go back to sleep.
“Nice to have you back,” Rocco said from above me.
“How long have I been out?”
“An hour. I thought I was going to have to take you to the hospital. I might still have to.”
I tried to sit up, but the slight movement I made had my stomach rolling and my head feeling like it was about to fall off.
“Yeah, I’d stay down if I was you.”
“Damn, I didn’t expect her to hit me so hard.”
“But you expected her to hit you?” he asked incredulously.
“I didn’t expect it,” I said, holding onto my head, “but I’m not surprised.”
Rocco held a light up in front of my face and shown it in my eyes. I squinted against the bright light, and instantly closed my eyes when he was done.
“Yeah, it’d probably be wise to get you checked out.”
“I’ve had head injuries before.”
“It only takes one.”
I ignored him and laid back on the pillow. “Is she still here?”
“Why? Are you afraid she’ll come back to finish the job?”
“I’m afraid she’s going to walk away and never come back.”
He snorted. “She might not be the only one. The whole place is a war zone right now.”
“Fuck, I didn’t mean to make the whole company go to war.”
“Well, you did the right thing. Despite what the others think, if she had gone through with her plan, the whole fucking business would have tanked overnight. The police would have dug into all our lives and turned this place upside down to find that kid. Our safe houses would have been compromised and I’m guessing Knight’s identity would have come into question as soon as it became a federal investigation. Trust
