"Monroe, get out of this building. Right now."

A grimace crossed over Vincent's face as he faced down a mother hen with ruffled feathers.

"Dante, shut up," I said, glaring at him as I snagged Vincent's hand.

His brown eyes snapped to mine, narrowing before he placed his hands on his hips. "Are you serious right now?"

"Yes."

"Jules, have you looked in a mirror?"

"Yes, which is why I need a few days off."

"A few days?" Dante sputtered, blinking at me like I had lost my head. Which maybe I had. If you had told me a few months ago that I would be standing in front of my boss, hand in hand with a gang leader, asking for time off so I didn't get killed . . .

Well, I probably would've thought you were crazy.

"That is going to take weeks to heal."

"Then I need a few weeks off."

Dante held up a hand, rubbing the other across his forehead. My guess was he was about five minutes away from an aneurysm. And not about to take the next bit very well.

"And you'll need to keep an eye on Devyn too."

If looks could kill, my new home would've been at the bottom of the ocean. Dante looked like he wanted to wring my neck himself, and probably would have if I would've been in better condition. His eyes travelled to the woman in question, and she just waved her fried pickle at him before refocusing on her phone.

"How did you get caught up in this?" Dante asked her, speaking through his teeth.

"Flirted with the wrong guy."

My eyes widened and I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

There was a vein in Dante's forehead that suddenly became very pronounced. His head turned slowly to stare at Vincent. Before my eyes, I watched Dante harden into a version of himself I was sure I had never seen. And somehow, I knew that I wasn't looking at just my boss anymore. The man in front of us was the gang member who had thrown in the towel more than twenty years ago. His jaw worked a few times before he spoke.

"You've now put two women that I deeply care about in the line of fire. Do you realize that?"

"Yes," Vincent replied, squeezing my hand. "I'm taking every precaution to make sure nothing else happens to them."

"Else," Dante hissed, his eyes narrowing to slits. "If either of them had any sense, they never would have been involved with you in the first place."

"Hey!" Devyn and I chorused, identical expressions of outrage on our faces.

"Be quiet."

Devyn flipped him off, and I crossed my arms over my chest. "Dante, I love you, but we're going to be fine."

"Oh, that I don't doubt. Because I'm going to be coming out of retirement."

I felt more than saw Vincent's reaction. His entire body went rigid, and I twisted to glance at him. There was a look of controlled awe on his face as Dante extended a hand to him.

"Are you sure?" Vincent asked, his voice frigid as he met Dante's glare. "It's going to be hard taking orders when you're used to being the leader."

What?

I had known that Dante had been in a gang. Had known that he still had enough respect in this city for the gangs to keep themselves on their best behavior when they were in the bar. But a leader? As in one of the rival gangs? No wonder he knew so much about Vincent and his ascension within the gang. Even though Dante wasn't running a territory anymore, he still held a position of power in neutral ground. It was brilliant, really. The best way to keep this place safe was to still keep tabs on what was happening outside the walls of Tuxedo. To have dirt on every player on the board.

Oh, Dante and I were going to have a talk.

"I think I can manage it for a short time. At least until Jaxon Graham is dealt with."

The men shook hands, and Devyn and I exchanged skeptical glances across the room. Before any of us could say anything, Ember stumbled into the back with two racks of glasses in her arms.

"Oh, shit," she said when she saw all of us. Her sage green eyes were wide as she took in the tension rippling through the air. She eased the racks onto the counter next to the sink before holding her hands up in front of her. "I'm just gonna . . ." she trailed off, hooking her thumb over her shoulder.

Her eyes met mine, and I nodded towards the door behind her. She shot me a quick grin before spinning on her heel and darting back out into the club.

"I like her," Devyn said once the silence had stretched on too long.

"Don't corrupt her too," Dante grumbled, brushing past us to disappear into his office. He slammed the door behind him.

"Well," I said, huffing out a laugh. "That went better than expected."

"Maybe for you," Vincent replied, his eyes boring holes into the closed door to the office.

"C'mon. Let's go home."

"Gross."

"Shut it, Dev."

Her sparkling cackle followed us as we headed out the back door.

The ride back to the warehouse was silent, but Vincent kept my hand in his the whole way. It was startling how much I had come to rely on his strength. How often I pulled from it. But I knew that there would come a time when it would be his turn to lean on me, and I would be more than willing to weather that storm with him.

When we pulled into the parking lot, Vincent killed the engine. His thumb stroked lazy circles across the back of my hand, but he made no move to get out of the car. His head fell back against the headrest, and he blankly stared at the roof of the car.

"What's going through that head of yours?" I asked, keeping my voice soft.

A smile twitched the edges of his mouth as he rolled his head so he could meet my eyes. Dusk was falling, and the lack of light made his green eyes even darker than normal.

"I really have put you in a lot of danger."

"Stop right there."

"What?"

"We both know that I knew exactly what I was getting into. Not to mention, I found Jack all by myself. Before anything between the two of us even was anything. Sure, maybe if we would've kept our distance nothing ever would've happened with Jack. But you also may not have found him until it was too late. Until he'd already made his move against you."

"I love you, you know that?"

"I do, you big sap. Now let's go inside. I have my own third degree to dole out."

A dark chuckle fell from his lips as we exited the car. Besides the five minutes Brandon took to look me over the night before, I hadn't seen him since finding out about him and Devyn. And Arkin has been suspiciously absent form the warehouse as well. But I knew they were supposed to be here now. And it was about time the boys and I had a heart to heart.

Or fist to nose if Brandon decided to push my buttons tonight.

The light in the warehouse blinded me as usual when we stepped through. But for the first time, the weight of the eyes that fell on us didn't unnerve me. I scanned the room with my chin held high. The only person in the room I recognized was Lucas. He was sprawled out in an armchair in front of the TV, Dexter curled up on his chest.

My eyes nearly rolled to the back of my head.

Dexter was damn near one-hundred pounds, and he was laying on Lucas like a chihuahua. That spoiled dog had better not get the same idea with me, I wasn't built for that.

When another scan of the room came up empty, I curled my lip. Vincent dropped my hand as I marched over to his blonde second. The closer I got, the more I could hear the soft snores escaping him. When I was standing directly next to him, I almost felt bad for what I was about to do.

Almost.

"Lucas," I said, decided to at least start off with a softer approach. There was a hitch in his snoring, like he had heard me, but not enough to rouse him from sleep. Sighing, I reached out and nudged his shoulder a few times. Dexter woke up, his eyes lighting when he spotted me. "Down Dex."

Dexter chuffed, but got up all the same. And to my utter delight, he stepped right on Lucas's junk as he jumped down. The man in question groaned in pain, cupping himself as he jerked into a sitting position. I stepped back to give him enough room to recover.

"Hey, sugar," he said, forcing a smile before wincing again.

"That's what you get. No matter what he thinks, he's not a lapdog."

"Is there a reason you woke me up?"

My hands found a place on my hips as I dipped down to meet his eyes. "Where are the other two?"

"Brandon's in his apartment. Arkin's probably around." His eyes were dancing with mischief, and I took that to mean he was already feeling better.

"Need some ice for that?" I quipped as I headed for the stairs.

"Only if you're the one icing – ow!"

Whatever vulgar thing was about to come out of Lucas's mouth was cut off by the resounding thwack that echoed through the room. Laughter erupted from the others, and I didn't need to turn around to know that Vincent had smacked Lucas upside the head. The thought brought a smile to my face.

When I emerged onto the floor with the apartments, I made a beeline for Brandon's door. For a moment I just tapped my foot outside. Blowing a few tendrils of hair out of my face, I raised my hand and knocked.

"I'm not here."

"Open the damn door," I said, fighting not to roll my eyes.

Brandon cracked it open just enough to peer down at me with one eye. My eyebrows raised. "What do you want?" he asked.

"For you to stop acting like a chicken shit, first of all."

"Fine." A laugh fell from his mouth as he swung the door open, motioning me inside. I glanced over my shoulder but couldn't see Vincent.

Guess I was on my own.

When I faced Brandon again, I realized he was shirtless. He had black sweats on, but that was it. Letting my eyeroll win, I slipped past him into the apartment. Another laugh escaped him as he shut the door behind us. He gently knocked his shoulder against mine when he walked past me, and I followed him into the living room.

He pointed to the black leather couch and continued on into the kitchen I could see through the window cut-out in the dividing wall.

"Get your buddy over here, too," I called, flopping down onto the couch. The jarring movement caused me to wince. It was easy to forget that I was pretty banged up.

"He's coming. I text him as soon as you knocked."

"So, it's true then?" I asked. He rounded the wall back into the living room with two steaming mugs in his hand. When he handed one to me, the smell of caramel wafted into my nose. My eyes narrowed on him as I took a hesitant sip. I had been right. It was my favorite creamer and the coffee was made exactly how I liked it. Brandon sat on the loveseat across the coffee table from me. "Are you trying to soften me up?"

"Lucas said it might help you not kill me."

"I'm not going to kill you," I muttered, a little exasperated.

Brandon's wry grin curved his lips, blue eyes glittering as his door opened. Arkin walked in, gray t-shirt and jeans pristine. He gave me a small smile before coming over and sitting beside me. At least he wasn't acting like I had the plague. He slipped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me in for a quick side-hug. Warmth bloomed in my chest at the small gesture. I had forgotten how calming his presence was.

"Hey, Jules. How're you feeling?" he asked, leaning back into the cushions.

"Like I got ran over by a truck."

They both laughed. "You've looked better," Brandon said.

"I will throw this coffee on you."

He sniggered, taking a sip of his own. Glancing at Arkin, he jutted his chin in the direction of the kitchen. "There's nearly a full pot in there if you want any."

Arkin just shook his head. And then they both looked at me expectantly.

Wanting to keep them in suspense for just a little longer, I took a long drink. This was going to be their punishment for avoiding me all day.

"Well?" Brandon finally prompted, arching his brows at me.

"Back to my original question. Is it true? Both of you?" They nodded, looking like they were waiting for a bomb to go off. "Are either or both of you serious about her." Brandon raised his hand. My eyes moved to Arkin, and he scratched the back of his neck. When his baby blues found mine, he shook his head. "You don't have to tell me anything you're not comfortable with but . . . explain."

"Brandon and I have had threesomes before, just like we did with Devyn. But it was more them sharing me than a throuple type of situation," Arkin told me, his ears tinging pink.

"Does she know this?"

"Yes," they chorused.

My brows rose, and Brandon continued, "I like Devyn. A lot. Bringing Arkin in was a mutual decision. Something we'd be down to do again, but I'm the one pursuing her."

"Okay," I said. Taking another drink, I leaned back into the cushions and let my head tip back.

"Okay?"

"Brandon, I don't know why you were so scared to tell me. Sure, she's my best friend, but she's also a grown woman. If you do anything to hurt her, there won't be anything left of you for me to even think about punishing."

There was a beat of silence before both boys busted out laughing. My own smile overtook my face as I lifted my head to look at them. Brandon lunged for me, and I barely had time to set my mug on the table before he was heaving me off the couch into a bear-hug. My lungs constricted, but I hugged him back with everything I had. When he set me down again, he kept his hands on my shoulders. For a moment, we just stared at each other with dopey grins on our faces.

"Please don't be making a move on my girl. That would be a very stupid decision."

Vincent voice made me jump, and I spun to see him standing in the doorway. His arms were crossed, legs spread shoulder-width apart. If it wasn't for the blinding smile on his lips, I might have taken him seriously.

"Don't worry, Vince," Brandon said, letting his hands fall as he stepped back. "She's all yours."

Forest eyes met mine across the apartment. His grin turned a little wicked before he purred, "Damned straight."

__________________________________________

Happy Saturday y'all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I love these characters more than anything, and I love that you all love them too! Your continued support means the absolute world to me, and I know I wouldn't be this close to finishing this book without you all. So thank you, from the bottom of my little black heart :)

Alright. Enough of that. I've got a concert to get ready for.

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-Erin