Reign of Wrath (Dirty Broken Savages #3)(94)

I can tell the others feel the same when we come down to the kitchen. Knox is whistling as he cooks, and Ash and Gage are at the table, having a conversation. I don’t know what they’ve been talking about, but it makes Gage laugh, his expression carefree and unbothered.

It’s probably the lightest I’ve ever seen any of them.

Ever since I got here, we’ve been jumping from crisis to crisis. From mission and plan to mission and plan. But now the future is stretched out in front of us, bright and full of potential. It feels like we’re all on top of the world, even after how hard last night got.

Because the important thing is that we got through it. We all came out of it in one piece, and stronger together than we would have been apart.

“So,” Gage says, glancing over as he notices Priest and me walk in. “I checked on that money we rerouted from Julian.”

“You don’t look pissed off, so I’m assuming it’s good news,” I comment, dropping into the chair across from him.

He smiles and turns his laptop so I can see the screen. It’s some kind of banking site, and I see the account has my name on it. And the number for the balance has more zeros in it than I think I’ve ever seen in my life.

“Holy shit,” I breathe.

Gage sits back, a satisfied smirk on his face.

“It’s untraceable,” he says. “Well, it would be very difficult to trace, at least. Someone with the right skill set could do it, but I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that.”

“We had to give Harv a significant cut,” he continues. “For all his help and so he’ll keep his mouth shut about it all. But he’s the best in the business, so it’s worth it.”

“Even if he is a snarky little shit,” Knox puts in, coming over with plates of eggs and toast and bacon for us all.

“He’s a snarky little shit we couldn’t have done this without,” Gage points out.

No one can argue that.

We all tuck into the hot food, and it somehow tastes even better now that all this is behind us. I can’t help but stare at the screen of the laptop from time to time, just blown away by how much money that is.

Even with the parts they had to give away, it’s more money than I’ve ever had associated with me in my life.

“You know I’m not keeping all of this, right?” I tell them, glancing around the table. “It’s in my name, but it’s our money. If I’m going to be a part of your business, then so is this money. It’s a part of it too.” I frown down at my plate. “I’d like to use some of it for Cody. To make sure he’s always taken care of. That’s what Hannah would want.”

“Of course,” Gage replies. “Whatever you want to use for him is more than fine. And speaking of that. We figured out where he is.”

That catches my attention, and I look back up. “Where is he?”

“After what happened with Hannah, Julian sent him away to this... boarding school type place.”

“Boarding school?” I ask. “He’s like four! Who sends a fucking four-year-old to boarding school?”

“Just goes to show how little Julian actually gave a shit, I guess,” Ash puts in with a shrug. “He cared about having an heir, but he didn’t care that his son was an actual person.”

“Honestly, that’s probably why he kept Hannah around for so long,” Priest says softly. He glances at me, and there’s an apology in his eyes for phrasing it that way.

But I know what he means.

“Right. He didn’t want to raise his own son, so he kept her around to do it for him. And then as soon as she was gone, he shipped the kid off so someone else could pick up where she left off.” I shake my head. “If that fucker wasn’t already dead, I’d want to kill him again.”

“We can’t change what Julian did before,” Gage says. “But we can act now. We found out where the school is, and we’ll go get Cody and get him out of there.”

I nod, grateful for what they’ve done to move this along.

We keep eating, making plans to leave and head up to where Cody is, and as we’re finishing up, there’s a knock on the door.

Instinctively, we all tense a little.

We’re not expecting anyone, and after last night, it’s hard to say if an unexpected visitor is a good thing or not.

Ash gets up, putting on his usual carefree grin, although I can tell it’s an act.

“If it’s someone selling something, I’m going to be real pissed,” he jokes, but there’s an undercurrent of a true threat in his voice.

“Unless it’s Girl Scouts or something,” Knox calls after him as Ash goes to get the door. “Then get me some cookies.”

I snort at that, and it does lighten the tension a little.

At least, until Ash comes back into the kitchen a moment later with Mitch Carter in tow. The look on the handsome King’s face isn’t amused anymore, and there’s a hard set to his jaw.

“Good morning,” Agent Carter says, glancing around at all of us. His broad shoulders are stuffed into a sharp, professional looking suit, and he has the same cool demeanor as always. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your breakfast. I just need a little of your time, if that’s alright.”

“Of course,” Gage says. He leans back in his chair, looking every inch like the king he is, relaxed with nothing to hide. “What can we do for you?”