Shattered Dreams (Boys of Bellerose, #3)(39)

It was a secret he didn’t share with many, and a huge factor in his success as a crime lord of his own making. Even if he did still entertain a business relationship with my uncle.

Bones lifted his brows with undeniable curiosity. “What’s the name?”

I rolled it around in my mouth for a moment, but that sick sense of dread and recognition was still attached to it. I needed to know.

“Mareika Pionka.”

Bones nodded. “I know it.”

I waited, but he didn’t elaborate. Frustration and anger burned in my chest, and I gritted my teeth to hold back the desire to punch my old friend right in his smug fucking face. “And I assume it’ll cost me something to get more than that?”

Another toothy grin from Bones. “I wouldn’t be much of a businessman if I let the opportunity slide, now, would I?”

I released an exhale from behind my teeth. “What do you want?”

He shrugged. “Depends what you want, Grayson. How much info are we talking here?”

The more I asked, the more he’d want in return. All I needed was the one burning question playing in my mind. “I need to know what my connection is to her. I’ve gone over it a thousand times and can’t place it as anything more than uncomfortably familiar.”

He nodded his understanding. “Makes sense. Alright, I’ll tell you that much, and you make me some money tonight.” He waved his joint at the boxing ring where the dead man still decorated the stained mat. “Fight my champ, cream him, and I’ll accept that as payment for this little shred of your past. Deal?”

I quirked a brow in disbelief. “That’s it?”

Bones’s grin was like that of a hungry shark. “That’s it. I love you like a brother, Grayson, but I’ve also seen your temper snap before. I’m not stupid enough to push my luck.”

He was right about that. I nodded. “Deal.”

More smiles. “Good. Mareika Pionka. She was one of your last hits before Ailani cut you loose. From memory, I think it was a house fire?” He shrugged like he was hazy on the details when we both knew he was crystal clear. “Pretty sure I heard after the fact, months later when I went snooping—you know how I like to know things—the daughter was home at the time of the fire. Nearly died of smoke inhalation and lost her baby in the process. Nasty business, that, but you’d already moved on with your new life and probably never saw the aftermath, huh?”

No. No. That was not the answer I’d wanted. Not even slightly. The finer details came screaming back into my mind, and I whispered a curse as I dropped my head into my hands. Guilt and despair drained the life out of me until I was sure I’d curl up and die right there on the floor.

“Fight starts at ten tonight,” Bones told me with a clap on the shoulder. “See you then.” He stood and started to saunter away, then called over his shoulder. “Always a pleasure, brother! Let’s not leave it so long until next time.”

Fuck. I was so fucked. Billie would never forgive me for this, and I couldn’t blame her. Nor would Jace, for that matter. That knowledge didn’t stop my heart from shredding into bloody ribbons, though. It was over, and I’d never regret anything more in my whole cursed life.





seventeen





BILLIE


Grayson had been gone for days. No word, no note, not even a phone call to say Hey, Billie, thanks for the awesome three-way and letting me toss a load on your tits. I’m alive, by the way. Nope, none of that. Just silence.

The one comforting fact was that he was also ignoring Rhett and Jace. Angelo had been in contact with him; I knew that for sure because that sneaky fuck couldn’t lie to me even when he tried. On the first day, when I’d woken to find Gray missing from my bed, I hadn’t thought much of it. Then he was absent from their band practice, and I’d started to worry.

Angelo eventually told me that Gray had spoken to him before leaving the house in the early hours of the morning, and said he was fine. That was it. Fine.

By the time we were leaving for the airport and he still hadn’t reappeared, I was officially losing my damn mind with concern, all the worst-case scenarios playing out nonstop. I’d quickly moved past assuming he was weirded out about our three-way and had officially settled into conspiracy theories that flip-flopped between him realizing he wasn’t attracted to me and going out to fuck his way through a slew of Bellerose groupies to suspicions that the Wilsons or Altissimos or Riccis had abducted and murdered him. By now his body could be fish food at the bottom of Naples Harbor, and we would be none the wiser.

The only thing reassuring me was Angelo’s continued insistence that I was being dramatic and Gray would be back soon. Whatever that fucking meant.

Thankfully, and making me feel a touch more sane, Rhett and Jace were just as shitty about the whole thing. By the time we strode across the tarmac to the private jet Big Noise had provided, none of us were talking. Every time we did, it ended in an argument because we were all so cranky and on edge.

Vee had tried her best in the car to make small talk but soon gave up with a huff of frustration.

“Who the fuck are they?” Jace snapped as we approached the aircraft, pointing at the dark-suited men circling the plane with small flashlights. Clearly not airline employees.

Angelo quirked a brow. “My people.”