Shattered Dreams (Boys of Bellerose, #3)(79)
Jace tipped his head back and laughed, such a free, joyful sound. It reminded me of when we were kids; I was fairly sure he hadn’t laughed like that in a long time—a fact confirmed by the way Billie shifted her head and watched him, her eyes shiny and filled with all the memories of the past that had just hit me.
“You got me back, bro,” Jace finally said, clearly having no idea he’d just triggered Billie and me into a stroll through memory lane. At least those memories were the good ones. It was the years after that which had really fucked us up. “I could name at least twenty times I woke up in a bed full of frogs. What your fucking obsession with those slimy fucks was, I’ll never know.”
“Giovanni hated them,” Billie said sounding sad. “Angel was aware, even then, that his father was an evil dictator.”
She still knew me better than anyone else, and considering I’d never mentioned out loud the real reason I’d adored frogs for the first ten years of my life, it showed her keen observation skills.
“He feared them,” I said with a nod. “And that man hates anything he fears. It was a tiny piece of revenge to leave frogs randomly around the house to jump at him. He still has no idea it was me. The memory of his screams got me through some really bad shit.”
Jace just shook his head. “Your childhood is so fucked up; I think we need to get you into therapy too.”
Billie laughed briefly before she managed to shut it down. Jace shot her a dirty look, and she choked on another laugh as she grinned back at him. “I just—” More laughter. “You probably need therapy more than any of us. Maybe we should inquire into a group discount.”
Jace managed to hold onto his annoyance for a few seconds, before a resigned chuckle emerged. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Guess that’s why we all work so well together. We get the trauma.”
We really fucking did.
The rest of the journey was quiet, Billie leaning over Jace and me as she took in the Berlin landscape. There were multiple Bellerose billboard signs up along the way, and it was still hard to believe I was here. On fucking tour.
When we arrived at the hotel, we were directed into a back parking lot, which had its own private elevator up to a set of suites that were all interconnected by a large central living room. Hannah translated everything, though the concierge spoke excellent English.
“Okay, rest up,” the tour manager said, once the hotel staff had vacated the room. “If you want to venture out, you can find members of the security team outside and in the elevators to escort you, but otherwise we’ll see you at the venue tomorrow for soundcheck.”
“See you tomorrow,” Jace said, all but ushering her to the door so he could close it behind her. Hannah didn’t seem worried by it, shooting us a friendly smile before heading out.
When she was gone, everyone relaxed, dropping down into the couches. Vee slid in on one side of me, and I gave her a hug.
Rhett had Billie back in his arms on the next couch over, but I was okay with it. For now.
“Okay, now that we’re alone,” Jace said, striding back to drop down on the other side of me. “What’s the plan moving forward? Angel, did you confirm that Giovanni is running the drugs?”
“Not in so many words,” I replied. “But he was cagey, and there’s only one reason for him to call right after Grayson fucked up his plan. He was clearly fishing to find out whether I knew what happened to his missing men and the cases of drugs.”
“Where are the cases?” Vee asked, leaning forward.
“They’re with the other band equipment,” Grayson said shortly. “To save suspicion, I just changed out the locks on the back of that truck and told the crew that it was our personal items and to leave them unopened for this Berlin show. Gives us time to figure out what we’re going to do with it all.”
I had a few ideas, but before I could voice them, Grayson continued.
“I think we should arrange for the local gangs here to steal all the cases. There has to be a few million in cash and that amount again in drugs just in that one truck. It’s well worth their while. I’ve got some contacts here I could reach out to—”
“I can do it,” Vee cut in quickly. “Giana has cousins from Berlin, and I spent a few years with her here after I graduated from high school, while Angel was allowing me to experience some freedom.”
How it had to look to our fathers, anyway.
“I know the local cartels quite well. Altissimo has done business with several of them in the past. You can leave it to me to organize.”
Grayson regarded her closely for a beat, before he nodded once. “Okay, you reach out to your contacts. Discreetly, of course. None of this shit can come back on Bellerose.”
Vee nodded, already jumping up. “You can rely on me. This is the shit I live for.”
No fucking lie, she was known as the Mafia Princess for a reason. The life I’d been born into was a burden, but for Valentina Altissimo, it made her feel alive.
Her only sin was being born a female in a male-dominated world, but I fucking hoped that one day soon, that shit wouldn’t matter.
The best person for the job was Vee, and I intended to make it happen.
thirty-five
BILLIE
This time, Vee and I went along for soundcheck. I didn’t feel like hanging out in the hotel room until it was time to leave, and now that Grayson and I were moving toward some healing, it felt right to just be with the band as much as possible.