Chapter 20

She balanced on the chair as she reached up to hang yet another framed picture on the wall of McGregor's. It was one of what felt like hundreds of photos she had reframed after the pub had been trashed the night Sean's body was discovered. So many of the framed images had been broken and scattered. Some of the actual photographs hadn't been salvageable, but she had saved what she could.

The walls had always been covered in snapshots of patrons from across the many years and she sure as hell wasn't going to allow this incident to dishonor that part of Sean's heart and soul.

"Layne, we can have someone else do this." Joey chimed in from behind her. He watched as she stubbornly stood on her tiptoes to stretch to reach the nail on the wall just a few inches out of reach.

"No. I need to do this. They're holding Sean's wake here tomorrow and hell if I'm going to let this place look anything except as it should. Besides, I want to send a message to whoever did this." She grunted as she cursed her short legs.

Not waiting to watch her fall and break her neck, Gage wrapped his arms around her legs and lifted her so she could make the next few inches to hang the frame from the nail. Once the frame was secured, he softly dropped her onto her feet while keeping his arms around her.

"You're not going to send much of a message if you fall off a chair and break yourself." Gage gave her a gentle scolding before patting her on the ass and letting go of her.

She sighed quietly knowing that he had a point. "That was the last one anyway."

Joey came up to her, turning her to face him. "It looks great." He leaned down and gave her a loving kiss.

While moving the wooden chair she had been using back to the table it had come from, Gage glanced over at the two of them. "How did the rest of the meetings go with the other families?" With things at his strip club picking up thanks to some porn convention in town, he had been unable to accompany Layne to several of the meetings she had with the other faction heads. Joey had happily stepped in to play the big, bad, masked man at her side.

Layne shrugged. "A few of them feigned ignorance. Two of them outright didn't want to get involved, which leads me to believe they're in Russell's pocket. Kuznetsov seemed to be the most willing to help. The rest of them seemed supportive, but who knows when push comes to shove where they'll land."

"What time is your meeting with Russ tonight?" Joey checked his watch, wanting to ensure they would have enough time to prepare.

"Ten o'clock. He said he'd text the location to me an hour ahead of time." Layne readjusted her hair, pulling it back into a loose ponytail at the back of her head.

"Gage, be ready to go by eight." Joey didn't want to run the risk of a last-minute time change when the ball was in Russell's court. "I trust this fucker as much as I'd trust the devil himself," Joey muttered.

Gage gave a nod back to Joey in acknowledgment. "For this? My schedule is wide open." Already hearing of the history between Layne and Russ, hell if he was going to pass on the opportunity to be there.

She stared at both of them. "It's a courtesy meeting, not a beatdown. So, both of your asses need to settle down." Layne had no intentions of confronting Russ Spencer tonight if he was behind her troubles. She preferred to let him think she didn't know better, while she gathered her resources behind the scenes.

That earned her a look from both the guys. Joey was the first to step in close to her, his hands cupping her face. Within seconds, Gage was at her back and his hands grabbed a firm hold on her hips. The combination of their two scents mixing around her while she stood in the middle of a mouthwatering De Luca sandwich was fucking intoxicating.

Gage's voice whispered in her ear, "We have to keep our lucky charm safe, so you better settle your ass down." The hum of his words prompted goosebumps to rise over her skin and her lips to slightly part.

Joey smirked as he watched Gage get the subtle reaction out of her. He pressed his forehead to hers so that she would be forced to stare into his eyes that could have commanded the stars in the sky to rearrange themselves. "You want to rephrase that, Layney? It almost sounded like you were trying to tell us what to do."

She was frozen between them, disarmed by the proximity of their bodies to hers and held captive by their words. Layne swallowed down any smartass comments. Despite her independent nature, she hoped these men would never relinquish their protective hold on her.

That evening, Layne received the text at precisely nine p.m.

RUSS

Bethesda Fountain

LAYNE

We will be there.

RUSS

Bringing your lap dog?

She gritted her teeth at Russ's snide comment making a jab at Joey. Her fingers typed a response that initially had some colorful language before she decided to delete it. Instead, she took the high road.

LAYNE

Can never be too safe.

See you soon.

"He wants to meet at Bethesda Fountain in the middle of Central Park. It's a public spot, but at this time of night, it's pretty isolated." That was the nicest way of saying that anyone who had a care for their safety avoided Central Park when the sun disappeared, and the fountain was no exception.

Joey finished tightening his belt around his waist. "How romantic," he sarcastically responded to the divulged location of choice. He made sure he had his skull mask in his pocket.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Layne noticed Gage had chosen to mirror his brother in choice of outfit. Both of them had on all black from the boots to the utility pants and black shirts.

Seeing the expression on Layne's face, Gage gave a goofy grin. "If I had known that dressing like this would get that look out of you, I would have ditched the expensive suit from the get-go."

Joey smirked and tossed a second mask over at Gage. "Wait until you see her face when you put this on."

Catching the mask out of midair, Gage looked over the design and chuckled, "Nice."

She was beginning to feel naked without her mask to round out the trio, but Layne reminded herself tonight wasn't about kicking asses and getting herself in trouble. It was all about having diplomatic discussions. It was the whole reason why she was dressed in a dark-washed set of jeans and an ivory blouse underneath a black jacket. Her chestnut hair was half pulled back so it stayed out of her face.

Call her skeptical, but she wasn't showing up without a firearm tucked in the back of her jeans. Joey had said it best earlier; it would be easier to trust the devil than it would be to trust Russell Spencer.

Since they were using the Challenger, Joey demanded he drive. He had seen the condition of Gage's Jeep and Layne's lack of parallel parking skills. Upon arrival, he ended up parking a short distance from the terrace that overlooked the fountain. Both the guys stretched their respective masks across their faces concealing their handsome features.

Gage's mask didn't mirror the toothy grin of Joey's skull design. Instead, his artwork resembled a demonic smile with splashes of red, misshapen teeth, and canines that were far too long and curved to be human. Joey had been right, the look on Layne's face when he put on the mask had been one of a woman about to pounce on a mate. He noticed the way she tried to hide her body's subtle reactions, her thighs pressed together firmly and her hands grasped onto her arms tightly while her tongue wet her suddenly dry lips.

Reminding herself this was like any other discussion she had over the past few weeks, Layne drew in a deep breath to prepare to switch to the woman who both deserved and commanded respect while standing tall at the top of her empire's ranks.

Both masked De Lucas fell in line behind her as they walked across the terrace to the large circular fountain with amber lights barely keeping it illuminated. There waiting for her at the north side of the fountain was one cocky-looking Russell Spencer. He had three men of his own keeping him company.

He smirked as he took note of the masked guards behind Layne. "Two lap dogs?"

She didn't need to hear the light rumble from Joey to know he was irritated at the dig, the prickling heat of his anger perking up could be felt in the air.

"I wouldn't worry about them. It's the bitch who bites." If Russ wanted to draw parallels, she would be more than happy to fire verbal shots right back at him.

Russ chuckled as he approached her. "I quite remember that spirited bark of yours, Layne. Tell me, is that why we're here tonight? Our interactions in the past would have me believing you're returning to yap at me. Have you come here to disrespect my livelihood?" He tilted his head curiously at her.

"Depends, have you been disrespecting mine?" Her eyes stared threatening daggers at him.

A mild smirk pulled at his mouth. "Let's take a walk." Seeing the uneasy shift Gage made, he held a hand up in his direction while looking at Layne. "Tell your pack to stay, I would prefer we be out of earshot for such sensitive discussions. One can't be too careful these days."

Layne looked back at the two masked men at her back and gave a small gesture for them to hang back for now. Turning her attention back to Russ, she gave him the all-clear, "Lead the way."

He gestured to the other side of the large fountain where the spilling of water into its base pool made sure that no one could overhear their conversation. She walked with him to his chosen spot, still within sight of both their sets of security detail.

"You must think I don't have ears on the streets, Russ. You haven't been particularly quiet about whatever problems you have with my family." She got straight to the point.

Russ nodded in agreement. "Liam couldn't pick up the slack and this isn't the line of work where a woman should be left in charge."

"Someone stepped foot in my territory and left me with a hell of a threat, Russ." Her eyes assessed every movement he made from how often he drew a breath to how he blinked his eyes.

"I'd tread very carefully, Layne. It almost sounds like you're insinuating I had something to do with it. That would be in poor taste to come here and start hinting at something that could start a war."

She gave an indifferent shrug. "From the tone of your voice, it sounds like you wouldn't mind if there was one."

Russ grinned and reached out to touch her arm. She drew it back from him not caring for him to so much as trace a finger on her jacket. He got the hint and dropped his hand away from her. "I won't argue that I have had my eyes on your territory for some time but don't be mistaken in believing I'm the only one."

They stood there talking for another twenty minutes before returning to their initial meeting spot. Most of the conversation was full of useless back and forth with Russ trying to come off as innocently not having his hands in the pot of shit this time.

"Oh, Layne?" Russ called out to her before she turned to leave.

She turned to look at Russ. "Yeah?"

"This business is cruel and unforgiving. I wouldn't want to see you or anyone you care about end up beaten to near death and then dumped at the nearest animal clinic in hopes of quick euthanizing."

Gage had been prepared to leave, but as Russ gave his parting advice, he was immediately triggered by memories of the past. He stepped forward. "What the fuck did you just say?" His blood boiling in his veins and turning his vision red with rage.

Russ was unfazed as one-half of Layne's security seemed to take issue with his comments. "I said I would hate to see her treated like a stray, beaten and discarded like an unwanted animal."

Both Layne and Joey had been prepared to leave when Gage suddenly broke rank with them. Not initially picking up on Russ's comments, Joey was taken off guard by his brother's sudden shift.

After Russ repeated himself, it sank in for Joey. Rose. Her poor battered and tortured body and the way it had been dumped at the veterinary office. "Fuck," he uttered before bolting for Gage.

"You sick fuck! I will fucking rip you apart!" Gage lunged at Russ. Joey managed to grab hold of him, yanking him back from making a deadly mistake. It seemed he was just in time as each of Spencer's men were already reaching for their weapons. Joey's strength struggled to contain the threat of Gage's wrath getting loose.

Layne knew that if this outburst got the best of Gage, this meeting would end up poorly for them all. She ran over to put herself right in front of him, her hands coming to his chest to try and capture his attention. "Hey! Look at me!"

He continued shouting over Layne's head. "You destroyed her! I will send you straight to fucking hell after what you did!"

With her hands balled up in his shirt while Joey grunted to restrain his little brother, she yelled at him. "HEY! Not here! NOT HERE!" Her eyes filled with concern seeing how quickly this could go tits up if Gage's recklessness got the better of them all.

Finally noticing Layne's boldly colored eyes wide with panic, he stopped trying to charge at Russ. "You watch your goddamn back! I will end you!" He allowed Joey to pull him back, stumbling a few steps until he voluntarily turned around. He shoved Joey's hands off him as he headed back toward the car with Joey close on his heels.

Layne looked back at Russ who appeared riddled with entertainment as he spoke up, "Better keep those dogs on a leash, Layne."

"You just worry about your damn self, Russ." She glared at him briefly before quickly jogging to catch up with the guys who were already halfway back to the car.