Page 56 of Drilled

“And I refuse to be bullied by an asshole who hides behind legal red tape. Just like I refuse to let him bully anyone I care about,” Bear replied. His steady, dark brown eyes met mine. There was so much promise buried in that gaze, just under the surface. A protective anger burned there, whether directed specifically at the guys or me or all of us, I wasn't sure.

But Bear wouldn't be convinced otherwise.

Sy came over and put a hand on my shoulder, offering support in the sweet way he always did. Then he turned to Bear.

“Okay, Boss. I'm in. How exactly do you propose we do this?” he asked.

“We don't use the Cornerstone truck. We work as silently as possible and make sure no noise carries upstairs. We've finished most of the heavy lifting, so it shouldn't be that difficult until we get this stop order revoked.”

Sy nodded determinedly. I looked around, noticing that Dax was nowhere to be seen. “Hey, we're missing one.”

The other two looked around.

“Perfect timing to dip out, Miller,” grumbled Bear but Silas looked like he had something on his mind.

“Sy?” I touched his elbow.

He didn't look very comfortable, his eyes shifting from me to Bear. “I think I know where he is.”

Bear's expression told me that he might have an idea as well, but was hoping to be proven wrong.

“I hate to even entertain the idea, but I've been suspecting that Dax is back in the cage. I think he's been there for a while now. There's rumors doing the rounds that there's a big fight happening today,” Sy said.

Bear closed his eyes, disappointment settling over his features. I peeled myself off the wall.

“What makes you think that?” I asked.

“All the signs are there,” Sy explained. “Whenever he'd relapse and get back into fighting again, his behavior would change. Just like this. He'd become closed off and disappear at odd times and be mad at the world for no reason. And that's not all. Apparently, if those rumors are true, tonight's pot is the biggest of the year so far.”

Memories flashed in my mind of Dax's disgruntled answers when I asked about the pair he'd met up with. I saw that fat envelope he handed over, knew that the chances of that being some kind of money transfer was practically undeniable.

He'd be just as much a fool to pass up on this opportunity as he was for going at all.

“I'll get him,” Bear said, grabbing his jacket.

“No, I should be the one to do it,” Silas said. His expression was grim. “I'm his best friend. It has to be me.”

“No, it doesn't,” I chimed in. Both men turned to look at me in surprise. “Bear, you go in guns blazing. The chances of you two getting into a fight of your own is way too high. And Sy, you have too much history with him. I'm the newest person here and I know how to provoke him.”

Just as he always knew how to provoke me.

I squared my shoulders. “I do this shit for a living.”

Neither of them looked too enthused about the idea.

“We don't even know where this warehouse is,” Bear pointed out. “Do you have a location, Sy?”

“No,” he replied.

“I do,” I said.

The shock on their faces would've been amusing under different circumstances. I grabbed my jacket from the coat rack and slipped it on, then took my bag.

“I had a client in lock up affiliated with a fight ring. The address of the venue was in the docket. It's the biggest one in the city, so if the money is as good as Sy says, then it has to be that warehouse,” I explained.

I didn't even make it out the door before Bear grabbed my elbow. “Lane, wait.”

I turned around.