Page 76 of Born to Scar

“Leave.”

He shoves his boot in the gap at the bottom of the door as I push it closed. I turn my head, and both Ken and Asher have their phones recording. “Move your foot, Mr. Halloway.”

“Officer Halloway.”

A tired laugh leaves my throat. “Move your foot, Mr. Halloway. Or I will get a restraining order against you.”

“You can’t do that.”

“Yet,” I correct with a smirk, tilting my head, “but she can, now.”

He nods and backs off the door, knowing I’ve won. “Keep your eyes open.”

My brows shoot to the top of my head. “Is that a threat, Mr. Halloway?”

A vicious grin crosses his face. “Not at all.” He slowly turns toward his car. He gets in and slams the door shut.

Calmly shutting the front door, I lock it and turn toward the room. We have so many people here who love Indy, love us. No one’s ever shown up for me like this before. Money is all I’ve known. Not friendship. Not this. People who’ll drop everything for you. People who show up. I’d take this every day over money.

Jay has moved to Indy. He’s pressed into her back, whispering in her ear. Tears steadily fall over her cheeks, but she’s nodding. Bik’s hand is still wrapped around her wrist. My eyes meet Asher’s.

“What do we need to do?”

“You need to let me fucking end this,” Indy snips, her eyes are on fire, narrowed on me.

She’d look dangerous if she didn’t have tears dripping off her cheeks. Jared pulls her attention back to him. That’s fucking smart. She already said we can’t wait. She knows what the next step is. Holding my finger up to Asher, I whisper in Jay’s ear loud enough for her to hear, but no one else. “Distract her, Jay. I’m going to take them out back.”

“Is that something you want, Indy?”

He asks like he doesn’t already know the answer. She bites her bottom lip, her eyes dart around at all the people in the room.

“They’ll be outside, baby girl,” I promise, and she nods. “That was smart, Jay.” The smug look he gives me makes my cock twitch.

I look back at Asher.

“Let’s talk about this out back. I think we all need some air.” Everyone follows me to the patio. The yard is nice and has plenty of room and seating. And it’s completely inaccessible from the front. Jay did an excellent job on it, considering he has no desire to use this space. He’s either working on his car, on his computer, or on Indy. There is no in-between.

I start the propane fireplace on the covered patio and turn on the string lights. “Jesus, I had no idea his backyard was so nice,” Kia says, looking around.

“Yeah, I was surprised too. He never uses it.”

“This is a ploy,” Mik blurts out. I arch my eyebrow. “It is,” he says with a shrug.

Liany chuckles. “We know, Mik.” Soft laughter echoes around the patio.

“What do we need to do, Ash?”

“All I need is the go-ahead. It could take up to forty-eight hours to complete. We’ve been following him for a while, so we know his routine.”

“This needs to end, now.”

He nods and pulls out a different phone. He types a message, gets a response, and smashes the phone under his loafer. “Done.”

A rush of air leaves Ken’s lungs. “I wanted to crucify the asshole.”

“I did too, man.”

“So, what are you going to do now?” Bik asks.