Beautiful Thorns (Boys of Bellerose #4)(3)
Author: Jaymin Eve

 

“Prickles,” Grayson murmured as he reached the couch. He dropped to his knees before me, uncaring of the debris on the floor, and wrapped his arms around me. “You’re okay.”

 

“He lost it when he couldn’t see you,” Jace said drily. I couldn’t see Bellerose’s lead singer around Grayson’s broad shoulders, but I already knew the expression he’d be wearing: a little smirk but with dead eyes, the kind that hid everything he felt deep down.

 

“We all lost it,” Rhett replied huskily. “They were trying to take our Bellerose. Our little Thorn. Those motherfuckers.”

 

Grayson was still holding me like his life depended on it, and no lie, it was one of the nicest hugs I’d had in a really long time. Full-bodied, holding all the parts of me together. Another sliver of calm followed, and when he pulled away just as Jace dropped down next to me on the couch, I was able to think and breathe almost like normal.

 

This was also when Vee returned to the room, by herself this time, her weapon out of sight. My glare was joined by three others as she strolled nonchalantly across to us. This fucking bitch had some lady balls on her. Guess you needed them to survive in the male-driven mafia world.

 

Which was all well and good until she used them against us.

 

Grayson was on his feet in the next second, and he towered over the couch as he stood protectively between us and Vee. “You have two fucking seconds to explain before I break your neck.”

 

The words weren’t shouted like I would have done. Outside of the curse, his tone was akin to having a perfectly pleasant conversation with his grandmother, while threatening to take her life.

 

“I will explain everything, I promise,” Vee said immediately, and I peeked around Gray to see she was holding both hands up in front of her. “The rest of my people have taken up security around the perimeter, so we’re safe to chat for a few minutes and come up with a plan.”

 

“To save Angel, I fucking hope,” I snarled, my emotions unable to be hidden as well as Gray hid his.

 

“Of course,” she replied smoothly. “But as I said, we have time. I already have people looking out for his new location, and we’ll go from there.”

 

Grayson grunted. “And why should we trust you or your people? You set us up. You allowed them to get close to Billie, and that’s unforgivable.”

 

Vee’s expression fell. “I admit that part took me by surprise. Obviously. I had no idea they were going to try and curry favor with me by attacking Billie. The second I caught word of that, I was here with as many of my people as I could gather in a short time. We set off all those shots on our way in to distract and buy time. I figured you all could work it out for a few minutes until we made it inside.”

 

So it had been Vee shooting up as a distraction. It was a good plan, unless we’d all been killed in those few minutes. “You take too many risks with other people’s lives,” Rhett said softly, clearly thinking the same as me. “We aren’t pawns on the board for you to play with and sacrifice as needed. That’s not how a fucking friendship works. You let us think we were friends, Vee.”

 

Some of her bravado fell, and she rubbed a hand across her eyes as weariness descended briefly over her features. “You know… fuck. I’m sorry. I’m really fucking sorry. I’ve been in this world of cutthroat bastards for too long I honestly forgot how to have friends and not just alliances. But I swear to you all, I never intended for any harm to touch you guys.”

 

“You took the drugs to build up money and resources to take down your father?” I asked, and she nodded briefly.

 

“Yes. Everything I have is tied to the Altissimos. Angelo’s money and resources are tied to the Riccis. We need our own cash and weapons to make a true play for the crown. We need our own people behind us, and what better way than a gang that’s already established and powerful in a country that’s not controlled by either one of our families.”

 

I should have seen this coming, really. She’d all but told me back at the concert venue when she was so proud of this gang controlled by a woman, a structure that she admired and aspired to. It was the perfect setup for Valentina Altissimo.

 

“What happened to the woman who was running the gang in Berlin?” I asked shortly.

 

Her smile grew. “Giana.”

 

I just stared at her before shaking my head. “So much for wanting her out of the gang world, safe and sound as a fucking accountant or whatever.”

 

Accountant. Fuck, the irony of that considering what happened to my mother. I really needed to think of another “boring” job to use in these situations.

 

Vee’s expression grew more somber. “In all honesty, if G had asked me my thoughts on it, I would have told her to run kicking and screaming away from this world. I never wanted that for her, not even for a second. But my love is a stubborn, amazing, incredibly intelligent woman. When she returned here for safety, she decided on her own that if we were to stay together and have a true future, she had to step into the darker side of life. She’s apparently been finding her feet in this gang ever since, helped along by the ties she already had to them through her cousins.” She shrugged. “When I went to see her, I almost fell over at how strong and fucking badass she’s grown to be. My fears were holding her back, and now… we’re true partners. In crime and life. And we’re in a fucking excellent position to take down the assholes who have controlled and hurt and ruined us more times than I can mention.”

 

God, it was actually poetic for her to team up with the girlfriend she was forbidden from being with in a Bonnie and Clyde takedown of her family. If I didn’t want to punch her face in right now, I’d be hugging her.

 

“This is why you wanted to come on this tour so badly,” Jace finally spoke up. “To get to Giana.”

 

Vee shrugged again. “Yeah, not going to lie, I was hoping to see her. But mostly, it was to get away from my family long enough to come up with a plan. Then a fucking plan fell into my lap, and if that wasn’t a manifestation of my goals in life, I don’t know what would be.”

 

Definitely convenient, if it weren’t for one tiny little factor. “Where is my father taking Angelo?”

 

Angelo was still kidnapped, and we were sitting around calm as anything.

 

“Multiple vehicles took off from here,” Grayson said, relaxing his protective stance as he moved from between us, and I could stop craning my neck to see around him. “Whoever took Angelo had plenty of resources behind him to ensure that this snatch was successful.” He sat on one of the remaining couches, Vee took the final one, and all of us eyed her.