Maybe too much for me.
Even if that was true, the taste of her had permanently stained my lips.
I’d told myself before that claiming her was easy, keeping her was impossible. Now I knew better.
She was mine. Not only because she’d awakened the man inside, but also because her life had changed, the target firmly placed on her back. I would make good on my promise of protecting her at all costs.
As soon as I strode into the building, Jaxon stopped me.
“I have news,” he stated calmly, as if this was an everyday occurrence.
The building was one of several we’d purchased on auction a couple of years before, the prime location and the price too good to pass up. At some point, we’d decide whether to build another resort or a sprawling corporate campus. Right now, a single building was being used for storage. It had been the perfect spot to place the assailant ‘on ice.’
“Do I want to know?”
“As I already told you, whoever broke into the house where Lainey was staying managed to cut the security system including the cameras in a way that didn’t trigger the warning system.”
Since I was itching to move ahead with the busy day, I simply glared at him, trying to keep my patience. It was nothing against what he was doing. I was simply out for blood.
“Anyway, in my opinion, the intruder was an expert.”
“Ruling out Damien Kane.”
“Likely, although one of his security team has a military background that could be construed as knowing how to bypass the system. However, given what I managed to discover, I doubt he was involved.”
“Get on with it, Jaxon.”
He grinned and pulled out a file, handing it to me. “This was captured just before the system was disabled.”
I took a deep breath before opening it. As seen in dozens of home invasions or burglaries, the person had tried to hide their identity including wearing a hat and dark clothing. Typical. This time, the person involved had allowed his arrogance to get the better of him. The shot was slightly blurred, given movement, but clear enough to see who he wasn’t.
Damien Kane.
As I’d thought before, that didn’t mean the man hadn’t hired someone, but I was beginning to believe my instincts had been correct, especially given the attack on the house.
“I don’t recognize him,” I said, but a slight nagging continued to hit the back of my mind as if I’d seen the guy before. With the angle and the excessive clothing, it was impossible to see if he had any distinguishing marks. But his face…
“Neither do I. I hadn’t had much time, but I’m working with DiAngelo Costa on face recognition. I guess his brother Alessandro has access to a database that exceeds ours.”
The alliance was still in play and not a single member of our family could say there hadn’t been some benefit.
“Did you show Mikhail?”
“I did. I also sent copies to everyone. I thought you might want to use this for your… talk.” He was grinning again since he knew almost better than everyone what I was capable of. He’d even sparred with me in the boxing ring and been there beside me when we’d gone to a shooting range. And he hadn’tquestioned my interest in other methods of ending someone’s life.
I’d called it a hobby.
He’d called my activities keeping my feet wet. In other words, ensuring that if our family had another attack, specifically from our Moscow family, that I’d be prepared.
“I think I will, although I have my doubts the asshole will talk.” We’d been threatened more times in the last three years than we had in the eight or nine years previously. While no one had mentioned it in the family, I’d made note the attacks were escalating.
Games had been played on purpose, testing our abilities while searching for weaknesses. We’d had a couple of strategy meetings and every time we’d pulled back, once again enjoying life, there’d been another attack.
Someone had been watching our entire family closely over several years. That had been discussed before. There’d been listening devices going nowhere, vague threats with bogus addresses. Even odd phone calls requiring numbers to be changed. All to keep us both on guard and laughing off the next attack. It was nothing to laugh at. If anyone was purposely betraying us, they wouldn’t need to worry about their retirement fund.
“One more thing. I checked on the firm who hired the men for the catering event. They are on the up and up. The men they had in their database looked a whole lot different than the dead men on your lawn. Close enough to fool some, but given the nature of the employment service, there was no malfeasance on the part of the company. I’m curious. When did you start planning the party?”
“Two months ago.” There was a sudden ache behind my eyes.
