This conversation needs to happen.
Leah needs to know what we're dealing with.
"Sit down," I tell my sister. "I need to tell you something. And it's going to be hard to hear."
The conversation with Leah takes an hour.
I tell her everything.
About Vanna's past with Virgil.
About the attack in the alley.
About the photos, the threats, the club's plan to handle it permanently.
I watch her face cycle through emotions—shock, fear, anger, and finally, a cold determination that reminds me she's a Mercer too.
"So, this guy is a trafficker," she says when I'm done. "And he's been stalking your wife. And now he's threatening me to get to you."
"That's the size of it."
"And the club is going to kill him."
It's not a question. But I answer anyway. "Yes."
She's quiet for a long moment, staring at the photos spread across the bar.
Her photos. Her life. Violated by a man she's never even met.
"Good," she says finally. "Make it hurt."
I wasn't expecting that.
Leah's always been the gentle one, the one who chose healing over anything violent.
The one who became a nurse while I became an outlaw.
"Leah—"
"Don't." She holds up a hand. "Don't tell me it's complicated. Don't tell me violence isn't the answer. This man threatened to rape and traffic your pregnant wife. He threatened to cut your baby out of her. And now he's coming after me." Her jaw tightens. "I don't care what you have to do. I don't care how ugly it gets. You end him, Garrett. You end him before he hurts anyone else."
I pull her into a hug, holding her tight.
She's shaking—fear or anger, I can't tell. Maybe both.
"I'm going to keep you safe," I promise. "Both of you. Whatever it takes."
"I know." She pulls back, wiping her eyes. "But I'm not hiding. I'm not letting some psychopath run me out of my own life."
"You don't have to hide. But you do have to be careful. No more walking to your car alone. No more late-night shifts without someone knowing where you are." I grip her shoulders. "I'm putting someone on you. One of the brothers. Just until this is over."
"Garrett—"
"This isn't negotiable, Leah. Virgil already got to Vanna once. I'm not letting him get to you too."
She studies my face for a long moment. Then she nods. "Fine. But if whoever you send tries to follow me into the bathroom, I'm stabbing them with a scalpel."
I almost laugh. "Fair enough."
