My throat closes at the look of compassion she gives me.
She picks up my hand across the table and squeezes it.“That’s so awful.So much pressure and responsibility on your shoulders.You should have shared the burden with your brothers.At least with Teddy and Darius–they were old enough to help you handle things.”
“They were both gone–Teddy enlisted in the military, and Darius was making his fortune on Wall Street.I didn’t want to bother them.”
She shakes her head.“What else have you been taking sole responsibility for?”
Keeping away from you.Not marking my fated mate who was far too young and fragile for me.
I open my mouth to confess it all, but the waiter approaches, “Sir, pardon the disruption, but I have a message for you.From your brother.”
“Which one?”
The waiter looks panicked, and I wave a hand.“Nevermind.What’s the message?”
“I was told to tell you,Allen alert.”
Fuck.They found Maisy’s father.
“He also strongly recommends you turn on your phone.”
“Thank you.”I pull out my phone and see that I have twenty missed calls and a bunch of texts from all my brothers.
I hit redial on the most recent call.It’s Teddy’s phone, but Darius answers.“We have Allen.What do you want us to do with him?”
“Great.Where are you?”
“In the party bus, parked in the alley behind the Paris Hotel.I dropped a pin.”
“Wait for me.I want to handle him personally.”I end the call and look at Maisy.“Will you excuse me for a moment?”
Maisy grabs my hand.“Wait–no.What is it?”
I hesitate.I don’t want to upset her with this.I don’t want that man anywhere near his daughter again.
“Handle who?Is it my dad?”
Fuck.I also can’t lie to my mate.I nod.“Yes.They've picked him up.”
Maisy releases my hand and stands, squaring her shoulders.“I want to speak to him.”
I barely contain my bear snarl.My lips curl up, and my fangs lengthen.The idea of my mate in any danger makes me savage.“Not safe.”My growl doesn’t even sound human.
“No, Matthias,” Maisy says firmly.“I need to do this.I need to know why.”
The courage in Maisy’s tone makes me pay attention.She sounds different.More sure of herself.More grown up.
I nod.“All right.”I throw a hundred-dollar bill down on the table to cover our drinks, and we hustle out of the restaurant.
Maisy hikes up her skirts.I lead her out of the restaurant, across the street, and into the alley.We walk away from the people in a construction zone through a boarded up walkway and into the deserted alley beyond.
At the end of the alley, the flashing lights of the party bus signal its presence.
A prickle at the back of my neck puts me on edge.I scent the air for a threat, but this part of town is crowded, so I just smell hundreds of strangers and cigarette smoke.My bear instincts are going off.Maybe I shouldn’t have brought Maisy.
I narrow my eyes to peer through the open door of the bus.“Wait here, beautiful,” I murmur and climb the steps to crane my neck to see Allen.Teddy gives him a kick in the ribs.The triplets sit on benches around him, scrolling on their phones and eating taffy.Allen’s tied up on the floor, bleeding at the mouth and nose like my brothers have worked him over a little already.
“It’s okay–” I turn back to get Maisy and freeze, the blood turning to ice in my veins.
