Make the city safer.
Because I can’t bring her home until it’s safe for her to be here.And that will never happen if Dominick Landry is still here, and especially not if he’s controlling a smuggling ring that’s disappearing girls right and left.If I can take him down, and make sure he doesn’t come back, then I can give her the safety she’s never known, and always wanted.
She might not admit it, but this is what she’s been searching for her whole life.
And I’m the man to give it to her.
I just need some of my contacts to help me make sure it sticks.
Do I wish I could do it all on my own?Absolutely.Do I want to go straight to her, drop to my knees, and beg her to stay here and let me take care of her?Yes.But I’m not a hero.I’m not a good guy.I’m as crooked as they come, as shifty as necessary to get things done, and I’ll pull the shiftiest, most crooked deal I’ve ever cooked up if it means she’s safe.
It doesn’t have anything to do with the Boudreaux family or the promise I made to my father.Not anymore.
This time, it’s only about Brooks and the partnership I think we could have together.
“We need some time to think about what you’re saying,” Jonathan finally says, his black eyes expressionless.
Asshole.
I stand up, ready to move on to the next task, and look at each of them in turn.“Fair enough.I’m going to stop this ring with or without you, gentlemen.The war starts tonight, and I’ll count on you to join me tomorrow.You can take your time making your decision.But when it comes to dividing up the power that’s left after Landry falls, don’t expect me to count you in unless you’ve done your part.”
I turn and walk away, cane swinging and mind flying forward to the next thing on my list.We have six hours until we know one of the ships is leaving.I need to get home and check on my crew, then head to the dance hall and break into their computers to collect any new information.I need to somehow convince Brooks to stay at home where it’s safe.
And I need to gather my men and get ready to go to war.
***
When I arrive home, however, my plans change.Because the moment I pull into the driveway, Camille comes running out, her face a mask of horror.
I get out of the car so quickly I nearly trip.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Brooks called me over to help her with some research,” she says breathlessly.“We were working on figuring out whether there were any codes in the shipping manifests we had when she suddenly stopped and started laughing.She said she had to go to the bathroom and left.An hour later, when I finally went searching for her, I found this.”
She hands me a piece of paper and I don’t know if I even have the stomach to look at it.
Because I know Brooks better than anyone else in this world, and my instincts have already told me what I’m going to see written there.The girl is stubborn and reckless and dangerous, and she’s entirely too sure of her own importance in the world.Every idea she has is a bad one, but she always manages to luck out of getting into trouble.
And the more she succeeds, the more invincible she thinks she is.
I look down at the sheet of paper, and I’m not surprised by what it says.
“If I don’t make it, tell him I tried,” I murmur.
I stand there for a moment, mind blank and heart hammering, and then I crush the paper in my hand and make for the house.I thought we had until tonight before we went for the port.
But Brooks just changed the timeline, because she can’t fucking sit still.
And this time, I’m not going to let her go in there alone.
Lucien
Generally I go into any situation with a plan, and a backup to that, and a backup to that.I like to know what I’m getting into and how I’m going to get out of it, and I always have people who are better than the people we’re going up against.
I go into any battle expecting to win, and I set myself up for that victory every time.
But tonight I’m going in hot and reckless and out of control, and I don’t even care that it’s a stupid fucking idea.I got that note from Brooks and knew that I didn’t have a second more to waste, because she’s done something stupid that is inevitably going to get her into trouble.
