Page 7 of Antonio Miles

Darby crossed the room without hesitation. She didn’t slow down when she reached them. She just dropped into a crouch beside Tessa and fixed her with a look that forced obedience.

“Stop it, Tessa,” Darby said.

Tessa blinked, and the woman beside her went quiet. “Stop what?” Tessa’s voice was careful.

“Whatever bullshit you’re telling yourself right now.” Darby gestured at the ruined room. “These assholes didn’t break down that wall because of you. They did it because they’re assholes. That’s it. That’s the whole story. You’re not taking blame on yourself for their shitty choices.”

Tessa stared at her. For a long moment, she didn’t speak. The set of her shoulders relaxed and she sighed. “They came for me,” Tessa said. Her voice was quiet. Matter of fact.

“Maybe.” Darby shrugged. “Doesn’t matter why they came. Matters that they chose to. That’s on them. Not you.” She pulled Tessa into a warm but gentle embrace. “You want to help, help. But this isn’t on you and I won’t let you believe it is.”

Tessa returned the hug. When Darby pulled back, she framed Tessa’s face in her hands and said something that made Tessa smile before Darby touched her forehead to Tessa, then went to Pippa.

I watched Tessa watch her go. The guilt hadn’t disappeared, but something had eased a bit of the tension in her expression. She turned back to the woman beside her and resumed whatever she’d been saying.

Sharp, unwelcome irritation rose inside me. My reckless, impossible daughter had just walked into the room and done in one sentence what I had been circling around for the past hour. To be fair, I hadn’t had to consider a woman’s feelings before. Not like this. She’d reached Tessa in a way I hadn’t managed to, and the worst part was she hadn’t even been trying. Christ, I didn’t need this. Feeling something for a woman not my blood. I’d learned that lesson with Jen and paid for it with not having Darby in my life for twenty-three years.

Sully had moved to the edge of the room. He stood with his back to the wall, one hand resting lightly on Darby’s shoulder as she crouched beside Pippa. His gaze still moved over the room in that slow, methodical way of his.

I forced myself to turn away. I needed to make sure Kass had everything I needed to secure Tessa away from here. While no one blamed her for any of this, I was bastard enough to use her guilt to encourage her to do what I wanted. Like I should have done with Jen and my father over two decades ago.

Securing arrangements and coordinating the cleanup ate away most of the day. By the time I finished, the promised rain had blown through, and I found Tessa in the kitchen. She leaned over the counter with her head down, looking like the weight of the world had settled firmly on her shoulders. She looked up when I approached. When her gaze locked on mine, I knew she’d leave when I told her to without argument.

“You’re leaving,” I told her.

She straightened slowly. “I hadn’t decided yet.”

“I have. You’re going to a property in the Smokies. Now. My driver’s outside waiting.”

She stared at me. The cut above her temple had started to bleed again, a thin line tracking toward her eyebrow, but she didn’t wipe it away.

“Your driver,” she repeated. Her voice had gone very quiet. “You’ve decided to send me somewhere. Just like that.”

“Yes.”

“No discussion? No asking what I want?” I could see the temper rising in her eyes. She definitely didn’t like being dictated to.

“The building is compromised, and I think you suspect you were the target. Discussion is a luxury you don’t have right now.”

Anger flashed in her eyes, bright and sudden. She opened her mouth to respond, but Knuckles stepped between us before she could speak. He inserted himself into the conversation with easy authority.

“She stays.” His voice was flat. “Haven protects its own. We don’t hand our people to the Miles family, alliance or not.”

I held his gaze. Knuckles was a head taller than me and built solid as a tank. The only bigger man in the club was Tiny, and I had my doubts that man was even human, he was so big.

“The alliance,” I said, “includes the understanding that when one of us identifies a security risk, we address it. Like it or not, Tessa was the target of this attack. I will be taking her somewhere secure until the threat to her is… addressed.”

“Then she goes somewhere secure on Kiss of Death property. Not yours.” Knuckles crossed his arms over his chest. I probably should have been intimidated but couldn’t be bothered. It wasn’t like Knuckles thought he would win this argument. He argued for argument’s sake sometimes. At least, that’s what I figured, because I always got what I wanted.

“The property in the Smokies has better security. Electronic countermeasures. Reinforced construction. And the only way in or out is by helicopter or ATV. Or possibly a horse, though some of the terrain would be difficult for even the most experienced rider. No one gets in or out of that property without me knowing it.”

Behind Knuckles, Griffin stood with his arms crossed. He hadn’t moved from his position near the wall where he watched over his woman, Veda. He stood, quiet and immovable, his green eyes watching the exchange with careful attention.

Veda stepped beside Tessa, putting her arm around her sister. Veda Garrison was lean and angular, her dark hair pulled back in a practical ponytail. She fixed me with a look that could have cut diamonds.

“If she goes anywhere,” Veda said, “I go with her.” The fear in her voice was sharp, and I knew she only wanted her sister safe and trusted her man’s club more than she trusted me.

“She goes to my safehouse,” I said. “Both of you, if that’s what it takes. But the decision stands. She moves tonight.”