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Kodiak balks. “Absolutely fucking not. You are not going to confront that asshole.”

“Lincoln,” Tate whispers, looking up at her husband. “He’s my father and whether you like it or not, I’m involved in this.”

They stare at each other, having a whole argument without uttering a single word and finally, he hisses a curse and turns away from us. His shoulders are rigid and when he turns around again, he looks resigned.

“Fine. Let’s get this shit over with, shall we?”

Storm nods, stepping back up to our little group. “Only me, Smoke, Kodiak, Tate, and Maverick. If we show up with any more than that, it’ll look like we’re mounting an attack.”

“Aren’t we?” Marley asks and he shakes his head, sighing.

“We can’t afford to. He’s got us outmanned and outgunned. This is a negotiation and I’m just hoping his fucking kids can get him to release Izzy to us.”

A fist squeezes my chest. “And if they can’t?”

“Let’s load up,” he calls, giving me a look that tells me all I need to know. He has no fucking idea what we’ll do if we can’t convince Dominic to give Izzy back to us. The thought terrifies me more than I want to admit. Ever since this all started, Dominic, through Luca and Gio, have been thwarting us at every turn. There is nothing to stop him from wiping us all out other than Tate and Maverick but even I’m not convinced that they’re enough to win him over. How the hell do we take down someone with so much power?

We all load up into one of the large SUVs and as I sink into the back seat, I close my eyes and picture Izzy yesterday morning as she rocked DJ around the kitchen as “I Put a Spell on You” by Annie Lennox played in the background. Sunlight was streaming in through the sliding glass doors and her laugh was so carefree. When she smiled at me, her eyes glittering like stars, I remember sitting on the couch and thinking that I’d finally made it. I finally had the life I’ve wanted, the life I planned for. How naive of me to think that my life was made, especially with Dominic still lurking in the background but being with Izzy makes it easy to forget sometimes.

Memories of finding her unconscious on the porch fill my mind and the same dread I felt when I picked up her cold, clammy hand fills me now. What if Dominic has already killed her to keep her quiet? I picture her, lying in a pool of blood just like the other woman I loved and lost and pain rips through my chest.

I can’t lose her.

I can’t sit my son down one day and tell him that his mommy isn’t ever going to come home because she’s dead.

A stuttered breath rushes out of me and Kodiak nudges me with his shoulder, pulling my gaze across the car.

“It’ll be all right, Smoke.”

I nod before leaning my head back against the seat and closing my eyes. God, I wish I believed that. Once again, it was my job to protect the woman I loved and I failed. Story of my fucking life, right?

“We’re here,” Storm says as the SUV pulls to a stop. Guards rush out with guns drawn but begin to lower them as Dominic King himself walks down the steps like he’s been expecting us and gives them the command to stand down. We all pile out of the car and he grins as his gaze drifts over the five of us.

“Well, this is a surprise,” he finally says and I resist the urge to roll my eyes as his gaze lands on his children. “Tate, Theo, I’m glad you’re here.”

Tate takes a step forward but Kodiak puts an arm out, stopping her from going any further. “We’re not here to play games, Dominic. We want Izzy back.”

“Why don’t we come inside and talk?” He doesn’t wait for anyone to respond, turning and walking back up the stairs like the monarch he thinks he is. And what do we do? Stand firm in protest? No, we follow him like loyal little subjects but I’m almost certain that’s part of the game. He leads us into the mansion Streak showed us a few weeks back but my focus remains on him as we walk into a large living room with two separate sitting areas. On the edge of the room is a large chair that looks like a throne and Dominic turns back toward us before sinking into it.

“Now, what were you saying, darling daughter?”

She snarls. “We want Izzy back.”

“Ah, yes,” he says, picking at invisible lint on his slacks and I barely resist the urge to slam my fist into his face. I hate this monster, have since my very first run-in with him, but coming after my girl brought it to a whole new level. “Now we have a problem because I can’t just give her to you.”

“Why not?” Storm asks and a flicker of annoyance passes over his face before he masks it. Interesting. He’s happy to play this game all night long with his kids but it seems like if anyone else steps in, he doesn’t like it.

“Well, she saw something she shouldn’t have. I need assurances that she won’t run off to the police and tell them her story.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “Why does it matter? You’d just have it disappear again.”

“Yes,” he sighs, rolling his eyes. “But it costs money to do that and as it stands now, I will make money off your little baby mama.”

I jerk back, blinking at him, but Tate takes a step forward as she levels a glare at her father. “How?”

“I suppose I might be willing to make a deal with you though,” he adds, ignoring Tate’s question completely as he lets his gaze slowly travel over each one of our faces.

“What kind of deal?” Kodiak asks. This time, the annoyance that slashes across his face isn’t brief and he turns to Tate’s husband with lethal intent in his eyes.