It was dangerous.
Of course, it was.
But he’d die to save her.
To save them.
He just had to find the right opportunity. Get enough information to take Lester Ford down because you couldn’t topple an empire without killing its king.
Pray to God he could keep his family safe in the middle of it.
What Richard hadn’t expected was for Royce Reilly to come on the scene. Didn’t anticipate his goal.
The night of Karl Fitzgerald’s shakedown, Richard made the split-second decision to make his move.
It was probably the most foolish, reckless thing he’d ever done.
But he had to take advantage of the moment’s weakness.
Richard chartered a private jet and flew through the night. Kade was already in LA where he’d been for the last three months.
Ready.
Waiting for direction.
Desperate to get his daughter out.
Game the second Richard had contacted him and told him he’d located his missing daughter.
They went in through a third-story window while chaos ensued through the bottom floors of the massive house.
As Lester Ford’s men rushed through the offices to get rid of any evidence of his connection to Karl Fitzgerald, they got six women out.
Risky.
Yeah.
But worth it.
No matter the cost.
Forty
Richard
Frantic, I pounded on the front door. My heart was lodged somewhere in my throat, fully cutting off airflow. I banged again, ready to kick the fucker in when it finally whipped open to Mr. Marin shaking his head in disbelief. “Haven’t you done enough? She isn’t here, and you are not welcome.”
“I know you don’t trust me, but I need you to right now. I need to know where she went. She could be in danger.”
“She’s been in danger since the moment you came back. Do you not see the connection? What has happened since you came back to this town? You’ve hurt her enough.”
Agitation blazed, and I angled closer to Violet’s father. “There are people out there who are far more dangerous than me.”
His face blanched.
“Listen to me, Mr. Marin. Lily…”
Could see the shock of it punch through his expression. “Lily?” Her name wheezed from his lungs.
“Lily got involved in some stuff years ago. Out in LA. I’ve been trying to help her.”
All the blood drained from his face. The man rocked.
“My Lily is alive? You are certain?”
“Yes. She’s alive, and I’m doing everything I can to keep her that way.”
“You knew?” Hurt slashed and curled, and his head shook as he struggled to process.
“Please. We don’t have time. I need to know where Violet is. I’ve called twenty times and she’s not answering.”
Mr. Marin shifted on his feet, looking to the wall before he spoke toward the ground. “She said she had to go meet someone. That she would be right back.”
“When?”
“She left thirty minutes ago.”
Fuck.
“Call her. See if she’ll answer.”
He hesitated for a moment before he gave a wary nod, and he dug his phone out of his pocket and made the call.
My nerves ratcheted higher and higher with each ring that went unanswered.
With each second that passed that warned she was already in harm’s way.
I knew Violet well enough to be sure that she wouldn’t put off a call from her father. Not when Daisy was in his care. She would interrupt anything if she thought it interfered with the well-being of that kid.
That sweet, adorable kid who was standing on the last stair of the staircase.
“She’s not answering,” Mr. Marin said, pulling the phone from his ear and looking at it like it were coded in affliction. Like he was coming to awareness, too.
Fear crackled in the air.
Daisy stared across at me in her sweet worry. Those eyes too keen. That energy zapping. All the devotion I had for her twisting me in two.
“I want my mommy to come back.”
I couldn’t stop myself from edging inside. From moving her way. My fucking shredded heart throbbing and moaning and bringing me to my knees. I dropped in front of her and pulled her into my arms. “I will bring her back. I will. I promise you.”
Both of them.
* * *
Tension bound the cab of my truck. Anxiety rode high. Nothing but fuel to feed the fire that burned and ravaged and became this violent aggression that raged through our veins.
Royce sat in the front seat of my truck. Rhys in the back.
Lincoln and my father had taken Emily, Maggie, Anna, and my mother to Violet’s farm so they could all be together.
Safety in numbers.
Detective Casile was on a flight out. Working on putting together a team he could trust.
After what happened last night with Fitzgerald and Douglas?
With this piece-of-shit crooked private investigator?
We knew this had reached a head.
I should have known it the second I saw those pictures that the investigator was not who he’d pretended to be. Should have known exactly how he’d had access to them.
Should have known Lester Ford could get to anyone.
He was the master of that fucked-up universe.
And Lily knew all of it. Had all the details. Had borne witness to it throughout the years of her captivity. She was the one person who could bring his entire empire down.
And I knew he’d stop at nothing to silence her.
I picked up my phone and glanced at it again in the vain hope that I might have missed a call or text from Violet.
Praying for a miracle and knowing it wasn’t gonna happen.
Knowing she was in trouble.
Felt it all the way to my soul. That connection blared in the deepest parts of me, shouting of alarm and distress.
I threw my phone back to the console and roughed a hand over my face. I was going to lose my shit.
Felt my skin crawling with desperation.
Desperate to get to her. To find her.
Couldn’t let something happen to her.
Couldn’t.
“She’s going to be fine,” Royce rumbled, his jaw clenched. Dude wasn’t close to being immune to the turmoil that radiated from my skin.
His fingers beat on the windowsill like he could tap out the anxiety.
“Hell, yeah, she is. She’s probably all good and just doesn’t want to talk to this jackass.
