“Lex was supposed to take Sloane for a checkup.”
She nods. “They’re discussing inducing her.”
“Tony wasn’t supposed to be there,” Hayes explains. “Lex has been taking it upon himself to bring her to all the doctor’s appointments. With the snow, he asked Tony to warm up the car.”
“Tony starts the car and…” I trail off, watching Maeve chew on her lip. “You know what this means.”
“They’re expanding,” she replies, looking to the side. “They can’t get me, so they’ll go after my men. My power. And now, my family.”
“Your allies,” I correct. “They want to alienate you. Force you to submit. If you don’t have anyone on your side, you become vulnerable.”
Weak. Taken.Broken.
She snorts. “I don’t fuckingsubmit.”
No, you don’t.
“What should we do?” Hayes asks. “It’s only a matter of time before they try again.”
“They’re not touching them,” she declares, pulling at the blanket as if to move. I rush forward, pinning her wrists in place. “I need to call them back.”
“Ace—”
“Princess—”
“It’s in the contract,” she explains, eyes bouncing from me to Hayes. “Nico put it in thereforme. For shit like this. When I call, they come. End of discussion. I want them back here. I want them safe.”
“I wouldn’t say this is any better,” Hayes remarks. “We still have a mole we can’t find, and bringing them here is putting all targets in one spot.”
Point to the hitter.
Maeve’s brow furrows, and her chin trembles. Gently, I trace a line and tilt her head back. Hayes watches, but fuck him. He knows damn well what she means to me—what I’ll do for her.
“What do you want, Princess?”
Quietly, she admits, “Them, all here. I can protect themhere.”
It might be dangerous, but I have no doubt she’ll protect them. Maeve is the shield, and to do her job, she wants them in one place. She’ll sacrifice everything for them.
So, that’s what we’ll do.
Turning to the hitter, I jerk my head. “You heard your captain. Make the call. Bring them back.”
Pinching his brow, the brute sighs. “The capo is going to hate this. Thanks for that.” He presses a hard kiss against Maeve’s head, and I growl. “Rest. I’ll take care of it.”
Once he leaves, she kicks the covers off, and I make a displeased sound. “What are you doing? Trust the prince to be a good pet and gather them up.”
“I need a shower.” She winces as she moves, stitches pulling against her sore flesh. “I want to feel clean.”
It’s more than hygiene. Maeve is asking for her control back. Her sister and brother-in-law have been threatened. Her other sister has seen her incapacitated. She lost Tony—an outsider she let in during hard moments.
She needs stability. But she won’t do it alone.
“Fine.” Lifting her into my arms, I ignore her weak protests, moving into her attached bathroom. “I might be doing this, but fuck, I still want to punish you for your bullshit earlier.”
She snorts. “Fun.”
If her room is a gothic paradise of bugs and skulls, her bathroom is stark black and white elegance. Her claw-foot tub sits alone by the far back window, overlooking the dark woods, with a gleaming rainfall showerhead hanging from the ceiling. Black wallpaper of painted pink peonies covers the far back wall, sobering the mood.
