“How can you be sure?”
I glance at the silent cabin behind me. “I had her in the penthouse at the time. She might’ve been the target.” I do like that none of our men told Thorn about Ella. So his sources are from outside the organization. Our men are loyal to us both. “She’s safe.”
“You kidnapped Ella Rendale?” Thorn snaps.
I grin. “Maybe she came willingly.” Actually, she’d justcomewillingly. I doubt Thorn would appreciate that statement.
“Justice, I said I want her alive. Not dead.”
Yeah, he had said that. “You’re safe, brother.”
He growls now. “I’m not worried about blame. If she dies, Alana is hurt. Bad. I can’t let you do it.”
“I’m not going to let her die,” I snarl.
He’s quiet. “Wow. That’s a tone from you.”
“If I have to lock her down, I will. But I won’t kill her.” Damn, I sound reasonable. What tone? I can smell her on me and still hear her sighs while I moved inside her. I have to remember always that Thorn is now compromised because of Alana. Not weakened. Just not thinking as pragmatically as he once had. I’ll never let anybody get that close to me and my motivations. A shuffle sounds and I reach back to let the dog out.
Leo looks at me and then saunters down the stairs, running into the trees.
Allowing her to keep him wasn’t a weakness. Maybe I’m totally full of shit. Could be. “Thorn? Stop worrying. I’ve got this.” My tone stays level. I let her keep the dog because now she has a vulnerability. Simple as that. Yeah, I’m lying to myself.
“What the hell is going on?”
Perhaps my tone wasn’t as level as I thought. At least he hasn’t heard about the attack in the middle of the street. The first attack. “Nothing. At the moment, I’m trying to figure out who just shot a missile into my penthouse. Someone is making a move, and you have to stay there.”
He’s silent for several long moments, no doubt trying to get around my logic. He can’t. “You need to hit somebody and hard. Now.”
“Already in the plans,” I say calmly. Even if I’m wrong, I have to strike out. That’s easy enough. WhileI’m calm, I’m pissed. Cold fury is so much more effective than heated fire, usually. “I’m not hitting Alana’s family, so don’t worry about that.”
“Alexei might’ve made a move since he probably didn’t know Ella was in the penthouse.”
Very true. A good statement would be to hit the Sokolovs and Hologrid Hub. Our people are prepared for a mob war with the Russians, and Alexei is probably ready as well. I don’t like the idea of the streets of Silicon Valley running red while Thorn is out of town, but I’ll do what I have to do. “Thorn? Get back to your bride and make me a nephew. Or niece. I don’t care which.” So long as the kid can charge garnets. “You might need a few of those.” There’s a good chance their kid will charge aquamarines like Alana does, so they’ll have to keep going until they get a garnet charger.
He coughs. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. I just got married and am not bringing a kid into this until we get things settled down.” He clears his throat. “Why don’t you have a kid or five? Ella is a genius, and she’ll make kids who can charge stones.”
I inhale so fast I almost choke. “Shut up.”
“You shut up. I’m going to ask you again. Why was Ella Rendale in the penthouse?”
I can’t let him know about my illness, so I take the easy way out. “I want her.”
He’s quiet.
I roll my eyes. “It’s temporary. There’s something between us, and we’re dealing with it.”
He snorts. Actually snorts. “I see. You giving it a number of fucks or a number of hours?”
I think he might’ve attached “dumbass” to the end ofthat sentence, but I’m not sure. There’s wind through the line. “None of your business. Just don’t worry about it.”
His chuckle sounds lighter. Amused. Good. “This might be fun, brother. Ella Rendale, huh?”
That’s it. I’m done. “I’ll be in touch. Say hi to my new sister for me.” I end the call.
The dog returns just as my phone buzzes. “Yeah.”
“It’s Kaz. The servers are safe, but we did have a backdoor attack when the missiles were flying.”
