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“Irrelevant.”
“Irrelevant? They treated you like scum.”
“Because I am scum.” I’d come to accept who I really was. I’d come to embrace it. “When it came down to it, Vanessa chose her family over me. That’s because she can live without me, not without them. So if something happens to Conway or his wife, she’ll never be the same. She’ll know a new kind of heartbreak that she’ll never recover from. I have to do something, Max. Now, get me that information. Not tomorrow or in an hour.” I pointed my finger in his face. “You make those fucking calls right now.”
Max was sitting on the couch in the living room with his laptop open. I was gathering all of my gear, my guns, ammo, bulletproof vest, everything I had. I had no idea who I was up against, and I had to be prepared.
Max hung up his call.
“What did you find out?” I barked.
“You aren’t going to like it.”
“Spit it out.” I was ready to snap my rifle in half because I was so impatient.
“Conway has some appearance tonight in Milan. When he leaves, they’re going to hit him then.”
I glanced at the time on my watch. It was seven in the evening. That left only a few hours at most. “His wife?”
“She’s at their house in Verona. But they’re going to get her too. Take them both out.”
“Fuck.” I dragged my hand down my face, furious this was happening. “She’s pregnant.”
“I think that’s the point.”
I slammed my hand through the coffee table, smashing it and making a hole right through the wood.
Max didn’t react. “You need to calm down.”
“I won’t fucking calm down.” I was always calm on every mission. Nothing affected me because I was focused on my task. But this made the emotions inside me run haywire. This was personal now.
I pulled out my phone and called the man I thought I would never speak to again. A part of me hated him, hated him for the way he’d thrown me out like trash. But another part of me respected him, respected him for raising such a magnificent and strong daughter. I loved her so damn much, so I could never hate her father completely.
He picked up instantly, his guard sky-high. “What did I tell you?” He threatened me with just his tone of voice, reminding me what he would do to me if he ever saw me again. He’d pointed a gun right between my eyes and said he would kill me if I ever showed my face again. That was more than enough reason for me to let his son die. But my hatred for this man wasn’t as strong as my love for his daughter.
“The Skull Kings have put a hit on Conway. I just found out thirty minutes ago. They’re hitting Conway tonight at the banquet he’s attending. They’re also hitting Sapphire at their home in Verona. Their objective is to torture and kill them both.”
Crow reacted far more calmly than I did when I first heard the news. Perhaps he was a seasoned veteran, someone who had the skill to remain logical when he should be emotional. “How do you know this?”
“We don’t have time for this shit, alright? Everything I’ve said is factual. We have very little time here. You need to get Sapphire out and save Conway at the same time. Don’t waste any more time talking to me.”
Crow didn’t question me, knowing he wouldn’t call my bluff, not when his son’s life was on the line. “The rest of my family. What about them?”
“No hits on any of them. They only want Conway and his wife.” Vanessa was safe, the most important person on the list. If there were any chance she wasn’t, I’d leave Conway to his fate and save her instead.
He hung up without saying anything else.
Not even thank you.
I shoved the phone into my pocket. I was tempted to call Vanessa, but there wasn’t time for that. After not speaking to her for so long, the conversation wouldn’t be simple and short. She was in no danger, so there was no point in telling her anything. “Call the guys. They’ll get Sapphire out of there. You and I will take care of Conway.”
Max gave me the most dumbfounded expression I’d ever seen. “You can’t be serious. You expect us to risk our lives for those assholes? After what they did to you?” He rose to his feet. “After we’ve had to see you mope around for the last three months and almost die in a car accident?”
“I’m not doing it for them. I’m doing it for her.”
“Whatever,” he snapped. “Her life isn’t on the line, so I couldn’t care less.”
“Max.” If I had to do this alone, I would. But my chances of success were much greater with my crew. “They’re all five hours away. They probably have men around here, and they can probably get here in a chopper, but still. They need me.”
