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Bane slashed my chest open.
“Ever.”
My heart was torn out—still beating in his fist.
“Last night was a mistake.”
He squeezed tighter, tighter, tighter.
“My mistake, not yours. I shouldn’t have taken you to the park or pretended we could be just friends.”
My heart slipped through his grasp, smacking the floor.
“From now on, we should keep our distance. Make it easier on both of us. When this is done, I’ll go back to the woods and we’ll forget this happened.”
Bane ground it under his boot, smearing my blissful happiness of just a moment ago across the tile.
“It’s for the best anyway. Even if I was willing to break my vow, you’re with Sunny. I couldn’t share a woman with my brother.”
Bane pressed open, stepping out of the elevator. “I’m sorry, Makenzie. If things were different, I... Damn, you make me wish things were different.”
The doors slid shut, hiding me as I slid to the floor, crying on the remains of my smashed heart.
Chapter Twelve
“Kenzie? Kenzie, are you listening?”
I blinked, eyes coming into focus. Sienna gave me a strange look.
“What’s up with you?” she asked. “Your energy is different this week. Darker. Heavier. Did something happen?”
Looking away, I fixed on Laurel and her tummy-time toy. The piano was a huge hit. She lay there kicking and shrieking along with the bong, bong, bong, thrilled by all the noise she was making. I could never look at her and be sad, that time was no different.
My frown smoothed out, taking thoughts of Bane with it. “Only what was meant to happen.”
Sienna stretched out on the sofa, resting her head on my lap. I silently thanked her for not asking more questions.
“Morning, Liam. Morning, Elizabeth.” Fuller let them in and accepted a huge hug from Tricky. “Did you have breakfast yet?”
“Daddy made French toast and bacon.”
“Yum. Laurel is about to have her breakfast. Do you want to join us?”
Did she want to? Tricky raced to the kitchen and plucked Laurel’s breakfast off Shonda. I was ninety-nine percent sure Elizabeth hitched a ride up here for Laurel—forget that the rest of us were here. It was too adorable how much she loved my daughter. The other day, she proposed a list of matching-outfit ideas for the two of them, and what else did I have to do these days but sew and take care of my baby?
In the four days since Vito gave up Grant and Bane rejected me in the elevator, Sole Bellisario rose from the dead. With him running the gang again, there was nothing more for me to do.
Picking up Laurel, I carried her to the high chair and got her ready for breakfast. I would have fed her, but Fuller, Shonda, and the ladies loved to help out. Actually, they insisted on it. There was nothing I could do. Everyone loved my Laurel, I just had to share.
“Sienna, Mackenzie,” Liam said. “When you have a moment, can I see you in Sole’s room?”
“I’ll be right there.”
I peppered Laurel’s face with kisses, then left her in the hands of Fuller and Tricky. Liam and Sunny were mid heated conversation when we came in.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“No.” Sunny pulled me onto his lap. Liam looked at us and flicked away. “Thatcher can’t find Lochlan Grant.”
“Can’t find him?” Sienna repeated. “What does that mean? Did Vito lie to us?”
“On the contrary,” Liam said. “It’s looking more and more like his information was good. Grant packed up his house, wife, and kid, and moved. Their mail was forwarded to a PO box in Rockchapel.”
“So he is there,” I said. “Out of Merchant reach.”
“That’s what he thinks.” Sunny stroked my thigh, zinging electricity beneath the tender skin. “One of his guys hands over his payments. The payments haven’t stopped, so Ryker didn’t have to look into him until his name came up in your talk with Vito. Grant moved, and he didn’t want me to know about it.”
Liam chimed in. “That, on top of the PO box, on top of the phony information used to open the PO box confirms Grant doesn’t want to be found. That’s reason enough to pick him up for a chat.”
“How? You said the information behind the PO box is fake. Are Ryker, Makai, and the guys going to ask around Rockchapel?” I put that to Sunny. “See if a new loan shark blew into the borough.”
“Can’t,” he said through gritted teeth. “Rockchapel belongs to the Rat King. He finds out we’re looking for someone on his turf, he’ll send his people to lie, trick, and lead us off course. Just to be an insufferable asshat.”
“The answer is obvious, then, isn’t it?” Sienna asked. By the blank looks Sunny and Liam gave her, it wasn’t obvious to them. “Ask River to find Grant. Find him, tail him, see if he left to get away from the Merchants, or if he left to plot against you guys.”
