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Problem one: if he was quiet, what was he up to? Problem two: he already expressed an interest in Hellspawn and her fortune. Problem three: he wanted Hellspawn as part of the Royals.
“Been a little busy,” I said. “So we haven’t spent as much time dealing with him as we probably should.” That said… “Sharpe has to come first. Those attacks came from him. We took her mother out of a facility, and we’re keeping Hellspawn from him.”
The sick son of a bitch lashed out. We should have expected retaliation. Only, he’d been circumspect since we’d retrieved Hellspawn. Like most bullies, he’d gone into his hole to nurse his wounds.
Probably looking for alternatives. Either way, he’d dropped off the radar. Now, securely out of sight, he was attacking. The coordination of the last attack made every part of it deliberate. If we hadn’t been armed and at least somewhat on guard…
Didn’t matter, we still paid too high of a cost.
At the same time, the uncle’s endgame seemed murky at best. Clearly, he wanted her back. Only they hadn’t hesitated in the slightest to put Hellspawn in the middle of the firefight either. If that truck had hit my car, she could have been hurt.
The explosions could have hurt her. The firefightaftercould have hurt her. Some dumb son of a bitch grabbing at her in an alleyhadalmost hurt her.
“He’s delivered two messages through his subordinates that basically stated the same thing. We took from him, so he will take from us. Hurting Lainey could come into that equation if he wants to force Hellspawn’s hand.”
Adam’s whole demeanor darkened. For all of his flippant and careless attitude, Ezra turned to stone.
“I have security on her,” Ezra said. “Including a personal bodyguard that goes wherever she goes.”
“How the fuck did you get her to agree to that?” Adam glared at Ezra.
“It was that, or she went back to the island.” If Adam’s glare bothered him, Ezra didn’t show it. “I don’t have time for this shit. You’ve fucked off with this power broker, and Liam’s tied up with Emersyn and their little gang.”
I ignored that last dig.
“That leaves Lainey to me. SoIam taking care of her. You don’t like it? Too. Fucking. Bad.”
The animosity swelled up between them like a violent summer storm. “Trouble in paradise, boys?”
All that antagonism was then directed at me. “Definitely not paradise,” Adam stated.
“Speak for yourself,” Ezra drawled with a smirk. “I was definitely in paradise on the island. Should probably just steal her back there until you two are—”
Adam’s fist slammed into Ezra’s jaw. The clack of his teeth together actually sounded painful. The blow staggered the other man, and he put a hand to his face as he fought to stay on his feet.
“Mother fucking asshole,” Ezra spat out blood and glared at Adam. “What the fuck was that for?”
“You know what.” The frigid tone sliced through the air like an axe. With the antipathy crackling between them, I half-expected Ezra to lunge at Adam—except he didn’t. He just rubbed at his jaw and paced away a few steps.
“I didn’t fucking tell you to fall on your sword,” Ezra stated, the wintry notes frosting every syllable. “That was your call. You don’t like the results. I’ll repeat what I already said, too fucking bad. I’ll be in the car.”
He cut a look toward me.
“O’Connell.”
“Graham.”
Then he stalked off without a look back. Adam didn’t watch him go. Instead, he focused his glare across the water. “Marry her,” Adam said abruptly. “Marry her and shield her behind your name. Then move the accounts. Drain them. It will pull him out faster than anything.”
“I think I’ll find another reason to marry her, but thanks for the advice.”
“Marriage is a transaction,” Adam told me flatly. “It offers protection and access. This is a win for both of you.”
“I’m starting to think I get why Ezra isn’t interested in your advice.”
That didn’t even get me a smile. “As long as she is vulnerable,” Adam said. “There’s a chance for someone else to swoop in. Do I think she’s only a piece on the board? No. However, it doesn’t mean sheisn’tone, and a valuable one at that. From what Ezra said, King wants to make use of her connections and her accounts. He may be planning to use her to access and take over Sharpe’s corporate holdings.”
Irritation scraped through me.
