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Shoes slapped the blacktop, drawing my attention back to the oldest of the Salvatore brothers. He approached us with an evil sneer aimed at me. “What the fuck is she doing here?”
“Luca, we didn’t have a choice,” Cole said. “She’s not safe at my house.”
His hate-filled eyes landed on me again before returning to Cole. “The Knights were too busy to see another threat coming because of her. We wouldn’t have Russian scum on our doorstep if Fitzy didn’t leave her for us to deal with. So get her the fuck away from me before I trade her to get Alex back.”
What does that mean?
Trade with who?
The Sicilian Mafia?
My father?
I felt like I was going to be sick. All of this was my fault.
Luca was right.
Those men wouldn’t have come here if my father hadn’t been looking for me. Sonny and the other Knights wouldn’t have been distracted. And maybe Alex wouldn’t have gotten kidnapped.
Without another word, Luca stormed off, kicking up dirt on the blacktop.
“Don’t listen to him,” Bastian said with an apologetic smile. “He’s just upset. Luca tends to overreact when he’s angry.”
I moved closer to him. “I remember you coming to dinner at Grandfather’s house. I was around ten years old. You gave me a key and told me not to tell anyone.”
He’d passed it to me under the table at dinner, but I was too afraid to use it. Even before I moved out, I never found out what the key unlocked.
“Do you still have it?”
I bobbed my head.
Sadly, it was the only thing anyone in my immediate family had ever given me. My grandfather didn’t do birthdays or holidays. I remembered little about my life with my parents. The Colonel kept things simple and only gave me practical gifts we could take to our next duty station.
Bastian hooked one arm around me and bent down to match my height. “Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten to spend much time together. But we’ll change that after all of this is over, okay? You have my word.”
I smiled. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
“Good.” He gave me a pained smile, and I assumed he was trying to contain his grief over losing the woman he shared with his brothers. “But I need you to do something for me, Grace.”
“Sure, anything.”
“Hang onto that key a little while longer. And when the time is right, I’ll show you what it opens.” I stared at him for a moment too long, and he cocked an eyebrow at me. “Deal?”
My face hurt from smiling so hard. “Deal.” He gave my shoulders a reassuring squeeze. “Now, I need you to do one more thing for me. Go back to Fort Marshall with Cole.”
“Actually,” Rhys said with a crooked grin aimed at my cousin. “I can keep Grace company. Cole should go to the island.”
Drake nodded to confirm. “I agree. We need Cole’s aerospace knowledge. Let Rhys stay with Grace.”
Cole frowned. “Go with Rhys. I’ll be home soon.”
I wanted to hug or kiss him goodbye, but I knew better than to make a scene, so I nodded and left with Rhys.
ChapterTwenty-Four
GRACE
After Luca’s outburst, I returned to Fort Marshall with Rhys, still tired from waking up in the middle of the night. I didn’t understand the danger The Knights faced until tonight. And if Alex could be taken from the Salvatore Estate, I wasn’t safe here, either.
