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“And if we don’t?” I ask in a small voice.
Levi holds my stare, and I see every step of this playing out in his eyes. “That’s not going to happen,” he tells me. “Failing is not an option. Not where my family is concerned.”
I nod, and he presses his lips to mine once again, letting them linger as the fire finally burns out, giving me just a moment to catch my breath. “I love you,” I whisper when he pulls back and settles me to my feet, holding my waist and making sure I’m balanced before releasing me.
“I know,” he tells me, tucking himself back in his pants before reaching for mine and handing them to me. “You’re my whole fucking heart, Shayne. I’m not going to allow anything to hurt you.”
I nod, and as I pull my suit pants back up, Levi takes over, gripping the front of the fabric and rebuttoning it before curving his hand around to my ass and gently squeezing. “Go make that call,” he says, indicating my phone laying forgotten on the ground, though I can’t for the life of me recall when I dropped it. “I need to see what the boys have figured out and then we’ll go from there.”
I nod as Levi walks away, stopping to pick up my phone before quickly handing it to me and giving me privacy. Though he should know I don’t need it, not with them.
My phone screen is slightly cracked from being dropped, but I ignore it as I scroll through my list of contacts, finding the one I usually hesitate to call. But this is my family at risk here, everything the boys and I have built together, and nothing is more important than protecting everything we’ve worked for.
My thumb presses down on the contact, and I lift my phone to my ear as I take the few steps back toward the control room and watch the boys through the window. Marcus glances back, his dark eyes lingering on mine through the glass, determination and a silent promise flashing in that devilish gaze.
“Shayne,” Agent Zeke Davidson says, his sharp tone sending me right back to the first time I met him, playing the part of my mother’s loyal second in command. He terrified me then. Hell, he still does, but we have a mutual understanding now, and as long as we’re not going around slaughtering innocent people, then he’s happy to turn a blind eye. “You know you shouldn’t be calling me.”
“I need everything you have on the Dragoni family.”
Zeke lets out a heavy sigh. “I knew this was coming. They’ve been making a stir, but Shayne, you know I can’t just hand over that kind of information because they got a little too close to home.”
“A little too close? They walked straight into my club and killed my dealers,” I say, knowing damn well he would have already heard about what happened and would have piles of paperwork and crime scene images laid out before him. “They’re not just trying to make a name for themselves, they’re declaring a turf war.”
“We’ve been playing this little game long enough for you to know my hands are tied,” he tells me with a heavy sigh, and I know despite his title, it kills him not to give in to me. After everything that went down with my mother all those years ago, he’s gone out of his way to protect me, and while he knows what kind of power I hold now, I know he still thinks of me as that frail girl he first met, the one who needed protection from all the evil in the world. I think a part of him still thinks he can save me, but I don’t need saving, not anymore. I’m right where I’m supposed to be, thriving. “I wish I could help you, kid.”
I let out a heavy sigh, but Zeke goes on. “Look, I know you have some kind of point you need to prove, and I know my advice means little, but the Dragoni family, while still young, are powerful,” he tells me. “Don’t go starting a war, Shayne. Lay low, see where they take this. A war with the Dragonis will only mean loss of innocent life, and Shayne, I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I’m sorry, Zeke, but laying low isn’t exactly our style. They made a direct move against us, slaughtered our men, and stole our product. That isn’t a move we can allow to pass, you know that,” I say. “You worked with my mother for years. I know you understand that we have no choice but to retaliate. After all, when you stand at the top, we can’t afford to allow anyone else to think of us as weak, to believe we’ve allowed the Dragonis to encroach into our territory and get away with it. We have no choice but to defend what’s ours and show those scum exactly who they’re trying to steal from.”
