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But I didn’t.
I just knocked, then let myself inside, instantly recognizing the foreboding man standing in the middle of Lorenzo’s office.
Blinking, I slowly closed the door behind me, all conversation coming to an end as I walked in. I could feel all of their eyes burning into my skin, and a quick check of the room informed me that Lorenzo was here, along with the underboss, Dante, and my brother, Romeo.
And thenhim.
“What’s he doing here?” I asked, not moving any closer. I was keeping my guard up, not prepared to let it down with him standing smack-dab in the middle of enemy territory. Why had they called me here? I was just a soldier. What did they need me here for?
“We need to talk,” Lorenzo said, waving to the sofa, but both he and everyone else in this room knew there was no way in hell that I was going to sit down with that man standing here. We all had our guards up, but me even more so in that moment.
“Then talk,” I said, knowing that I was showing him disrespect, but I didn’t trust the man in this room, not after the last run-in we’d had with him. He’d stopped our shipment coming into the state because they’d accidentally taken a wrong turn and ended up across state lines. I’d told Romeo back then that Lorenzo should have taken him out. He was our rival, and with him gone, we’d have more territory—more control. It was a win-win. But it had been vetoed the moment I’d spoken the words.
Probably because I was only a soldier, not having a say in how things run. And maybe that opinion of taking him out was the whole reason why I was still a soldier and not ranked any higher.
“Watch it,” Romeo growled, his warning clear. Disrespect wasn’t tolerated at the best of times, but especially not in front of Ace Beckett, the boss of the Beckett Syndicate, formally known as the Stoll Syndicate before Ace killed their boss and took the operation for himself.
I blew out a breath, cracking my neck side to side. “Sorry.” I swallowed. “I’m listening.”
Ace turned, just enough so he was looking at me, but not enough where his back was turned to the other men in the room. He’d walked into the lion’s den, and by the looks of it, he’d done it alone. “I’ve been told you know my sister?” I jerked back, my gaze finding Romeo’s, but his features were shuttered—closed for business. “Peyton.”
I stilled, processing what he’d said and…wait… “Peyton is your sister?” My hands clenched at my sides, my mind working a mile a minute, trying to put all of the pieces together. If she was his sister, then: “Why the fuck is she running away if she has you?”
It was out of my mouth before I even realized it, but it was the truth. Peyton had mentioned her brother once in passing, and I hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but now it made sense—perfect sense.
“Why wouldn’t anyone come near you?”
“You know, big brother and all that.”
He wasn’t just her big brother, he was Ace fuckin’ Beckett. His name was as feared as my father’s and that was saying something.
Ace laughed, the sound condescending and bringing me right out of my head in a heartbeat. It fuckin’ irked me to no end. What was so funny about the fact that his sister was being hurt and had to escape the violence she was living in?
“She’s running because she’s not well. She’s mentally ill.” He paused, stepping toward me. “She’s been gone months, and when I tell you I’ve had over twenty of my best men out trying to find her…” He shook his head, rolling his shoulders, clearly tense. “She has my nephews with her and…fuck…are they okay?”
“Are they okay?” I repeated back to him, sure I was stuck inside some weird time warp where nothing made sense. Not a damn thing. I reared back. “Of course they’re okay, they’re with their mom.”
His chest expanded on a deep breath, relief clearly washing through him. “Where is she now?” he asked, this time turning to face Lorenzo. He was on edge, his hands twitching by his sides.
“Romeo?” Lorenzo asked.
“She’s—”
I jerked forward. “No.” I thrashed my arm through the air, a signal for everyone to stop. “She can’t leave.” I was panicking, not sure what to do or what to say. I couldn’t confess what Peyton had confided in me. But surely her brother would want to know, right? Brothers protected their little sisters. “You don’t understand. She—”
“She what?” Ace growled out, his tone changing in an instant. He was tall, taller than anyone else in this room by a couple of inches, and I had no doubt he could pick me up and fling me across the room like I weighed next to nothing. “She’s ill.” He tapped the side of his head. “She needs help. She kidnapped my nephews and has hidden away from us all. I just…” He huffed out a breath, his anger waning. “I just want to help my little sister.” He stared me down, his eyes darkening the longer he looked at me, then he switched tactic, his gaze zooming in on Lorenzo. “Is there a problem with letting me know where my sister is?” He paused, letting those words sink in. “Because if there’s a problem, then I’m prepared. You should know better than most the outward appearance isn’t always what it seems.”
He was here alone…at least, that was what hewantedus to think.
Fuck. He did have backup. Why was it I felt like we were at a disadvantage here?
Either way, it didn’t matter because there was no way in hell I was going to tell him where she was. And in that moment, all I could think about was a couple of hours ago when I’d gotten the text off of Romeo.
“You don’t understand, Raf. It’s only a matter of time. I can’t stay here. It’s too dangerous.”
“It’s not,” I demanded, grasping Peyton’s hand. She hadn’t had her attention off of the boys for longer than a few minutes over the last couple of days. She’d refused to take them to school or to let them out of the house, and in turn, I’d rejected any thought of leaving her side.
We were in this together, whether she liked it or not. My conscience wouldn’t allow me to walk away, but more than that, my heart rejected the very idea of not being near her, of not being able to see her…touch her…hold her.
