Page 105 of End Game

Ash and Zeke looked at each other. Neither said a word.

“For now?” she amended, knowing their injuries ran much deeper than this one issue.

“For now,” Ash agreed, clamping a hand on his brother’s shoulder.

Zeke nodded, then mimicked his brother’s action.

Kayla smiled. It was a start.

50

Ash followed Kayla into the Friary, a slight smile on his face. The knots that had been twisting ever tighter in his gut eased their torture, strand by strand.

For the first time in years, he entered a family gathering without feeling like an other. A member by blood but not of mind and body.

He had Kayla to thank for this miraculous transformation. With stunning efficiency, she’d showed his black-and-white brother the world of messy gray. And opened the door enough for Ash to slide his foot inside again.

Kayla made a beeline for the group of ladies sitting before one of two giant fireplaces bookending the Great Hall. His attention rose to the gleaming sixteenth-century longsword suspended above the mantel on ornate iron hooks.

Lupos.

So called for the four-headed wolf decorating the pommel. Lost to the family for close to a century, Lupos became a symbol of strength and resilience to Zeke, which led him to conduct a yearlong search for the heirloom, unbeknownst to the rest of the family.

If not for Kayla’s contacts and her active participation in the artifact’s retrieval, his brother might still be searching for the hunk of steel.

Lynette and Grams appeared at the opposite end of the Great Hall. His heart clenched at the sight of his grandmother using a walking stick, a slight bow to her spine. Despite the stark reminder of her mortality, the soon-to-be-ninety-two-year-old moved toward him with purpose.

“It’s good to see you, she’ashkii yázhi.” My little boy.

He bent several inches to kiss her cheek. “And you, Grams.” He straightened to buss Lynette’s cheek as well. “Mom, how are you?”

“Growing old, boy. What brings you this far west?”

“She does,” Grams inserted, nodding toward Kayla, who was currently enveloped in feminine hugs, as she moved to sit in her favorite chair near the fireplace.

Lynette craned her neck around him until she spotted the lobbyist. “Trouble?”

Because why else would Ash bring Kayla to his family’s home?

Unlike Zeke, he wouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating a woman’s strength and intuition, especially not these two former war dogs.

“Governor Stokes might not have been the only target.”

“Why?” Lynette asked.

“Unknown. We found out today that Kayla’s driver, Mason Wade, was tangled up in it. Before he bolted, he revealed that a company named HCVS ordered the governor’s hit. Before you ask, I have no idea if it’s an acronym. But there were two shooters. Two targets? Or insurance for one?”

“Did you speak to Rohan?” Lynette asked.

“He’s on it.”

Peering over his shoulder, he watched Kayla place her palm over Liv’s barely-there baby bump. Her beautiful face lit up, and he experienced an answering warmth inside his chest. When he turned back to the matriarch and super-matriarch of the family, he caught them sharing knowing glances with each other.

He pretended not to notice. The last thing he needed right now was to get into a conversation with these two strong-minded women about his love life.

“I have a favor to ask,” he said.

“Of course, she can stay,” Grams said in her usual eerie, read-your-mind way. “Kayla is family now. You do not need to ask. ”

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