Page 30 of Forbidden Bond

“Love put him in the path of a bullet. Dead or not, he shouldn’t forgive me for that.”

And maybe that was it. Why her people couldn’t get through to Conn or the First Team. Ire McDade didn’t stand for such an insult, an injury like that. And it was her fault.

They pulled to a stop outside the loft building. Going in there could be the relief she needed. Going into their bedroom, being there, if she didn’t find him waiting…

Waiting… Goddamnit.

“Any shit goes down, you get your ass to our bedroom and wait for me. Understand?”

His words. The plan. The contingency. The instruction her love gave, the order. If she couldn’t find Conn, he’d have to find her. Shit, knew what to do. That statement didn’t come from Play, he was repeating something he’d heard, maybe something he’d been told.

Yes, she did know what to do.

“Better if I park around the corner?” Strat asked.

“No,” she said, her fingers curling around the door release as her eyes fixed on the entrance. “Stay here. If I don’t come down in ten minutes, just go.”

“What?”

The severity of his tone attracted her attention. “He’s up there or he’s not.”

“Yeah, and if someone else is up there?”

“The only people who know about this place are trusted.”

“Huh, and no one ever learned something they shouldn’t? If someone was leaned on—”

“What’s the worst that happens? Someone puts a bullet in me?” She smiled as her head relaxed to the side. “You know my perspective on this. To fight for your life, you first have to value it. If they want to take me down, they can do it. What do I have left to lose? If there’s trouble up there, I don’t want youanywhere near it.” Tears threatened again. “You’re all I have left, Strat. I would never survive you being hurt either. Let them end it, they’d be doing me a favor.”

“I don’t accept that. Just because he’s not here doesn’t mean he’s not anywhere. What the fuck do you think he’ll do to me if I let you go up there alone?”

“I’m only following his orders.”

“What orders?”

“If shit goes down, I get to our bedroom and wait.”

“Really?” he asked. “That’s the plan?”

What else could she do but follow orders and hope he found her?

“Yes, so go home, Strat. Get some rest, you deserve it.”

Rather than agree, he loosened his seatbelt. “Thanks, I’ll pass.”

“You can’t—”

“He’s there, I’ll split. He’s not…” God, she really didn’t want him to finish that sentence. “There’s liquor and guest rooms, right?”

Her friend got out of the car and came around to open her door. Why should she fight with him? Okay, so she did feel bad about the stressful week he must’ve had. Shit, she hadn’t even thought about how him and Lach managed to get through it without killing each other.

They went inside and up in the elevator. No one lingered outside in the hallway. If Conn was there, shouldn’t there be security? Yes, and there should be cars in the street too. Though they did tend to park in the alley if the boss was home for the night.

Her print, her code, it worked, and the door popped an inch. “He told me I was never alone. That our army would always raise me up.”

Strat squeezed the back of her neck. “I’m an army of one and you’ve got me at your back.”

How would she ever repay his courage? His loyalty? Of everyone in the world, only him and her brother dedicated their lives to finding her. No one else showed that determination. That commitment.

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