Page 34 of The Vicious Defender

"We're not staying here," I hiss, and he narrows his eyes at me.

"Way to be grateful, Uncle. Doesn't seem like you have a lot of options to me."

"I'd rather die than accept your pity," I mutter.

"Be my guest," Heath says. "You either follow my rules, or I throw you to the wolves."

"Fine. What do you want?"

"Information," he states. "I need to know everything you have on Xander."

"I don't have much," I tell him.

"We can discuss that tomorrow. You're going to help me find the bastard."

"What are you planning to do once you find him?" Tallulah asks.

"He must pay," Heath replies simply.

"We can't kill him," she protests. "He's my brother in law. And I know the mother of his children, Ivette. We were close."

I don't respond. I don't want to think about any of that.

I pick myself up. "We're going to sleep. Where are our rooms?"

Heath chuckles. "If you think you're sleeping with my daughter in my house, you're sorely wrong. You'll have separate rooms. Tallulah gets her childhood bedroom and you can stay in the guest house."

"In case you're forgetting," I seethe. "Your daughter is my wife, and she will not sleep anywhere without me."

"She's my daughter first," Heath reminds me.

"Stop it, both of you," Tallulah cuts in. She glares at her father. "Xavier is right. We'll share a room, and if you don't like it, that's not my problem."

I can't help but smirk. "You heard her, little boy."

Heath shakes his head. "No. This isn't how it works. You follow my rules, or I throw Xavier right out. It would take one call and Xander would be here, ready to pick him up."

"Dad!" Tallulah gasps.

"I'll let you two decide what's more important. You, or him," he adds, looking at me.

"That's not fair!" Tallulah argues.

"You're not in a position to argue, mija."

"Fine," Tallulah snaps, throwing her hands up. "Fine, Xavier will sleep in the guest house."

I grit my teeth together. She gave up too easily, but Heath is right.

The Scorpion cartel has been decimated, turned to blood and dust. I haven't even told Heath his childhood friend, Phoenix, is dead.

"Go to sleep, Tallulah," I say, never taking my eyes off Heath. "Your father and I have a lot to discuss."

"That can wait." Heath picks himself up. "You both sleep, then we reconvene tomorrow. And get those damn dogs out of my sight."

We sleep. At least,Tallulah does. She's exhausted, and she falls asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow. But I can't sleep. The guest house is luxurious and filled with expensive antiques. It's comfortable, but I can't forget what happened.

Xander's attack was a shock. It wasn't a warning, it wasn't a threat.

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