Page 37 of Bound

“The best we can be for now,” Rory responds with uncertainty in his tone.

Abruptly turninghisattention back to me, Liam asks,“When did Quinn move in?”

“You aren’t fucking suggesting?—”

“No, absolutely not,” Liam cuts me off before I can finish, shaking his head. “I’m suggesting that maybe this has absolutely nothing to do with you or our war with the Bratva. And that maybe it haseverythingto do with Quinn.”

I continue to pace anxiously along windows overlooking the terrace, waiting for Liam to get to his point. “For fuck’s sake, just spit it out then.”

“It’s Quinn,” Liam exclaims. “Theymight be threateningall three of you, but they’re watching Quinn.”

Quinn…

They’re planning. Plotting. Learning my weaknesses and our schedules. Patiently watching as they wait for the opportune moment. The moment they can take her.

She’s what they want.

“They want their vengeance?—”

“On us both,” I interrupt Liam. “Killing her, or whatever they plan to do with her, isn’t just about the lone man she killed in the bar. They knew from the moment Tris and I killed the other two from that night. I practically took out a billboard in Times Square, letting them know she was important to me. They’ll destroy her because they know what it’ll do to me.”

“Bringing her on as your nanny likely has kept her safe,” Rory imparts. “We had guys watching her, but the security at her place was nothingcompared tohere. Moving her made her harder to get to.”

“He’s right,” Liam agrees. “Even having access to the security footage, it took them the entire time she’s been here to actually make a play for her.”

“And,” Rory grows more excitable, “she had to have been the initial target. The fixation on Miss Fiona started after. About the same time you killed Akim.”

“But why now?” I ask rhetorically. “Why make a move now?”

“They’vemanaged to sneaka single man in and out of here for weeks without us knowing. But it was only ever just a singleman, and he was never brazen enough to make contact,” Rory shares.

“Managing to avertthe security feed is one thing. Dragging a screaming woman and child pastnumerousarmed guards unnoticed is another,” Liam imparts.

“So, what changed?” I ask them both.

The three of usponder for a moment, with Rory being the first of us to break the silence, “They eitherfound a way to get Quinn and Fiona out of here?—”

I cut him off, “Or they wanted us to go somewhere else.”

Pulling my phone from my pocket, I send a quick group text to my brothers.

Be on alert.

The Bratva might have the upper hand, and it might not be today, but they ARE coming for Quinn and Fiona.

TRISTAN

Quinn and Fiona are safe here with us

FINN

You know we’ll keep them safe

CONOR

Like they’re our own

We’re heading back now.

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