Page 63 of Dangerous Devotion

I rubbed my wrist, pressed my trembling hands together.Please, God, let Fee be okay.

I focused back on Vince. Was I truly able to live this kind of life, to survive in his world?

A world where life and death decisions were made in the blink of an eye, and where danger lurked behind every corner and even in something as harmless as a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.

I never realized how much our father had shielded us from all the dangers of this world.

A dangerous and cruel world Fee and I had been a part of since birth, without ever truly experiencing it.

A world I would irrevocably remain a part of now.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Iended the call with Matt and stared out of the window, my heartbeat a dull echo in my chest.

I’d failed in my duty to keep everyone safe, and Fee and Alex had paid the price. At least she was still alive even though Matt didn’t have any details—or good news.

I turned to face Hawk, Craig Donnelly, Dante, and Hero who were spread out in my office, all with equally grim expressions, all staring at me expectantly.

I took a deep breath. “Fee’s in critical condition,” I said, my voice tight. “There was cyanide in the orange juice. If she’d had the whole glass…” I trailed off, not needing to finish the grim thought. I hadn’t expected my father to stoop this low.

I should’ve known better.

Dante cursed under his breath, and Donnelly’s face paled slightly. Hawk remained stoic while Hero’s jaw was so tense, I could see the muscle jump from across the room.

“What kind of shitty operation are you running?” Donnelly growled, jumped up, and paced the room. “You promised thishouse was safe. You promised my kids were safe.” He gave me an accusatory glare.

I ran a hand through my hair, frustration and anger warring inside me. Donnelly went right for the jugular. And he was right. How the fuck did this happen? Right here under my nose. And even worse: It was Jemma’s juice. Jemma’s glass. This hadn’t been an attack on Fee. It was meant for Jemma. Not that that made any difference for Donnelly. He considered Fee his kid, which was kinda endearing. The more I got to know him, the more I liked him. Even though, right now, that like was not mutual. I sighed. “I’ll figure it out.”

“You’ll figure it out?” Donnelly sneered. “A little late for that.”

I narrowed my brows. As if I needed him to tell me I’d fucked up. The thought of Jemma being the target made my blood run cold. I’d promised to protect her, and not even twenty-four hours after our wedding, she’d nearly been poisoned.

Under my roof.

By one of my people.

I couldn’t shake the image of Jemma holding that glass. The realization of how close I’d come to losing her made my chest tighten. Whoever was behind this would pay dearly.

“We need to lock down the property,” Donnelly said, his tactical mind already at work.

I nodded, and Hawk mimicked my movement.

“Vince already gave the order,” Hawk said. “There’s no one coming in or out until we’ve questioned everyone who had access to the kitchen or dining area.”

I nodded, grateful for Hawk’s presence to keep Donnelly in check. Because Donnelly looked angry enough, I wouldn’t feel comfortable turning my back to him.

And I didn’t have time for shit like that.

“Hero, I want you to coordinate with Marianna. Find out who prepared the drinks, who served them—every detail. I need to know how that poison got into my house, and I want to know yesterday.”

Hero straightened, determination replacing the grim expression on his face. “On it.”

“Dante,” I continued, “I need you to go through the list. Everyone who took a step on the property during the last couple of days”—which was a ridiculously long list—“anyone with connections to our father or other families, look into their finances, backgrounds, everything. We can’t rule anyone out at this point.”

My brother nodded grimly, already pulling out his phone to start working.

I turned back to Hawk. “Nobody is safe until we find whoever did this.”

---