Page 145 of Daddy P.I. 3.0

I meet Javier’s eyes. He nods. I can leave wrangling our guilt-ridden detective to him.

“I think we should call it a night,” I say to everyone. “Theo, if you’d leave the burner you’re using to communicate with Ten, I’ll take point on communications tonight.”

Theo’s jaw sets. “I’m not going anywhere. I know what you’re doing, Lo. You asked me to be more Dom and less cop dealing with True and I did.”

“And I appreciate it. This is not the same. This is not putting down your badge for a couple of hours and then picking it up again. This is different.”

Theo leans forward and knots his hands together on the edge of my desk. “They’re my friends, too. Fleur, Cappa, Shannie. I’ve known them for years. I’ve scened with them. I’ve beeninsideall of them.” Behind him, standing with his back to the door into the kitchen, Myles shifts. Theo continues without noticing, “None of them felt they could come to me. Do you know how awful that feels, Logan? I had a duty to protect them. A duty twice over and Ifailedthem.”

“I understand,” I say. “I had a duty to protect them, too?—”

“You went to bat for them. You took Cappa in immediately. You started escalating things at the club. I’m not deaf and you know what the club grapevine is like. I know you’ve been working on this for months. Against a lot of opposition. Maybe no one truly understood how bad it was but I’ve dealt with grooming and sexual assault cases for years and I should have seen what the hell was going on. Don’t ask me to walk away now.”

I look around the room and see the light of resolve in all the eyes looking back at me.

“You are my brothers and sisters and I will always be grateful for you,” I say. “But this is where your involvement ends. All of you. It can’t go any further.”

“It damn well can,” Theo growls.

“No, it can’t. I need you to pick up your badge now and go back out there and defend the rest of the people who need your help, Theo. You’re a good man and a good Dom. But you are not a killer. And neither I nor anyone else in this room has the right to ask you to become one.”

Theo slants a hard glance at Myles. “I’m not leaving this to him.”

“Because you don’t think I’ll get the job done,” Myles says quietly, not lifting his gaze from the tips of his boots.

“It’s not your responsibility,” Theo snaps. “You’re brand new to all of this. You barely know what being a Dom means. You’re not a member of the club. You don’t even know half of the house submissives.”

“I’m not doing it out of responsibility,” Myles responds, raising neither his eyes nor his voice. “I’m doing it out of love.”

That silences everyone in the room.

Javier finally breaks the silence. He stands, walks over to Myles, and hands him a business card. “I won’t ask you to incriminate yourself or do anything like that, mon frere. But I’d appreciate it if you text me when it’s done. Just a thumbs up will do. I love Fleur and Cappa, too.”

Myles nods and pockets the card.

As always, Javier gets the last word. Javier drags Theo out with him, after Theo slaps a small phone on the edge of my desk. Everyone shakes my hand as they leave. Max is last and instead of leaving once he’s shaken my hand, he shuts the door behind Mac.

“Neither Logan nor I are leaving, Myles,” Max says.

Myles lifts his head and pins us with that disconcerting, gray gaze. “No?”

“No,” I say firmly.

Myles nods to himself. He walks over to the two of us and draws us into a tight circle, his arms curving over our shoulders.

“Who are we?” he asks.

Before I try to answer, Max says, “We’re the sin-eaters. We’re the ones who don’t turn away. We’re the ones who do the things that need doing.”

What the fuck is this?

“We’re the ones who stand and take the beating,” Myles murmurs.

“We’re the ones who get up afterwards and take it again,” Max rejoins.

I have no idea what this exchange stems from but each word resonates in my bones.

“I don’t want any misunderstandings later,” Myles says, still looking at the two of us steadily. “This is murder. Premeditated murder.”

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