Page 52 of Quinlan

Gwen will toe the fucking line.

“Wait, I—”

“Goodbye.” I end the call. Stare up at the ceiling. Let out a low curse and return my laptop and work.

There’s shit to do. Contracts to draft before I send them over to legal.

Before we head out to be with Quinlan.

Beautiful, sweet, and innocent Quinlan is ours.

So what if Rome kissed her first?

Liam and I will kiss her tonight.

That’s whatoursmeans.

And when we blackmail her… When we kidnap her…

I’ll have her lips available for me all the time.

Whether she’ll be on board with murdering her brother, that’s a question for another day.

Now, for the contract I have to work on…

My phone rings on my desk, stopping me before I typed the first letter. Then I pick up my phone and see who’s calling me.

“Jagger?”

Over the years, most of the kids from the foster homes I lived in have fizzled out of my life. Those who hadn’t been tortured.

They didn’t go through what Jagger, Laurel, and I had. The physical and mental abuse. The pain. The scars. The need to protect one another. How I failed them some days.

Our bond isn’t as strong as the one I have with Liam and Rome. I’m still very much connected to them. Through our friendship. Through joined work projects.

Through our revenge plan.

“Dame.” Jagger sounds older than his thirty-one years today. His voice is hoarse.

“What’s wrong?” I’m already up. Already picking up my keys and heading to the door. My heart belongs to Quinlan, and I’ll be with her. Once I solve this mess for Jagger. “Someone tipped the police again? They’re close? Where are you?”

That’s usually what happens if the police aren’t involved. It’s an occupational hazard when you make a career of providing fake IDs. Some of your clients are trash and decide to turn on you. Not us, though. We need his business for our revenge plans.

That, and the fact that he’s like a brother to me.

“No one’s on their way.”

“Someone at your home, then?” That, too, happens every once in a while. Have I mentioned he has trash for clients? And his girlfriend moved in with him two months ago. “Is Nila okay?”

“Chill, super lawyer. Nila’s fine. She’s at work.”

“Well, what is it? You sound like that when you call from the police station. How the fuck am I supposed to react to that?”

No one matters to me in this world. No one but my people. I’m feral over them. Protective down to my bones.

Leaving Quinlan out there with Rex broke my goddamn heart all those years ago. But she’s been okay. She’s been a fucking pro. A straight-A student. A young entrepreneur. He might not have been the best brother. She grew up to be an incredible woman, regardless.

She’s been waiting for me, that’s all. In a few days, I’ll be the knight in shining armor I was destined to be.Herknight. As dark as I may be.

---