Page 48 of Breeding Justice

I turned to her, frowning. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, but it wasn’t convincing. "Just tired," she said. "I’ll be fine."

I didn’t press her. We all assumed her discomfort was from the injury, but I had a nagging feeling there was something else going on—something she wasn’t telling us. This wasn’t the righttime to call her out on it, though I needed to know. I needed to know that she would be fine.

"So what’s the plan, then?" Skylar asked, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Do we meet with Dante or not?"

"We meet with him," I said firmly. "I meet with him. Justice should stay with SJ.”

“You want all of us to go with you?” Skylar asked, narrowing his eyes.

“No,” I said. “Someone has to stay back to protect my wife and kid. But we go in prepared for a double-cross. We verify his intel before we make a move."

Skylar shook his head but didn’t argue. He knew, as we all did, that we were running out of options.

"Fine," he said. "But if this goes south, don’t say I didn’t warn you."

The room fell silent again, the weight of our situation pressing down like a suffocating blanket. I thought about SJ, about how small and fragile he was. About how he was the future—not just for me, but for all of us. We were fighting to give him a chance at something better, something we’d never had.

"We do this smart," I said. "But we do it. Vito has to die. It’s the only way to protect our family."

The group started to disperse, but I stayed on the couch, staring at the baby monitor. Justice lay her head on my shoulder and we both watched our baby breathe.

“For a moment there, I thought I would never see him again,” Justice said, her voice a whisper. “I was so worried, Bash.”

“I would never let anything happen to you,” I said. “To either of you. You’re both going to live long beautiful lives. And when he gets older your arguments are going to be about how much he’s calling and if you like his girlfriend. Or boyfriend, or whoever. But nothing else.”

Justice sighed, her eyes distant. “I’ve felt so sick ever since…I don’t know, before the wedding. Like I’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

“I mean, it has, hasn’t it?”

She shook her head. “No,” she said. “Something else is coming. I can feel it.”

I laughed, hoping to lighten the weight of her words. “I didn’t know you were psychic,” I said. “But it only makes you hotter.”

Justice laughed—a small, tired sound that made my chest tighten. “Thanks. I try.”

I leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “Get some rest, darlin’. I need you at full strength. We all do.”

“You too, Bash. I’m just going to stay here and watch him for a little longer, though. You can go to bed.”

“No. I’ll stay here with you,” I said. “I never want to let you out of my sight again.”

SJ let out a small whimper, then settled back into his steady breathing. I thought about how easy it was for a life to be snuffed out, how quickly everything could change.

I wished this whole thing was cleaner.

I didn’t want to kill anyone. Not really. But Vito? I was looking forward to it. He’d threatened my son. Hurt my wife. Sent his men after us like we were nothing more than targets. As a rule, I didn’t love murder. It didn’t feel like a great solution.

But with Vito? I wanted it. I wanted it more than I wanted air.

I would make it last. And I would fucking love it.

Even if I couldn’t—even if it came down to a quick shot to the back of the head—I would do it. Because that’s what it took. Because Hassan was right: we did what we had to.

Chapter Twenty: Hassan

Iwas so tired. I was still running on adrenaline and I had woken up in the middle of the night, alone, unable to sleep.

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