Page 53 of The Heart

I close my laptop and Sebastian leans forward, clearly just as pissed off as me at this point.

“Fine. Then how about you tell us why you hired us in the first place? Why does the entire Deck want Leena dead, and what did you tell the feds to piss everybody off?” Sebastian retorts, lacing his fingers together in front of him on the table.

“Who the fuck told you that?” My father abruptly stands, but so do my men, each of them placing a hand on their weapons.

I roll my eyes.

“Sit. Down. All of you. The Jack of Spades told us that right before I shot him,dad.” I cross my own arms, staring my father down as the three of them slowly sit, still eyeing each other warily.

My father runs a hand over his face in exasperation, but I just keep staring. Waiting for him to explain himself.

“Everyone in the Deck knows I’m training my daughter to take my place. They just don’t know which daughter.” My heart sinks.Kathryn wouldn’t do that, would she?“And I didn’t go to the feds. Somehow, they slid one into my Card without me knowing. The guy worked for me nearly two years, how the fuck was I supposed to know he was reporting back?” He takes a deep breath before continuing, “He was captured by the Jack of Spades, and no surprise, he folded.”

“He was the rat,” Sebastian says.

My father lets out a breath. “Yeah. He told the Jacks where you were in the safehouse, told them that he was a fed, and lied saying that I was in on it too. He told them whatever he could, but in the end they slaughtered him anyway. Left his dismembered corpse at my fucking front door.”

“Youweren’t supposed to know where we were, Ward. That was the whole fucking point! They ambushed us! You could have gotten Leena killed!” Sebastian seethes, standing again.

I place a hand on his thick forearm without even looking and he settles back into his seat. I glare at my father as he watches the interaction.

“After the first check in, my guys used satellite imaging to search for your vehicle. Took them a while to find you, but they managed.” The man shrugs.

Fuckingshrugs.Like he didn’t almost get the three of us killed.

“You bast–” Sebastian starts, but Luke cuts him off.

“Can you tell us anything that will help us find Kathryn?” Luke says through clenched teeth.

“I can email you the video files, her phone’s last location, bank accounts, whatever you need. Please. Just find my daughter,” he says, his tone softer.

“We’ll find her. Now get the fuck out of our city,” Sebastian says, his fists clenched as he stands.

Maybe I shouldn’t have told him stories of my neglected upbringing.

Just before my father leaves the room, he turns back, eyeing the three of us once again. “Do you mind telling me which one of you is fucking my daughter?”

“Get out,”I deadpan.

It’s quiet for a moment as he stares my men down. They stare back.

And I want to disappear into the fucking walls.

I know they werefriendsor…somethingbefore. But not anymore, so this question is entirely inappropriate. I don’t have to explain myself to him.

I haven’t for a long time.

Luke looks at me in question, and I give him a little nod, giving him permission to do whatever he pleases.

I watch as my men each grab an arm and shove my father out into the hallway.

“We both are,” Luke finally says before slamming the door in his goddamn face.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

LEENA

“Hey! Settle down!” Sebastian shouts over the cacophony that is our team all talking at once.

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