Page 34 of Dragon Stepbrother's Secret Baby

“Um…..” I couldn’t stop staring at everything. “What needs to be done first?”

Lacy jumped a foot in the air, pointed at me, and her eyes popped. “I just remembered! You’re supposed to sign a contract with the Clan trust before you do anything. Willow and Samira would kill me if I let you do anything before you fill that out.”

“Do Willow and Samira run the Clan—I mean, apart from Kingston?”

“Samira ran it for several years after Layton died, but she couldn’t run it as well as the natural born leader. No one but Layton’s son could ever take his place. That’s why we tracked down Kingston. We had to. The Clan would have collapsed without his leadership. Itdidcollapse after Layton died. We needed Kingston to save it.”

She turned to one of the computer stations. I studied her profile while she clicked on the mouse.

This Clan definitely operated on a different set of rules than outsider society. Each leader passed down his position to his son. A woman couldn’t run the Clan, no matter how capable and confident she might be.

I flashed back to the memory of Samira conducting that conference when Connor and I first showed up here. She definitely commanded her audience’s attention. She wore a power suit as classy and impeccable as any CEO. Everyone listened to her and respected her, but she still couldn’t be the Clan’s leader.

Now her son held that position—a son who didn’t know anything about his Clan before he turned twenty. Kingston didn’t grow up here. He never knew any of this existed before he became leader.

All of that raised the same nagging question. Why did Layton leave? Why would he keep his son away from the Clan. Layton must have known Kingston would become Clan leader one day. Why would Layton do that? It made no sense.

Lacey distracted me back to the computer. “Here’s the contract. Take a look and then sign it if you’re comfortable with it. If you aren’t, I can take you to see Willow and you two can negotiate different terms.”

She vacated the stool in front of the screen. I sat down and started reading the PDF in front of me.

My jaw dropped when I read the hourly rate and consulting fee the Clan planned to pay me for my work. I would really have to up my game if I wanted to be as much of an asset to this Clan as they clearly thought I was.

I ran through the rest of the contract just to make sure it didn’t contain any nasty surprises. It didn’t, so I loaded up my digital signature.

Just as I prepared to attach it to the document, a lightning bolt of realization hit me between the eyes. This was it. I was using my skills, experience, and knowledge to further the Clan’s interests. I was making it stronger so the Hellers would be able to defend Connor against the Danes.

Every hour I spent working on the Clan’s computer systems would make Connor safer. Every improvement I made to this system would increase the odds of Connor growing up as strong, sturdy, successful, confident, and connected to his family as Kingston was now.

Connor wasn’t just a vision of Kingston as a boy. Kingston offered me a perfect vision of Connor as a grown man. If Connor grew up to be half the man Kingston was, I couldn’t ask for anything better than that.

I attached my signature, saved the contract on the cloud, and then sent copies of it to the Clan’s email address listed on the contract.

“That’s all there is to it,” Lacey told me. “You are now a member of Clan Heller—the first outsider ever to hold that title.”

“Yeah,” I breathed. “I better live up to it.” I faced her. “What do you want me to do?”

She handed me a plain manila folder full of documents. “This is a list of all our assets all over the world. You’ll find IP addresses, URLs, and everything else you need in there. You’ll also find a schedule of the Danes’ most recent hits on us and the casualties involved. If you log into Zoom, you can find the contact information for Demetrius. He’s in Havana at the moment, but he’ll be able to answer any questions you have.”

“You mean…..Havana….Cuba?”

“Yep. He’s expecting to hear from you. He’s been on his own handling the whole system worldwide for nearly four years, so he’s ready for someone to come in and start carrying some of the weight.” She clapped me on the shoulder. “Knock ‘em dead, killer.”

She walked out of the room and left me alone.

I turned back to the computer, but I knew now what I needed to do. I couldn’t let the Danes or anyone else weaken this Clan. I needed to use all my knowledge, skill, and ingenuity to stop the Danes from threatening Connor, Kingston, or me ever again.

They’d already done enough damage for one lifetime. Now it was time to turn the tables and start giving some of that back.

16

RILEY

I walkeddown a long corridor somewhere in the deepest heart of the Heller stronghold. I still hadn’t figured out where everything was in this vast complex, but Lacey told me the kids were out in the courtyard somewhere down this corridor.

It ended in another open platform overlooking the canyons and mountains of the Badlands. I stepped out into the wind and children’s laughter drew my attention to a wider stone deck to my right.

It jutted from the mountainside with all the younger kids from Connor’s class running around, climbing over the rocks, and some of them playing follow the leader.

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