Page 148 of Silent Vendetta (Vendetta Duet)

A sudden rush of fear gripped me, making the words come out more as a desperate plea than a statement. “Grayson, don’t go.”

He paused, his eyes searching mine. “I’ll see you soon, brother.”

But his voice betrayed his doubt, and he wouldn’t have said goodbye for the first time if he was certain of that. Leaving me wondering what in the hell my brother had gotten himself into.

And if I would ever see his face again…

Extended Epilogue

HUNTER

“Okay kiddo, you know the drill,” I said. “Scoot your butt over.”

“I’m all the way over!” Amelia claimed.

“Mr. Snuggle Muffles—”

“Snuggle Muffins!”

“Is taking up half the bed. Tell him to scoot over so I can sit down.”

Amelia smiled—damn, that smile brought me to my knees every time—and moved the huge elephant I’d given her for her birthday to the foot of the bed. Affording me the space I needed to sit by her hip.

I brought her flowery pink covers up to the base of her chin. Her whole room was pink with white drapes and accents. Stuffed animals. A dollhouse in the corner that was bigger than my first car. Luna worried we were spoiling her, but she had no idea how many things I’d almost bought my daughter already.

I thought I’d be a tough dad. Strict, especially with money, because nothing irritated me more than entitled brats whining to their parents.

But the universe has a sense of humor. Because what happens when you don’t get an entitled kid? What happens when you get the sweetest one on the planet, who is grateful for a 99-cent pack of crayons? Well, when said kid is in a store and her eyes light up over a trinket and her tiny hand is wrapped around her billionaire father’s finger?

Billionaire father crumbles. Every time.

So here we were. In a room that looked like a toy store vomited in it. And this was the mosthumblehome we owned. Out in the country, a great place to spend a weekend.

“High and low,” I reminded her.

“Why do we do high and low again, Daddy?”

“Because,” I said, rubbing her arm, “my daddy did it with me, and you’ll do it with your kids someday. Each event is a learning opportunity. The ones that make us sad or upset. And the ones that make us excited.”

She put that adorable finger to her chin, looking up in thought.

“Oh! The high was when I saw your car pulling up the driveway after work!”

Fuck. Me.

If a heart can melt, this kid held the flame.

I smiled and kissed her cheek. “That was my high, too, baby. I missed you so much.”

Sometimes I wondered if I was making the right decision, staying on as a prosecutor—since doing so meant not getting home until dinner each night. Sometimes later. But I’d cut back my hours and wanted to do everything in mylegalpower to put the scum of Chicago away.

“The low was, I almost got a dog. I was so close! But I didn’t get one.”

“Really?” That surprised me. Luna was an animal lover, but we had several family vacations planned this year and had agreed to revisit the dog debate next year. Knowing my daughter, I’d walk out with an entire zoo of them.

“Yeah!” Amelia shuffled to her side, tucking her little hands beneath her cheek. “This man had a whole car full of them! He was going to give me one!”

On the outside, my smile remained frozen so I didn’t scare my child.

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