Page 168 of Fearless

I blow out a slow breath as that thought settles inside me.

Weirdly, I feel okay about it.

I have experience with kids. Okay, boys.

Mom was amazing, but for all intents and purposes, she was a single parent. Victor was only interested if he was able to get out and train us. He didn’t give a shit about school, our homework, teaching us life skills like cooking. The only thing he cared about was turning us into mini versions of him.

Thankfully, we had enough of Mom’s genes running through our veins that he never managed it.

Gray, on the other hand…

“Hey,” I whisper when Alana looks up and finds me standing there watching her.

“Hey.”

“She sleeping?”

Alana shakes her head.

“I’ll leave you to it. I’m gonna go and shower. I’ll be in my room,” I offer, although I already know that she’s going to go to Mav. She should as well, but it doesn’t stop me from being a selfish motherfucker and wanting her all to myself.

She smiles at me, but doesn’t say anything more and I leave her there cradling her sister and head upstairs.

“Make yourselves at home, why don’t you,” I mutter when I find Devin, Ellis, and Griff sitting on the couches in my kitchen with glasses of whiskey.

“Thanks, Bro. You know, I’ve really missed you too.”

“You’re an asshole,” I mutter, stalking toward the kitchen for a glass. The shower can wait a few minutes.

“Fucking saved your ass tonight, though, didn’t I?”

“Err… pretty sure that was Ellis,” I say, making the guy in question finally pop his head up from his laptop.

“Appreciation goes a long way, thanks, Bro,” he says, flipping Devin off at the same time. “I’m trying to find footage of someone planting that bomb on your car, but the cameras around that area are really shitty.”

“And you’re surprised?”

He doesn’t dignify that question with an answer. I understand why. There’s a reason why that area is as well-known as it is.

“I want to know if it was Norton or if Kurt had someone waiting,” Ellis muses, making my movements still.

If it was fucking Norton then…

“So you’ve got two assholes. But the biggest one is still at large. What’s the plan here?” Devin asks.

Pouring myself a very generous measure of whiskey, I throw it back while I think.

“I’m hoping my new inmate will help out with that.”

“You know what you need to do,” Ellis warns.

“El,” I complain, knowing exactly where he’s going with this.

“What?” He shrugs innocently, looking up and giving me his full attention. “There is only one person—other than himself—that Victor cares enough about to stick his head above the parapet for and you know it.

“Plus, didn’t you promise his return at some point?”

“Kane did,” I mutter.

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