Page 80 of Witness Protection

“Then why live like this?”

Cayden exhaled, pushing his hair back. “I thought I made it clear yesterday. Look, not everyone lives the way you do. This neighborhood, it’s not unique. Most people are struggling from paycheck to paycheck. You say Sophia was sheltered? Well, hate him or not, Vasily raised you with a silver spoon in your mouth.”

Hawk scoffed. “Vasily was a beast. I can’t tell you how many times he beat me, how many fucked up things he forced me to do before I even had hair on my balls. And I didn’t live in the house with the family. I lived in the staff’s wing, always reminded that I was a charity case.”

“Okay, so he was harsh. You still had the best of everything.”

“And you have money, so why live like a damn vagrant?”

“I don’t care about fancy suits or overpriced coffee. I had nothing growing up, and if I change that now I’m selling out.”

“How? You’re just moving up in the world. People grow. People change. You should be proud to rise in the ranks.”

“I don’t want to become dependent. Look at you, right now. You miss all your posh shit. Me, I can survive anywhere. Take it all away, and I’m no worse off.”

“How about I take away your smokes? You’re still a slave, one way or another.”

Cayden cursed under his breath and snuffed out his smoke in an overflowing ashtray. “This is just a choice. Not an addiction. I could give it up if I had to. I’d do it for—”

He stopped himself, but Hawk could fill in the blanks. He’d do it for Sophia. How could such a slip of a woman get under both their skins? Hawk could have any woman he wanted, and by the looks of it, so could Cayden.

It was hard to hate a man who loved what he loved. It didn’t make sense when he’d also kill to keep her. He had no one to turn to for advice. Even Vlad was gone. How would he know if his thoughts were normal or dark, healthy or twisted?

“Is that why you pushed Sophia away? Scared to lose her?”

Cayden narrowed his eyes. “What’s up your ass? I gave you the girl, so stop rubbing it in my face. Move on and keep her off-topic.”

“I wasn’t trying to be a prick. Just trying to understand.”

“Well, keep that social worker bullshit to yourself. The only reason you’re here is so we can team up and get Sophia back.”

“Okay, fine,” said Hawk. He took one of the coffees and sipped on it. “My guy sent me the specs of Antonio’s house.” He dropped his cell on the table with the display open.

“If she’s there.”

“She’s there. One of the maids sells us information. Sophia’s being kept in one of the guest rooms. There’re two guards outside the room,” said Hawk.

“Locked away in an ivory tower. She’s really playing the fairy tale card,” said Cayden. “You get to be her knight in shining armor.”

“She gets two heroes.”

“Spoiled little princess. She always get what she wants?” asked Cayden.

“Pretty much.”

Cayden sat on his computer chair and the monitors came to life. “I’ll pull up everything I can. We’ll have to wait for nightfall.”

“Why? That’s when they’ll expect something. Daylight could give us an edge.”

“I always work in the dark,” said Cayden.

“Then I’ll go myself.”

“Don’t be stupid. Two of us have a better chance. Remember, we’re not there to wipe out the family, just get Sophia out in one piece.”

“You saw the blood,” said Hawk.

“And he can’t marry a corpse. We have to use our heads.”

Cayden was right. Rushing in with guns blazing wasn’t the answer.

They went over everything they had from the layouts of the house and property to how many men they could be dealing with. The security system, the firepower, the cops, and their escape route. They went through Cayden’s stockpile of ammo, organized their weapons side by side in silence, and packed up a small arsenal. Hand grenades for good measure.

It was war, and they didn’t plan to lose.

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