Page 74 of Notorious

My heart falls through the floor while sweat tops my brow.

I had no idea Haven was playing me.

Nor the fact she was a fucking assassin sent to kill me.

Was everything a fucking lie?

I glance over at Loki. He stares back at me like he is equally as shocked by this news. He starts typing furiously into his laptop to see how we could have missed this glowing fucking red flag, flaring my nostrils. “Haven is an assassin sent to kill me?” I ask Poppy just to clarify what she’s saying.

Poppy nods. “Yes. But Haven didn’t want to carry out the order. She likes you, Dad, and she riskedeverythingto return to The Nest to get me out. She is one ofus.”

Swift steps forward, shaking his head. “Haven isn’t one of us. She was going tokillyou, Alpha. Shecan’tbe trusted.”

Poppy tightens her grip on my hand. “Dad, Haven’s gone back to The Nest to hand herself in as a trade for me and you.”

Breathing harshly, I try to figure out what all this means. “I don’t understand.”

Poppy’s eyes sadden, and she sniffles like she’s trying not to cry. “They’re going to kill her, Dad.”

My eyes widen, my skin prickling at the thought of a world without Haven. She’s been the only one who has made my world brighter since I thought I lost Poppy.

I can’t imagine a world where Haven’s not a part of it.

A part ofmyworld.

Turning to my brothers, I shake my head. “I can’t leave Poppy.”

Maverick steps forward. “Pres, you need to go. You have to get Haven back.”

I spin, facing Ellie, and she simply dips her chin. “We’ll take care of Poppy, Alpha. I’ll call Livvy and have her come over and explain everything. We got this. You get Haven.”

Swift grunts out his frustration. “This is ridiculous, Alpha. She was going tokill you!What part of that don’t you understand?”

I turn to him and exhale. “I gotta help her, Swift. She saved my little girl from that hellhole. And I have questions that need answering.”

I kneel in front of Poppy, pulling her to me in a tight embrace. “I’m coming back.”

“I know. I’ll be here waiting.”

“I love you, Poppy.”

“Love you too, Dad. But please,pleasehelp Haven.”

Standing, I turn to Swift, walking over to him. All the while, he shakes his head. “You know this is probably a fucking trap? If Poppy was training with these assassins, how do you know she hasn’t been fucking brainwashed into making her tell youall this? Then you go off gung-ho and walk right into a fucking bullet, and on the other end, is Haven aiming it right at your numb-fucking-skull?”

“I gotta try. I know this could be a trap, but if Haven did do all this and is turning herself in for punishment, then I have to at leasttryto help her.”

“You have Poppy back, isn’t that enough, Alpha? Take the win,” Swift urges.

“Can’t do that.”

“Why thefucknot?”

I look Swift in the eyes, a slow smile crossing my face. “Because… I love the woman.”

He jerks his head back in shock. “Haven? The woman who was sent here to murder you?”

“I’m probably a fucking idiot, but yeah. I fucking love her.” Warmth floods me as I say the words I have been thinking out loud for the first time. “I can’t let her walk away and hand herself in to whoever these fucking assholes are. She couldn’t complete her mission, which means it wasn’t fake for her. So no, I can’t take the win and let it go. I gotta fight for her. Ihaveto bring her home. She fucking saved my kid.”

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