Page 25 of Passion & Betrayal

Dom stares at me before pointing to the map. “We have a lead. Your father was spotted in this area less than an hour ago.”

“How reliable is the intel?” Draven asks before I can.

“I saw him,” Rylee says as she enters my office, her mouth a grim line. “I was getting some medical supplies for Doc when I saw him go into the bar on Ninth Street.”

She looks sad, and her shoulders are hunched. I know she was hoping this would all just be a misunderstanding, that my father wasn’t really a piece of shit, but this last thing has pushed even her over the edge.

“You shouldn’t be out alone,” Sypher says. “What if they had seen you?”

Rylee levels him with a bland glare, drawing a chuckle from her mate. “It’s better for him that he didn’t. You don’t know your sister-in-law,” Dom chuckles.

“No matter how well-trained anyone is, no one goes anywhere alone,” I say harshly, ending their conversation. Rylee glares at me, but I ignore her. “Micah is dangerous and deranged. I don’t care if you are a man, a woman, part of my club, the damn mafia, or the fucking FBI. No one goes anywhere alone. Understood?”

Everyone nods in unison, accepting my words, knowing I only want the best for them.

“Can we work on a plan to get this prick off the street now?” Sypher asks.

But I never get the chance to answer as Isabel’s voice shouts down the hallway.

“Cian! Sypher!”

It only takes a moment for both of us to reach her, fearing that someone has once again made their way into the compound. Instead, we find a trembling, weeping Isabel clinging to Krisy’s hand, the woman’s eyes wide open.

Sypher picks Isabel up, cradling her against his broad chest, trying to soothe while I fill the empty seat. I watch the battered and bruised woman before me, rubbing at my chest, where pain and shame reside. I can’t believe my own father would stoop so low to get his way.

“How are you feeling?” I ask. “Shitty question, I know.”

“I’m alive. The rest will pass.” Her answer catches me off guard, her voice flat. “You shouldn’t be worried about me right now.”

“I think that’s for me to decide,” I reply. “You’re in this situation because you helped Isabel. Anything that happened at my father’s hand is my responsibility.”

She watches me, studying me in a way that leaves me slightly uncomfortable before she speaks.

“What you should be worried about, Cian, is the fact that your father has been gathering men to help him. He thought I was unconscious, but I heard him talking to another man. They’re planning an attack…”

I don’t hear the rest of her words as an explosion rocks the building.

“Fucking hell!” Sypher roars, striding back into the room, our mate still in his arms. “This shit is getting tired.”

For the second time in less than two weeks, we are under attack.

****

Isabel

I lie in Sypher’s arms as the world around us explodes again. Why does Cian’s father keep doing this? What does he want?

“You stay here with the women. I’ll send a few guys to help protect them,” Cian orders.

Kristy reached out her hand to stop him. “Wait. Some of them are your father’s. They are here to help destroy you. You can’t trust anyone.”

It feels like my heart will pound out of my chest at any moment.

Sypher starts cursing. “I’m going to call in my men. I know this is quick, but we need to consolidate our clubs. I trust my people right now.”

Cian nods in agreement. “Yes, do it. I have to go and help.”

I cry out, terrified I will lose him. “God, please, Cian. Come back to me.”

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