“Bren.” My dad started for me, but stopped. He sent another glance to Raith.

I was looking.

There were three other guys on the far side of the lawn, but they were lingering and talking to each other. A few looked over, but went back to their conversation. One was on his phone and he lifted his head, shooting us a frown as if we’d interrupted what text he was sending. All of them wore Red Demons cuts, all looked rough. And all could’ve been the same guys I saw take Harper last night. Their body types fit.

“Bren Monroe.”

Maxwell brought my attention back to him, and he sat up, but kicked out the chair across from him. He nodded to it. “Take a seat.” There was an edge to his voice. That wasn’t a request. It was a command.

My legs turned wooden.

The guys behind them seemed relaxed. They weren’t primed for battle, but everything from my dad was saying the opposite. And Raith, I was getting the sense this was another day in his life. No big, no little, just...it was what it was, but it could go bad real quick and he had no problem with that.

I sat. “Where are the guys?”

My dad sucked in a breath, but he didn’t respond.

Maxwell did. This was the Max show, and the authority coming from him was just cementing that to me. “They got a call from your brother. Something about how you were arrested at the precinct and were already being transported to Roussou.”

“What?” I frowned. “Channing wouldn’t call and say that. I was just on the phone with him.”

A strangled gargle came from my dad, but Maxwell ignored him.

He smiled at me, as if placating me. “Of course your brother didn’t make that call, but one of my guys rigged up a handy-dandy voice app and the message that your boyfriend got was from your brother, just not currently being said. If that makes sense?”

No. It didn’t, but they weren’t here.

That’s all I cared about, and with that, I sat back and one of the many knots inside loosened up. Just one. The rest were still tight and wound up.

“This is about the cop I just talked to?”

Irritation flashed in Raith’s gaze, the first time I really saw a hard emotion from him and he leaned forward. Resting his arms on the table, he angled his head toward me. “We know you recognized Heckler. And since you’re aware the lengths we’ll go to silence one witness, you can imagine what we’ll do with you. You alone can link us to that kidnapping last night. Now.” He paused, glancing to Derrick, and he took a deep breath before turning back to me. “Pops has been adamant that you won’t say a word, but Pops is new and a lot of the guys haven’t seen him in action. We’ve also done a few favors for Pops regarding yourself and your brother, two bounty hunters who could turn around and track us if you’re seeing a dilemma here. Not to mention that a lot of my men don’t know Pops either and they’re going off my shared experience of living with your father in prison.”

I glanced at my dad, whose head was low, but his gaze was on me. Those eyes—I flinched. They were heavy and hard, resting right on me and pinning me to my seat. “So, what do you want?”

“Besides a guarantee you’ll never talk about who you recognized?”

“Yeah. Besides that?”

He stared at me, long and hard again.

There was a whole beat where no one moved, no one said a word, and a shiver went down my spine.

I was in trouble. Very real and serious trouble here.

They took someone right in front of me, infiltrating an entire party with masks and guns. They were prepared and they moved almost as one unit. That spoke of a seriously tight unit.

And they were here, knowing I’d been called to the police station and they went the distance to clear out any witnesses.

I had nothing.

I had nothing to bargain with them, no way out, no escape plan, no way of fighting. They were a force I’d never even knew existed, but they were here and my dad was one of them.

Blood.

Family.

Loyalty.

All three of those were held in high regard with them.

I had all three on my side, which was why I was even getting this sit-down.

That realization hit me hard, and I had to blink back some tears because it wasn’t until just now that I thought I’d been about to be killed by their hands, because I recognized one of them.

I looked at my father, though my words were for his President. “I never visited you in prison, and I’m sorry about that.”

He sucked in his breath, an audible sound to it, and his head jerked as if I slapped him.

I kept on, needing both men to hear what I had to say. “I knew Channing was worried about you coming to see me. It was a whole big thing. And my employers were worried because you were connected to the Red Demons, but in all of that when you actually did come, I didn’t know how to feel about it. I didn’t know how to feel about any of it because there are not good memories between you and me. Not in that house. Not when Mom died. Not when you fought with Chan so much. But I think, now after having some time to process because I know I snapped a little, but you killed the guy so easily in front of me. And you did it for me, but you also did it because he touched your daughter. And you were kind in that moment to me, gentle even, and it was like that one thing wiped out all the bad and I didn’t know how to think about any of it. But, Dad, you left me alone so much of the time.” I closed my eyes, taking a moment for myself.

The years. The memories. Mom laughing. Channing yelling.

The door being slammed shut.

The quiet after.

Always the quiet after.

“When you went away, a part of me thought you just wanted a way to get away from me.”

“Bren, honey.” His voice didn’t sound familiar to me, not anymore. That was a stranger, but he sounded regretful. He sounded kind.

“I thought that I didn’t deserve a family, and that’s why Channing left, why Mom died, and why you went to prison. Then I had the guys, but it took a long time before I let them in. But, Dad. They’re in. I’ve let them. I’ve let Channing back, and I’ve slowly started to believe that I am worthy to have people love me.”

“Sweetheart.” A chair was pulled out, scraping over the patio floor. He reached for me, but paused, remembering the last time I was touched. His eyes closed. He was struggling. A battle of emotions played out over his face before those eyes opened once more, and I saw the same haunting there that I’d felt for so many years. “I’d like to hold your hand. Can I do that, Bren?”

I stared back. Steadily. Then I shook my head. “No, but it means a lot that you asked, and it means more that you want to.”

His head hung down, and he nodded before pulling his hand back. It fell to his lap, and he stared at me across the table. “I wasn’t a good enough father to you, and I killed that man because I thought, ‘Finally, there was something right I could do for my girl.’ I never knew you thought any of that, or felt that way. I’m so sorry, Bren. I’m truly so sorry. I’m a… a broken man and there are no excuses I got for you. Just, I don’t know.” He glanced to Maxwell before grimacing. “They need to know you won’t say anything.”

I glanced at the man, deciding before turning back to my dad. “I think that’s a given. I never told anyone that you killed that guy to finish what I started until last year. Kept that to myself, and I’m not stupid.” I looked and spoke straight to Raith now. “I don’t know what I can do to reassure you, your men, but I won’t say anything. I don’t want to battle with you guys. I do want to be a bounty hunter. It makes sense to me. I grew up from violence and it’s ingrained in me. I need it, but I can channel it so it’s good that way. I won’t hunt any of your men. I’ll excuse myself from the team every time, but other than that, I don’t know what I can do or give you to make you feel safe with me.”

“There’s nothing you can do now, but there could be in the future.”

I waited, my heart pounding.

Without showing any emotion, he said, “You could name your firstborn child after me.”

Then, nothing.

I sat there.

He sat there.

I didn’t look at Derrick.

“You’re shitting me?’

“Bren!”

A wide smile broke over Maxwell’s face and his shoulders shook in laughter. “Yeah. I’m fucking with you.” He stood, his chair scraping over the patio. At his movement, the other men were all on high alert and began to come toward us. Maxwell motioned to them, saying to me, “I know you ain’t going to say shit because if you did,” his tone turned dangerous, “you know we’d come back and we’d kill that boyfriend of yours.”

I felt all eyes on me, weighing my reaction.

I showed them my teeth. “My dad touched my arm and I stabbed him. Did it without even thinking. It was instinct. What do you think I’ll do if you threaten my loved one again? Or if you did do something to hurt him?”

The guys didn’t say a word. They were waiting for their leader.

And judging me, observing me, Maxwell Raith gave me one small nod. “I know. That’s why I know you’ll keep your mouth shut, but listen to me on this. The feral little wolf thing you got going on, it won’t last. You’ll get married. You’ll have kids. You’ll be happy, and that’ll soften you up. Speaking on behalf of your pops here, I hope you get that life and that’s where I’m hoping our two paths never merge. As long as you keep quiet, you and I will never see each other again. And I say that with the best intentions if you get me?”