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She looks up at me as a car stops in front of us. “Can you really say you believe that?”

No.

“I don’t have any other choice.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN

GIA

“This is goingto end in more bloodshed than anyone wants to see,” I say, cupping my mug of hot chocolate and leaning against the railing beside Skyla.

She shrugs, hands stuffed deep in her pockets even though the sun is shining and it’s a warm winter day. “That’s why Aiden and Royce went back to New York. They should only be another day or two, and then they’ll be back with more weapons.”

A smile tugs at the corner of my mouth as Bianca races away from Ellie and Shawn, the little hot-pink snowsuit making Bianca look like a shining beacon against the glistening yard.

“He said he’d be home by Christmas.” I roll my bottom lip between my teeth. “That’s in two days and when I talked to him last night, things weren’t looking good with the gun shipment they were waiting on.”

“They should be.”

“What do you think Aiden is going to do when Noah hunts us down again?”

Skyla sighs, her shoulders rising and falling. “I don’t know. I’d like to think that he’s going to be able to handle everything, but it seems a little ridiculous to say that when most things that could go wrong have gone wrong.”

Dominic lobs a snowball at Sean, laughing when it slips down the collar of the yellow flannel he wears. Sean is quick to retaliate, grabbing Bianca and using her as a human shield while Ellie chases them both down.

Bianca giggles like she’s having the time of her life.

She never got this with Noah. He didn’t want much to do with her, even if he made sure she was taken care of.

Yet Royce’s family has taken her in like she’s been part of their family since she was born.

And the more time I’ve spent with them in Vermont over the last few days, the more I’ve realized how wrong it was to keep her from all of them.

My stomach twists into a tight knot as I sip the hot chocolate. “Noah isn’t going to stop.”

“I know.”

“And Aiden and Royce really think they’re going to be able to beat him, but if they do manage to kill him, Zoe is likely to step right into his position if she can get the other men on her side.”

Skyla nods, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and offering it to me. “Want one?”

I glance at the box before taking one. “Fuck it. It’s been a long couple months.”

She laughs and puts one between her own lips, lighting it before holding out the neon-green lighter to me. “I don’t smoke much either.”

“Stopped a while ago.” I take a drag, blowing the smoke out. “I know I shouldn’t—setting an example for Bianca and all that—but if we’re going to make it through my brother and his psychopath nature, these are needed.”

Skyla flicks the ash from the end of the cigarette. “One isn’t going to kill you and I think you’ve earned it.”

“Can I be honest?” I ask, hesitant as I turn my back to the others.

“You usually are.”

“I don’t know if I can trust Aiden.”

Skyla leans beside me, looking at the towering glass windows of the house and inside where a sad Christmas tree is sitting beside the fireplace. “You can. At the end of the day, Aiden just wants what’s best for his family.”

“Does he think that Bianca is part of his family? Because if he doesn’t, I don’t think I can trust him to take care of her.”