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“You’re really going to give up the man you view as your father?” Kian blurts out, sounding disgusted, as he shakes his head at Gregg. He ignores Bree glaring at him, though he can read her hidden message clear enough.

Without waiting for his response, Kian turns around and leaves the room, joining us at the window once he’s closed the door. He shares a look with Liam that suggests he was thinking the same thing. Kian just had the mouth to voice it.

Although Kian is no longer in the room, Gregg answers his question anyway. “I do see him as a father figure, but I’ve never forgotten how he earnt that role in my life. I was only a child when he got me, and I know nothing about the family I had before.

“I’ve never been able to bring myself to look. As if they’re still alive, it would only put them in danger. I’m loyal to him because he’s been loyal to me, but he also taught me how to surviveagainst the odds. Now it’s my survival or his, and so the answer is obvious.

“Does it hurt me to turn my back on the only person who has ever given a shit about me? Of course, it does, but my desire to live overshadows that.”

Bree nods her head, like she might understand. “I killed my father, and the man I saw as a father figure…though the circumstances were very different.”

I turn to Liam, who nods in confirmation, though he doesn’t elaborate, and I’m a little pleased about that. This fiery redhead already scared me, but now I’m fucking terrified, knowing what she’s capable of.

“So, where can we find him?” Bree asks.

Only now does Kellan look away from his screen, his gaze fixed on the couple in the next room as we all wait for his response. The silence stretches on for longer than it should, while Gregg’s breathing increases.

His skin is so pale it’s almost translucent, and it’s clear he’s lost a lot of blood, though the pause in conversation is more due to him being in his own head than his health.

Eventually, he makes eye contact with Bree, no doubt to show her he’s telling the truth, and an address rolls off his tongue. As he says it, Kellan inputs it into his computer, and we all wait for a response.

“It’s one of the destinations we had as a possibility. Gregg’s been seen arriving there frequently, as has the man from the mock-up. I’ll need time to do a full dive, but I’d say it looks good. There’s a level of security in and around the property that put it high on my list before he named it, so my guess is he’s telling the truth,” Kellan explains, his fingers continuing to click away, as he works on the computer at a faster pace than I can keep up with.

Jacob turns to Liam, his eyes wide as he asks the question I was just thinking. “Does that mean we can have him now?”

Liam looks over to Kian, who shrugs his shoulders in response. Liam lets out a sigh. “We need to confirm with Bree, but I think so.”

My heart races as excitement oozes through my veins. The rage tingling just underneath the surface grows at the possibility of finally being let out.

Kian opens the door, signalling to Bree. She stands and makes her way over, ignoring the questions and protests Gregg is shouting behind her.

Once the door is closed, Liam fills Bree in on everything Kellan just said, before pulling her against him. He wraps his arms around her waist, nuzzling into her neck as she smiles up at her husband.

“Is it our turn with him now?” Jacob snaps impatiently.

Bree turns in her husband’s arms, so her back is against his chest, and fixes her gaze on Jake. After a few seconds, she lets out a long sigh. “I think we have everything we need. Kellan is confident it’s the right location, and even if it isn’t, we have enough information with the photo ID and the ledger to find him.”

“So, we have your permission to kill him?” I ask, making sure to clarify that, as I know once we step foot into that room, I won’t be able to hold back.

Bree nods, the sadistic smile of hers growing. “You have my permission. I can’t wait to watch.”

As soon as Bree gave the go-ahead for us to kill Gregg, I could barely hold back. I turned to Miles to see he was also buzzing with excitement.

This is a day we’ve discussed at great lengths, and we have a plan in place for how we want it to go. Now we just need to get in there and get started.

Bree fills us in on how she’s going to handle the handover, and we respect her authority and decision, following her lead. She walks back into the adjoining room, only this time she leaves the door wide open for us to follow through when she gives the signal.

Gregg’s gaze flicks between Bree and the open door, his suspicion growing with each step she takes towards him. Even though she’s a tiny woman, her presence is big, and her wrath is mighty, so he has every reason to fear her.

“We have confirmed your information as much as we possibly can, so we’ll consider your part of the deal with us as complete,” Bree states professionally, towering over Gregg with confidence.

He lets out a sigh of relief, his whole body sagging as he says, “So I’m free to go?”

Bree nods slowly as her lips turn upwards, almost in slow motion. “As I mentioned, your debt to the Doughtys has been settled, and we have no further issue with you. You are free to go from us.”

“But not from us,” I say, as I stride into the room with Miles by my side.

I hate that I had to let go of his hand to do this, but it felt like the right thing to do. I still know he’s by my side, giving me the strength I hope he feels from me.