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His cheek exploded with a crack. His eyes watered with the faintest of tears.

It wasn’t a bad punch, but Dawson had experienced a whole lot worse. He thought about letting James know what a pussy he was but decided it was best to bite his tongue. While he could easily overpower James in seconds, Benson yielded all the power with an automatic weapon that would destroy both him and Audra in a quick pull of his finger.

A tightness filled Dawson’s chest. Paul had been one of his suspects, but only because of his son. And even then, he’d struggled with the concept. Paul was the kind of man who followed rules, so at best, Dawson thought maybe Paul could have been covering for something that Benson had gotten his dumb ass involved in.

Not the other way around.

Welcome to the grand illusions of life.

To hear Benson defer to his old man twisted Dawson’s gut. It’s not like he hadn’t been on the lookout for something like this. In that moment, his past failures reminded him of his bad decision.

He couldn’t have another one. He couldn’t fail Audra.

James cinched the zip ties around Dawon’s ankles and then his wrists. Dawson did his best to keep his hands slightly apart. He wasn’t sure he could wiggle them out, but he might be able to access his pocket. Or have Audra do it.

The door screeched open. Eliot Commings strode in, followed by Paul Massey, swinging an automatic weapon over his shoulder like he was the kingpin of a major drug cartel.

Dawson wiggled his wrists. He twisted and jerked his arms in a fast motion, but the plastic ties—the kind that cops, feds, and other law enforcement used—ripped into his skin. He tried three more times. However, he made little to no headway. Warm blood trickled down his hands. He didn’t wince. He knew better.

Seconds later, there was another screech of the door.

Dawson held his breath. He thought he’d cleared Silas. He believed the man had…wait. What the hell?

Mo?

Anna’s husband.

All the air in Dawson’s lungs left in one big flush. It was as if an elephant had flopped on his chest, cracking his ribs and releasing the oxygen. He dared to suck in a breath, but it came in as a pathetic gasp. How the hell had he missed that? As quickly as he could, he raced through the details of the last few days. Mo had gone to visit his mother, and Dawson hadn’t seen him around town. Not once. He hadn’t really thought that strange, but only because of what Anna had said. And then there were all the conversations he’d had with Anna. They’d been so strapped for money.

It always came down to money.

The only question that remained was whether Anna knew.

Audra stiffened. “Mo?” she whispered so faintly Dawson couldn’t be sure it had been an intake of air, or she’d actually said the word.

Paul stomped across the dusty floor and knelt in front of Dawson, staring at him with dark, cold, killer eyes. This wasn’t the Paul that Dawson knew.

Dawson’s blood chilled. It was as if he gazed into the depths of hell.

And then Paul smiled. It wasn’t a sinister grin. It was the same smile that Paul used to greet his guests at the pub, and that’s when Dawson realized who he was dealing with. His throat constricted as if a python had curled its slimy body around it and slowly squeezed, constricting Dawson’s breath, killing him with a quick flex of its powerful muscles.

Paul snorted. “Looks like you grew a brain much faster than your predecessors did.”

When opportunity knocks…take it.

“Predecessors?” Dawson cracked his neck. “I know Trip wasn’t involved in this shit. But I’m really starting to question the extent to which Trevor was immersed in all this.” Dawson spoke fast so Paul couldn’t get in a word. “I say that only because, looking through that young man’s files, he was meticulous.” A little bit of a lie, but what did Paul know? “His arrest records were decent. And he seemed fair in the way he treated everyone. Almost as good as his old man. So, tell me, what exactly was Trevor’s role?”

Paul leaned closer, sucking on his teeth. “Trevor was a wet noodle who thought because he decided to stop snorting the product and slapped on a badge, he was better than the rest of us. Well, it didn’t.” Paul lowered his chin. “That stupid little shit worked for me when he was a kid. I couldn’t have him come back to town thinking he could shut me down or shut down the cartel.”

“How did you get him to go along?”

“That was simple.” Paul shifted his gaze to Audra. “The cartel let him know what happens to a family when you betray them.” He shrugged. “All he had to do was let us do our thing, and we co-existed just fine.”

“Why is he rotting in prison?”

“He fucked up,” Paul said. “One of our shipments didn’t make it through, and we made sure he took the fall. We told him if he didn’t confess, his family would pay the ultimate price.”

“You are one sick bastard,” Dawson mumbled.