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“There are ways. The important thing is that if I’m right, we need to get it out of you.”

“Is that how he found this house?” I ask, looking at the destruction around the room. Guilt surges through my body. People who are supposed to be in my circle brought about this destruction. The damage is not confined to what is cosmetic; the meticulous condition in which the house has been maintained, almost preserved, when he doesn’t even come here often, tells me this house is sacred to Dante. And now it’s gone.

“This is not your fault, Kingsley.”

He is firm in his conviction, and I’m sure he believes that more than I do. As it stands, I now feel more than responsible for what has happened to Dante’s home. To everything that has happened to Dante since I’ve come into his life.

“I have a doctor arriving shortly,” he says, interrupting my thoughts. “The choice is yours, but that’s why I brought you back here. I can’t compromise another one of my strongholds without checking first.”

“You’re worried if it’s true, the tracker will lead them straight to our next destination.”

“Tate more or less showed his hand. He will stop at nothing to get what he wants. And if the damage here is anything to go by, he has some pretty dangerous people behind him.”

“I’ll do it.”

I have never been more certain of anything in my life. If this will help keep Dante and his men safe, that is the least I can do after what he’s done for me. Dante steps toward me, reaching his hand out to my cheek. I step back away from him, my step decisive and final. There is much to be discussed between us. I will do anything to protect him, but that doesn’t mean I will forgive the reasons he entered my life in the first place.

Dante gives me a questioning look. Up until today, I had folded myself into his hand any time it turned my way. Now I am drawing back, holding something of myself at bay instead of giving him everything. I have to protect my heart at all costs.

“I don’t want you to mistake my agreement to be checked by a doctor for anything else. We need to deal with this one thing right now. But I won’t ignore the things I learnt today.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning regardless of how I may or may not feel about you, let’s keep our distance until we’ve had the discussion we need to have.”

“There’s nothing to discuss Kingsley.” He tries to make another move toward me, and once again, I step away, folding my arms across my chest defensively, letting him know the matter is not up for discussion.

“I would really prefer it if you gave me some space, Dante. Until we’ve discussed what led you to me in the first place.”

* * *

The doctor movesthe detector up and down my body, across my arms and down my legs. The one consolation is that he’s thought to bring in a female doctor, which quietens the embarrassment I feel when the scanner hovers between my legs. But it is only when the scanner floats over my face that it is set off. Once twice, three times, in the region of my lower face.

“Have you had any implants in your head, face or neck? Anywhere in your upper body?” the doctor asks.

“No.”

“Any surgery? Metal plates inserted?”

“No.”

“And you don’t wear braces,” she points out. She stops to think for a moment, frowning as she considers all the possibilities. Until finally, she looks up, asks me to open my mouth, and shines a flashlight in my mouth. “Fillings,” she says. “When was your last one?”

“A few years ago.”

“Which side?”

I indicate the tooth in question and answer her follow up questions about where the procedure had taken place, and who the doctor had been. With no way to verify names, addresses and specifics – the whole affair had been attended to by Tate – the doctor tells me most likely it would be that the GPS tracker had been inserted into my mouth by way of a filling.

“That small?” I ask, surprised.

“You’d be surprised. These devices are getting more and more sophisticated with time. The important thing now is that we need a dentist and possibly an orthodontist to attend to the tooth.”

“It couldn’t possibly be anywhere else?”

The doctor gives me a sympathetic smile and touches a hand to my arm. “This is the only region that has indicated activity. I think it’s highly likely the chip was placed in your tooth.”

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