Page 59 of Dangerous Command

“He said I couldn’t play, even if my arm wasn’t broken,” Mack said. He kicked the grass. “He said I’m the worst. That’s why I broke my arm.”

My chest sank at those words. The other kid was picking on Mack, and he had stood up for himself.

“What would you have done?” Mack asked, looking up at me.

I gave him a sad smile. It didn’t matter what I would have done, or if I was glad he stood up for himself. I wasn’t his father.

Muro was.

But Mack deserved Maddie’s heart. Not Muro’s violence. Not mine.

“You did what you thought was right,” I said. “But that doesn’t make it okay.”

“But you said people can’t disrespect you,” he argued, raising his voice. “I saw you.”

“Your mom is right. You don’t hurt someone over a game.”

Maybe one day I’d tell him that it was okay to kill for family, but Maddie was his family. Not me. And I needed to figure out what was right for my family too.

Maddie turned back to us. “Coach Lund told you your punishment already?”

Mack nodded, his gaze cast on the ground once again.

“Good. Let’s go.”

Lucy was out front, waiting in her car. Maddie helped Mack get into the booster seat in the back, then took the front seat herself. She never once stopped to look back at me, but I ran to my driver and we headed to her apartment.

At the complex, Lucy waved in silence and parted ways. Maddie and Mack disappeared into the building.

I got out of the car, giving the driver instructions to wait, but right as I stepped out of the car, my phone buzzed.Kileyflashed on the screen.

“Yo, asshole,” she said.

I didn’t have time for this today. “What?” I snapped.

“Whoa. Hold on, pissy-pants. I got your man’s hiding place.”

Kit.I had forgotten that I had called Kiley to look him up before we left the Byron Estate Club. The front door to Maddie’s apartment opened. She stuck out her head, found me, then pulled herself in.

“Uh, Derek?” Kiley asked. “You want it or not?”

“Yeah,” I said. I turned away, trying to steady myself.Thiswas what was important to me. To my family. “Where is he?”

“New Mexico,” she said. “I’m sending the location now.”

I checked the screen and there was a message on the encrypted app waiting. “Got it. You sent the bill my way?”

“It’s already with your accountant. Thanks.” Then she hung up without another ‘asshole.’

With each step I took toward the apartment, I sank down. This was Maddie’s territory, a place where I didn’t belong. She wasn’t truly a Muro, and yet she was. I wanted to force myself into her life, to shield her away from the worst of it, but I couldn’t.

The front door was still open. She had left it open for me.

I scanned the perimeter, making sure that the Adler security team was in place, then I walked inside. Maddie was sitting at the kitchen table with her head in her hands.

Seeing her like that, I knew that this wasn’t where I was supposed to be.

But I was here, now. I had to figure out what was right.