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7

JASON

You would think there’d be absolute chaos. Maybe people running around, lots of screaming and yelling, a few people crying. But none of that happened. People were busy, but that was about the extent of the chaos. It was just another day at OPS. Lark got in a few hours ago with Dash. She was back at Red’s house, probably drinking a bottle of wine by now.

Scottie had checked in when he landed in Colorado. He was picking up Asher and his wife Holly. I had no idea about his life now. That left Claire, Jade, and Quinn. I couldn’t think of anyone else who’d been left out. Then again, I hadn’t exactly paid attention to every person linked to OPS.

“Scottie’s just pulling in with Asher and his family,” Lock said, walking up beside me. “Thanks for the heads up.”

“I just wish I had been there sooner,” I admitted, rubbing my hand over my eyes.

“What made you go out there?”

I hadn’t told anyone about it. Well, besides Johnny and Jack. They were the only two who knew about my fascination with Leah. Hell, nobody else even knew about her.

That wasn’t entirely true. Rae knew, but that was only because she dug up information on anyone once she sniffed out a story.

But I wasn’t about to tell Lock that I decided to pull my head out of my ass and take a chance on Leah. The last fucking thing I needed was anyone to pity me. “I was just going to see her. I had some time off.”

He nodded, but I wasn’t entirely sure he believed me.

“I’m sorry it ended that way.”

“The question is, how the hell did Knight and Cash know? And why didn’t they call?”

“I’d like to know that as well, but I doubt we’ll get answers anytime soon.”

“Maybe we’ll find out something from Asher.”

We headed toward the elevators to greet Asher and Holly. But when the elevator doors opened to the main floor, I was more than shocked at what I saw and heard.

“—didn’t kiss you on the plane!”

“Oh please! I might have been half unconscious, but I know lips when I feel them on me. You just can’t admit that you like me!”

“Like you? Why would I like you?”

“Because you think I’m sexy. I heard you talking with Holly about how you loved seeing me in my coveralls.”

“Another fucking mechanic,” Lock grumbled beside me.

A loud whistle tore through the yelling, breaking up the fight instantly. I didn’t know who all these people were, and I really didn’t care. The last thing I wanted was introductions.

“Hey!” Asher shouted. “Enough! For fuck’s sake. We’re all adults here. Can we act like it?”

“I will if he will,” the woman snapped.

“I really hope that’s not Holly,” I whispered to Lock.

“Pretty sure it’s not.” Lock stepped forward, holding up his hands to get everyone’s attention. “I know tensions are high right now, but let’s try to keep a level head about this. Now, I know you’re all tired from your journey, so I won’t keep you waiting longer than you have to. I’ve made a welcome packet for each of you,” he said, walking over to the counter, picking up folders. “You’ll all be staying in the main house. Inside these folders, you’ll find your room number and the location of the facilities. I’ve taken the liberty of color-coding the pages for your convenience, along with creating a bathroom schedule for all of you to keep the line moving. Also, if you flip to the green section, you’ll see we’ve stocked the fridge and made sure you have everything you need to make your stay comfortable.”

The man raised his hand, tearing out one of the sheets. “Is this a cleaning schedule?”

Lock’s jaw clenched as he stared at the page. “You just tore that out of the folder.”

“Right, but is this seriously a cleaning schedule?”

Lock’s left eye started to twitch as he stared at the paper. I walked over and snatched the page from the man’s hand, then the folder. After creating my own holes in the sheet, I slid the paper back into place. It didn’t line up with the others, but it would have to do.

“Don’t fuck with his folders again,” I hissed, slapping it against his chest.

The man turned to Asher. “I thought you said you were rescuing us.”

Asher smirked, shaking his head at Lock. “FNG, can you take everyone to the house while I fill Lock in on what happened?”

He rolled his eyes dramatically. “Sure. Why not? It’s not like I flew out there and risked life and limb to get you out alive. Why should I be in on the meeting?”

Asher slapped him on the back. “I hear you tell one hell of a story.”

A woman slid her arms around his waist and kissed him hard before slipping away with the others. As soon as they were gone, Asher’s smile slipped from his face and anger filled his features.

“What the fuck happened?”

“We’d like to know that, too,” Lock muttered. “All we know is that we pissed someone off.”

“Cash pissed someone off,” I retorted. “They went after Leah. I was too late,” I admitted, trying not to let my emotions get the best of me.

“I heard,” Asher said sympathetically. “I’m sorry. FNG said you have a little girl.”

“I just got home with her.”

“That’s a hell of a way to find out.”

I nodded, unwilling to say anything else. Thankfully, Lock took over.

“What happened with you?”

He crossed his arms over his chest, sighing heavily. “Holly was leaving for work. I headed out after her. That’s when I noticed the tail. I called Wyatt and asked him to look after her while I tried to lose them. Those fuckers wouldn’t let up. I just lost one when another appeared. I had to force an accident to get rid of them. When I showed up at Holly’s work, Cash was there with Knight.”

I looked at Lock, surprised by that. “They were at Leah’s house also. How do they know who these guys are gonna hit next?”

“Maybe they don’t. It could just be luck.”

“Or maybe they know more than they’re letting on,” I muttered.

Lock nodded in agreement. This whole thing fucking stunk. “What else?”

“I was only there a minute before we were hit. There had to have been at least ten of them.”

That was unexpected. “Ten? After the first attempt?”

“Yeah. I was surprised, too. Any idea how many went after Leah?”

I shook my head, remembering the image of her in that fucking chair. It wouldn’t have taken more than one or two of them to subdue her, but that didn’t mean more of them weren’t there.

“There were shells all over the house. She fought back,” I said after a moment. “So, there were probably a few of them, but ten?”

“And that was only the second wave.”

My head jerked up in surprise. “The second wave?”

He let out a sarcastic chuckle, shaking his head. “I took her home to grab a few things. We were gonna leave with her parents, but the moment I opened the door, I saw a green light in the house, and I just fucking knew…We don’t have any green lights in the house. I knew it was a sensor of some kind. We barely had time to get back down the steps before the whole fucking house blew.”

“Fucking hell,” Lock muttered.

“If they’re after information, they wouldn’t fucking blow the house.”

“And they wouldn’t fire upon us at Holly’s store like that if they expected to get answers out of us. They were shooting to kill.”

“Yet, none of you were injured,” Lock surmised.

“I haven’t been part of OPS in five fucking years. What could they possibly want from me?”

That was laughable. “Are you serious? Asher, you worked for Rafe. You were in deep with The Syndicate.”

“Not that fucking deep,” he grumbled.

“Closer than anyone else got. If you hadn’t walked away, you would have established new ties and probably taken down Zavala from the inside. You’re a threat simply because you were there.”

“But a threat to who?” Lock asked. “Everyone in The Syndicate is gone, and no one knows who’s pulling the strings behind them. How would Asher be a threat to anyone?”

“Unless someone still thinks I’m in the game,” Asher said thoughtfully. “It wouldn’t be the first time someone’s walked away from a life of crime, only for it to come back later to bite them in the ass.”

“Again, who would be after you?” I asked.

Asher sighed. “I don’t have a fucking clue, and I’m not gonna figure it out tonight.”

“Get settled in. We’ll work on it more tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Thanks for putting us up.”

“Hey, it’s our fault you’re in this mess,” Lock grinned. “And about Holly…you know Fox is gonna want to meet her. Better watch that.”

I swore Asher turned five shades paler as he walked away.

“What are we gonna do about everyone else now?”

“We can’t exactly keep everyone on lockdown, but we’re going to have to be careful.”

I nodded in agreement. “I have to get home. I ran out on Carli earlier.”

“Let us know if you need anything.”

I grunted, but the last thing I would do was ask any of these guys for help. Jack and Johnny were the only ones I really trusted. Tahlia already had a connection with Carli, so that would help. But everyone else…I was having a hard time getting used to being around them.

“Hey, we’ll figure it out,” Lock said, misunderstanding my silence.

“Yeah.”

I would give them time to figure it out on their own. Then I was going after those bastards on my own, and I’d make Leah’s killers suffer for what they did to her. For what they did to my daughter.

For the chance they took away from me.

* * *

I tossed my keys on the table as I walked through the door. I could hear Tahlia upstairs with Carli and leaned against the wall, taking a minute to breathe through the heartache surging through me. Her peals of laughter were so damn cute, but how long would they last? How long until she missed her momma? How long until I wasn’t enough?

I shook off those thoughts and climbed the stairs. I was her father, her last remaining family, and I would not let her down. As soon as my boots hit the top step, Tahlia peeked out of the room with Carli hot on her heels. My little girl looked up at me curiously. Gone was the shy child from earlier. Whatever Tahlia had done, Carli was now more relaxed.

“Hey, sweetheart. Did you have fun with Tahlia?”

She pursed her lips to the side, twisting her hands together behind her back. “Yeah.”

I bent down on my haunches to look into her eyes. Slowly, she made eye contact and took in my facial features. Then her hand lifted and brushed over my jaw.

“You have a lot of hair.”

A smile touched my lips at the feel of her hand on my skin. “Yeah, I do.”

“Why do you have this?” she asked, tracing her finger over my beard, along my jaw, up to my ear.

I chuckled, wondering how I explained that to her. “I guess I just get too lazy to shave it.”

Again, she pursed her lips at me, and then her eyes dropped to my neck. Her finger darted out and poked my Adam’s apple. “What’s this?”

“It’s an Adam’s apple.”

Her eyes widened in shock. “You have an apple in your neck?”

Tahlia laughed behind her, which only made me laugh. Hell, I had no idea how to explain that to her. “It’s not really an apple. It’s like…a box that protects my throat.”

“And you named him Adam?”

“Yeah, baby,” I laughed. “I named him Adam.”

Her little hands balled into fists and she thrust them onto her hips. “I’m not a baby!”

“I know you’re not,” I said seriously. “It’s a term of endearment.”

“What’s endenent?”

God, this kid was just too fucking cute. “Endearment. It’s a way to tell someone you love them.”

“You love me?” she whispered.

“Yeah, baby. I love you.”

From the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew I would burn the world down for her. She was this little light that made my heart grow ten times in size. I never knew I wanted to be a dad or that I could ever feel this way for anyone else. But here she was. She was mine, and I did fucking love her. I would give anything to keep her safe.

“Are you really my daddy?”

Her soft-spoken words nearly broke me. I tugged on her little hand, wrapping my large fingers around hers. “Yeah, I’m really your daddy.”

“Where’s my momma?”

Painful images of Leah strapped to that chair flashed in my mind. Blood pooling around her…dripping from her hair…bruises and cuts…

“She’s in heaven, baby girl.”

Tears filled her eyes, and in that instant, I knew she understood exactly what I meant. “Momma said Grandma was in heaven, too.”

“Yeah, she is.”

“Is she happy there?”

Fuck, she was killing me. “She’s not as happy as if she was with you, but she’s watching you. She’s always watching you.”

“She is?”

“Always. She loved you so much.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks as little sobs tore through the house. I would give anything to take her pain away. I would have given my own life for Leah—for my little girl. But I wasn’t there. I hadn’t known about them, and that was on me.

I tugged her into my arms, holding her close as she cried. I would never let her feel that kind of pain again. For the rest of her life, she would never know what it was like to lose someone ever again.

My eyes connected with Tahlia’s, and in that moment, we made a silent vow to protect Leah’s little girl with our lives. She was my daughter, but she was a piece of a woman we both loved so much.

“Hey, are you ready to make some dinner?”

She stepped back, wiping her eyes. “Can Tahlia come with?”

“Sure.”

I was just turning around when I felt her slip her hand into mine. Surprised, I stopped and looked down at our connected hands. My heart stuttered in my chest for just a moment before resuming a normal pace.