Page 23 of Hunted Hearts (Black Heart Security #6)

M aps, case files and intel reports sprawled across the long walnut table and filled the wall monitors in organized chaos. The result of Theo’s morning of work.

He stood at one end of the table, palms braced on the wood, his gaze sweeping over the stacks of photos and highlighted contracts as his brothers filled the seats around him.

The air felt heavy, like the weight of what they were about to discuss had soaked into the very walls.

“Talk to me, Carson. What the hell is going on?”

“Henrik Dahl, Juliette’s manager, was attacked.”

His focus came down small and tight. Meeting his brother’s gaze, he said, “What happened?”

“He was attacked outside his apartment last night. Broken wrist, busted ribs and a concussion. He said someone came up behind him, shoved him into a van, beat the hell out of him, then dumped him five blocks away.”

Theo’s pulse ticked in his throat as he stood straighter, fists clenching. “No robbery, no demands…just a brutal warning. That’s all this was.” His jaw flexed. “They wanted him alive. They wanted him to talk—to Juliette.”

All of his brothers had seen Carson and Theo striding out of the party and quickly followed. Now Oaks leaned forward, brows drawn. “We need to speak to the manager.”

Theo was already grabbing his phone but stopped. “He’s probably in the hospital.”

Carson nodded.

“We need to pull the police report.”

Denver drew a laptop toward him. “On it now.”

Theo’s pulse thumped in his temples. Dammit, this was not how he wanted the night to end. The last thing he wanted was to break the news to Juliette that her manager who she adored was attacked. Because of her.

“Fuck,” he muttered.

Denver made a noise in his throat.

“You got something?” Theo circled the table to lean over the computer. He quickly skimmed the report while Denver read it aloud.

“Dahl told the cops that he was warned by his attackers that if Juliette didn’t back out of all future benefit concerts for the charity—especially overseas—next time, it wouldn’t only be a warning.” He looked up at Carson. “They’re scared. Her next concert could blow the lid off everything.”

Theo glared at the police report, his voice dark. “They’re trying to break her resolve. But they don’t know Juliette. And they sure as hell don’t know me.”

“When are you going to tell her?” Carson asked him.

He pushed off the table, spine snapping with resolve. “Not tonight. First thing in the morning. She was happy at the party…and I don’t want to ruin her evening.”

Denver issued an amused grunt. “Sounds like something any of us would say about our significant others.”

Theo strode to the door and stopped. “All of the women deserve a good evening. Reconvene here in the morning and we’ll figure out the plan.”

* * * * *

“This charity isn’t small.” Colt scanned a printout of a bank statement. “These aren’t just one-off cases of illegal transactions either. This operation is big—huge. Numbers like these? We’re talking tens of millions a year.”

Theo pushed off the table, jaw locking. He already knew all this. He’d spent the better part of the night combing through what little they had, piecing together threads he wished he’d never seen.

“It’s worse than that.” His voice was hard.

“This isn’t just about adoptions. These kids are being sold on the black market.

The charity is pulling strings to make it look clean—calling it ‘cutting red tape’ or ‘streamlining international contracts.’ They’re not helping orphans. They’re selling them for profit.”

A grim silence swept through the room. Oaks leaned forward, his hands tightening on the edge of the table. “Wasn’t the whole point of this place to take kids out of war zones, keep ’em safe until they found families again?”

Theo nodded once, short and decisive. “That’s how it started—as a humanitarian effort, all aboveboard. But somewhere along the line, greed took over. Now those same channels are being used to pull kids out under the guise of ‘safety,’ only to funnel them to buyers.”

Denver’s gaze narrowed. “Where were you when you first heard about this?”

Theo looked up, meeting his brother’s stare. He had the damn note memorized, every word etched into his brain, even though he’d turned it over to the right hands four months ago.

“At the embassy in Istanbul.”

Carson rocked back in his chair, making the frame creak.

“The note was slipped under my drink. I didn’t have a name or any face. Later, we checked the camera footage, but no one saw where the note came from.”

“What did it say?” Carson asked.

“It was a warning and coordinates. Mention of a ‘shipment’ of children. I knew it smelled bad, so I flagged it and passed it up the chain.”

Denver’s brows drew together. “You were in Turkey four months ago?”

Theo gave a single nod. “Yeah, a brief stop before coming back stateside. Why?”

“I was there around the same time,” Denver said slowly. “On the opposite end of the country, but I remember hearing chatter about an NGO moving a large group of kids out of Syria through Romania. I didn’t think much of it at the time. Assumed it was legit.”

Theo’s fingers curled into the edge of the table. “Romania. That’s where Juliette’s charity’s orphanage is located.”

Gray’s nostrils flared with what they all knew to be barely controlled fury. They all froze, waiting to see how he’d react. As teens, he’d hit the roof and keep on spinning out.

But time had calmed him down, and he only exhaled a curse, dragging a hand through his hair. “Son of a bitch. That’s not a coincidence.”

Theo’s stomach tightened as he brought up another document on the screen for the whole security team to see.

“The orphanage was bought by a shell corporation two years ago. On paper, nothing changed—same staff, same building, same mission. But the timing lines up with when those transfers started. That’s probably when the trafficking began. ”

Oaks muttered something, the kind of dark oath Theo had heard only in combat zones.

Theo pressed a fist to his lips. He wished like hell what he was about to say was untrue, but it came out in a low growl.

“They’re stealing these kids. Pulling them from the system with the promise to match them with families.

Then they forge the papers and sell them to the highest bidder.

The families who were supposed to adopt them—the good homes?

They’re left in the dark about what’s really going on.

And Juliette…” He paused, his chest tightening.

“Juliette started putting the charity in the spotlight with generous donations. Then with public appearances. Too many eyes got on them. And now they need her silenced.”

The brothers exchanged heavy looks. Denver broke the silence first. “So what’s the move? Turn this over to Interpol? Local law enforcement?”

Theo shook his head immediately. “No. If we tip them off now, the whole operation scatters. They’ll burn evidence, pull every kid they’ve got off the grid and double down on Juliette.

She becomes target number one, and we’re back to chasing shadows while she’s looking over her shoulder every damn second. ”

“So we do what?” Oaks’s tone was even but dangerous. “Kick the hornet’s nest ourselves?”

Theo’s jaw worked as he glanced at the map pinned to the far wall. Red dots marked every known location tied to the charity. Europe. The Middle East. One in South America. They were everywhere.

“We need control,” Theo said finally. “We can’t just react to this—we need to lure them out, get eyes on the real players. The faces hiding behind all the shell companies. That’s the only way to shut them down for good.”

Colt’s brow furrowed. “And how exactly do we lure out a network like this without getting Juliette killed?”

Theo’s gaze slid to another monitor with a poster of a performance to benefit the charity. Juliette’s face took up half of the poster, and the headline boasted that she had championed several campaigns across Europe.

The thought of these bastards coming after her had his stomach knotting.

But as he stared at her beautiful face, the familiar arch of her brows and her lovely, expressive eyes, the answer clicked into his brain, grim and inevitable.

“We use the avenue they believe will be a fast track to silencing her…one way or another.”

Carson was already shaking his head. “I can’t believe you’d even suggest we use her as bait, brother.”

He swallowed hard against the shard of panic in his throat. “I don’t see any other choice. I can’t keep her here, in hiding, forever.”

Yet that was exactly what he wanted to do. More than anything.

Because he was fucking falling in love with the woman.

Denver glanced around. “Why do I suddenly feel like quoting Shakespeare?”

Gray ducked his head, but his smile was still visible.

Theo ignored him and continued, “We use Juliette’s draw for the event. We host a charity concert—something big enough to get every one of their key players in the same place. The kind of event they can’t resist attending, because it makes them look legitimate.”

Denver’s eyes narrowed, already reading between the lines. “And while they’re patting themselves on the back…”

“We pull their names, track their movements and rip the guts out of the operation from the inside,” Theo finished. “But this time, on our terms. Quiet. Controlled. No warnings, no leaks. When we move, we take them all down at once.”

Colt leaned back in his chair, rubbing his jaw. “That’s a hell of a play. Dangerous as all hell too. They find out we’re onto them, they won’t just come after Juliette. They’ll come after all of us.”

Theo met each of his brothers’ eyes in turn. “When has that ever stopped us before?”

Silence settled for a beat, heavy and charged. The monitors flickered, casting shifting light across the table. Somewhere outside, a gust of wind rattled the eaves, a low moan against the winter air.