Page 61 of Knuckles & Knives

The flat finality in his voice should probably disturb me. Instead, it makes me feel safe, protected, cherished in a way I’ve never experienced.

I hadn’t asked Marcus what happened to the first rat. I don’t even know his name. Maybe I don’t need to know all of the details.

“What about the people who hired the mercenaries?” I ask.

“We’re going to hunt them down one by one,” Dom says. “Carefully. No more walking into traps, no more reactive responses. We plan, we prepare, and we destroy them systematically.”

“I’ve already started tracking the money trail,” Marcus adds. “Shell companies but everything leaves traces if you know how to look.”

“Good.” Dom struggles to sit up straighter, wincing but determined. “After today, I’m done playing defense. They want a war? We’ll give them a war they’ll never forget.”

“Dom, you need to rest—” I start.

“I need to protect you,” he corrects firmly. “All of you, but especially you, Raven. Today proved we can’t just react to threats. We have to eliminate them before they get close enough to try something like this again.”

Axel grins, wild and sharp. “Now you’re talking my language. When do we start?”

“As soon as I can walk without falling over,” Dom says. “According to the doctor, should be in about forty-eight hours.”

“Forty-eight hours to plan,” Kieran muses. “That’s enough time to do this right.”

“More than enough,” Marcus agrees. “By the time Dom’s cleared for action, I’ll have a complete list of targets and their vulnerabilities.”

I look around at these four dangerous men—my men—and realize that something fundamental has shifted again. Theattack that was meant to eliminate me and scatter them has instead made them more determined than ever. Dom taking a bullet meant for me has crystallized something that was already true—we would all die for each other without hesitation.

“Then let’s use the time wisely,” I say. “When we move, I want it to be decisive. I want everyone in this city to understand that touching one of us means facing all of us.”

Dom’s hand finds mine, his grip strong despite everything he’s been through. “They’re going to regret ever hearing the name Blackwood.”

“Or Vega, Frost, Rivera, or Quintana,” I add, including all of them in the promise.

“Together,” Axel says, and it’s not a question.

“Together,” we all agree.

We’re not just allies or lovers or business partners. We’re family. And now everyone who threatened that family is about to discover exactly what that means.

CHAPTER 20

Two days after Dom took a bullet for me, I’m sitting in Marcus’s secure facility watching him sleep when my phone buzzes with a text from an unknown number.

I have information about the attack. Meet me at Pier 47. Come alone. —K

Kieran. My pulse quickens with a mixture of anticipation and wariness. The rival heir who should be my enemy has been radio silent since the shooting, and part of me wondered if his family was behind it. Not him, of course, but his family is poison.

I glance at Dom, whose color has improved significantly since yesterday. The doctor said he’ll make a full recovery, but he needs rest. Axel is crashed in the chair beside me, exhausted after two days of refusing to leave Dom’s side. Marcus is somewhere in the building, coordinating our response to the attack.

I should tell one of them where I’m going. I should bring backup.

Instead, I grab my jacket and slip out into the night.

Pier 47 is abandoned at this hour, fog rolling in from the harbor to create shifting shadows between the old shippingcontainers. I arrive ten minutes early and position myself where I can see all approaches, my hand resting on my Glock tucked into my waistband.

Yes, I brought a gun. You can never be too careful, not when your name is Raven Blackwood.

Kieran emerges from the mist like something out of a noir film, his usually immaculate appearance slightly disheveled. There’s a tension in his shoulders I haven’t seen before, and when he gets close enough, I notice the split lip and darkening bruise along his jaw.

“You look like hell,” I observe, not moving from my position.