Page 70 of Lethal Vengeance

“The man was bigger than life. Not just physically. He lived every moment to its fullest. He laughed loudly. Fought with equal vigor. He loved my mom fiercely and showed her all the time. He prided himself on his integrity and dedication to his country. And even though I wasn’t his biological child, he swore to always be my dad.” Sterling’s voice trails to silence.

Fingers grip mine. “I thought everything would be better once he returned, but the nightmares and pain were continuous. It drove him mad. He committed suicide a few weeks later. I felt so helpless because I couldn’t save him.”

“You did save him,” I state firmly. “He fought to return to you and your mom. To his country and home. If you had accepted everyone else’s opinion, he would have never gotten that chance. It’s a miracle, honestly. His body and mind were broken, but you got him home.”

“I never thought of it that way,” he rasps. “I thought I failed him.”

I give him a sad smile. “I understand. I feel the same way about Sophia. I was on the police force for eight years, a Texas Ranger for four years, and I failed to find my sister until it was too late. It was incomprehensible to me. I felt powerless. I think I would have gone mad if I hadn’t shifted my attention to finding her killers.”

He looks at me. The lines of tension on his face are gone. “You’re remarkable, you know that? Thank you.” Firm lips find mine for a thorough goodnight kiss, and for a minute, I can’t help but fall into it.

“Good night, Sterling,” I murmur, my lips tingling with desire when I pull away. Carefully rolling over, I stare at the wall across from me, watching the shadows dance on the wall. If something happens to me, are these men going to feel like they failed? Disturbed by the thought, it takes me forever to get to sleep.

32

ZANE

My gaze lingers on the beautiful woman lying beside me. Even asleep, peace eludes her. When I saw her tossing and turning, my arms ached to pull her in tight, but instead, I scooted in as close as possible until she could subconsciously feel my presence. For a little while, it helped.

Her eyes open and stare at me in confusion.

“Good morning,” I say hoarsely, my voice shot from speaking so much yesterday. Coffee will help bring it back.

When I stretch, her eyes widen. Whether it’s from the realization that we slept next to each other last night or the sight of my large body in the morning, I can’t tell. With a chuckle, I rise and head to the bathroom.

When I walk out, she hands me a cup of coffee. “Good morning.” A blush steals across her cheeks when she notices I’m not wearing a shirt.

I should put a shirt on, but when her eyes linger on me, it feels too good. “Thank you. You didn’t have to get up,” I tell her.

“I don’t sleep much,” she admits with a shrug. “Plus, there’s a lot going on today.”

I run a lazy hand down my chest, lightly scratching, and watch her eyes follow the movement. Does she like what she sees, or am I too old for her?

She slams the coffee cup on the counter. “I need a shower.” Spinning on her bare heel, she grabs the pile of clothes behind her and slides past me into the bathroom.

With a grin of my own, I pour myself another cup of coffee and finish getting dressed. It’s going to be a hell of a long day. I crack my neck to get the kinks out from another night of sleeping on a hard mattress.

One more run through, I think.

An hour later, I step back and admire the plan. “Thomas, I’m not sure I could have done this without you. You’re a hell of a tactician. It makes me wish I hadn’t recommended you to Thiago.”

He chuckles. “If I get bored, I’ll let you know.” He taps the plans in front of him. “We just need to decide who’s going to lead the charge at the house.”

Me, I think.

“Dante, maybe? Cruz won’t be back in time. Sterling will be inside, posing as Quinn’s driver.”

My eyes drift to the corner of the room to find Quinn. She’s sitting on a chair while Margot styles her hair for tonight.

“Hmm,” he replies nonchalantly.

“What? Do you have someone else in mind?”

He leans over the table to look me in the eye. “I’m quite capable of running the operation at the facility. Why don’t you lead the one at the house?”

“It’s not about capability, but responsibility. I brought everyone here to run an operation. If anything happened, I’d feel damn guilty.”

He taps a finger on his chin. “I could lead the charge on the house, but my focus has been the facility. I’m not sure there’s enough time to get me up to speed on a new location and plan of attack.” With a quick shuffle, he stacks the plans together. “If you trust the Lucianos to lead, I’m sure it will be fine.”