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They would get a resolution one way or another.

The doctor had to be taken down, but when it could potentially cost her life, it certainly put extra weight on the whole thing.

Would she lose her life in horrible or painful ways just because what the doctor did to her wasn’t being maintained?

Or would she go back to normal, for good or ill?

Right now, she couldn’t worry about herself.

Otherwise, she might second-guess a decision that could mean the difference between justice and Buzard getting away—or life and death for one of his victims.

She messaged Gregorio that they were here and walked with Jax toward the location the Mafia boss had given her. “Looks like it’s up the trail, then off to the side. Maybe over that ridge.”

“Good thing I wore my hiking shoes.”

She snagged his hand, grinning at the rubber-soled dress shoes he had on. “We’ve already been nearly blown up today. What else could go wrong?”

“You had to say that.” Jax’s phone rang.

She walked beside him, listening to his responses.

Unable to discern from his side of the conversation who he was talking to, though it was definitely a work call.

Not personal. Had he spoken to his dad recently?

It had been clear in Colorado, shortly before their wedding, that his father had been connected somehow to Dominatus .

Jax’s mother and his sister had been kidnapped around the same time as Kenna.

They’d been used as leverage to get her to cooperate when she’d been the target.

She hadn’t heard if his father had ever explained what his connection was to the whole thing.

Maybe Jax knew but didn’t want her to think less of him for his father’s actions. As if she would. He certainly didn’t think less of who she was due to her own connections to the enemy she was trying to figure out how to fight.

Huge bushes flanked both sides of the path, just a wide stretch of sandy red dirt. All of it was so dry that it was brittle. Up ahead, hills covered in scrub brush rose from the horizon. Hopefully, they didn’t have to walk that far.

“Thanks, bye.” Jax slipped his phone back into his pocket. “They got to some marked maps, so they’ve got longitude and latitude. They’re cross-referencing who owns those areas to see if there’s a connection to the house that exploded.”

She still wanted to have it out with the lawyers, though, and now was as good a time as any to get all the loose ends tied up. Kenna called the number for their office. It rang a few times, the line clicked, and then it rang once more. “This is Lisa Romeo.”

Transferred before she’d even told them who she was? Kenna guessed they had her number on file. “And you know who this is, or so I figure.”

“What can I help you with, Mrs. Jaxton?”

Kenna said, “You’ve been representing Terri Fleming all along despite acting as if you had no idea who she was and saying you’d ‘look into’ her case.”

The only response she got was, “And?”

Kenna rolled her eyes. The air was cooler the farther they walked, and a breeze kicked up, ruffling her hair across her face. She tucked it behind her ear and nearly stopped. Nah, that wasn’t a bad guy. Probably just some kind of critter out here, more disturbed by them than they were by it.

Kenna asked, “What else aren’t you telling me?”

“We were honest about needing you to testify.”

“You really think you’re going to get Marcus Buzard in court?” Given how long he’d been operating and what was about to go down at the silo, she figured it was unlikely he would survive, even if that was the plan.

“We’re not talking about criminal charges,” Ms. Romeo said. “We’re talking about at Tribunal.”

Kenna glanced at Jax, who looked at her. “And what is that?”

“It’s the way things have always been done.”

“You work for Dominatus .”

Jax’s brows rose. He stopped on the trail, and she shifted closer to his warmth.

“It’s the way things have always been done,” she repeated. “The doctor and his research present a threat to our mission. He’s a loose cannon who is only out for himself and has outlived his usefulness.”

“So, you only used him, and now you’re done.

” Were all the lawyers with her enemy? There was no way to tell.

Even if one or more were with the resistance, they wouldn’t be able to admit it over a compromised phone line.

And bringing down Buzard served both aims, so the resistance would likely be on board with ending his reign of terror.

“We all serve the will of Dominatus .”

Kenna said, “That’s a real shame. I almost respected you guys.”

“The doctor will go before the Tribunal.”

The call ended.

Kenna lowered the phone and said to Jax, “She hung up on me. Can you believe that?”

“Pretty rude.”

She chuckled, blowing out a long sigh before she explained what Ms. Romeo had said. “Guess we’re going up against Dominatus whether we like it or not.”

“Before we get to that, we have another problem.” His attention shifted to the area around them.

She hadn’t noticed, but he’d been in protective mode. Making sure she was safe to do her job. She would’ve kissed him if, just then, Gregorio’s men hadn’t approached them from every angle.

Guns drawn.

Jax moved closer but slightly to her right with his weapon drawn.

She glanced around. “What’s going on, guys?”

Gregorio stepped into view up ahead on the trail.

“We had a deal.” As soon as those words came out of her mouth, the reality of what this was hit her full force.

A double cross.

She squeezed the buttons on both sides of her phone and sent Maizie an emergency alert.