“Anyway, I found it, and the truck left town about five minutes before you did. That got me thinking. How did he know to leave? It was all the backtracking, reviewing that day’s video feed, and working backward, which took so long.

And I’ll get to the point because I can see that, unlike us, the rest aren’t fascinated by the how,” Cody informed me.

“Damn right, get to it, Cody,” Rian growled.

“I’m ninety-nine percent sure someone put a bug in your office, Mr. DeSantis.

That’s how he knew Gianna was leaving when she did and would be alone in your vehicle.

He went ahead of her and then lay in wait.

He knew that was the direct route to St. Augustine.

We’ll need to sweep for bugs when we get done here. ”

This was a startling revelation, but it made sense. He continued to speak as my family absorbed it. “The person who shot Gianna is a name you’ll recognize. It’s Tobias Beecham, the older brother of the recently deceased Jericho Beecham.”

A roar of voices talking over each other, swearing, and more swirled around me as I sat there, absorbing the name.

Never had I for a moment thought of Tobias.

Why would he try to kill me? If he wanted me dead, why not do something over the past four years since his brother was captured?

And why go after me and not my whole family?

We were all involved in the capture and had nothing to do with his brother’s death.

It took a couple of minutes for everyone to quiet down.

When they did, Alistair voiced what I was thinking.

“Why wait this long and only go after Gia? You were all in on his brother’s capture.”

“We were. The only thing I can think of is that his brother’s death somehow unbalanced him. And he saw her as an easy target, though if he knew anything about her, he’d know that’s not true,” Luc stated.

“That’s for sure,” Rocco snorted.

“Regardless of the why, which we can ask when we find his fucking ass, the important thing right now is the where. Where is he, Cody? Do you know?” Rian asked.

“I’m still tracking his movements before he went after her. Since her hospitalization, he’s disappeared,” Cody said.

“I know where he’s at. He returned to where it all began.

This all goes back to when we hunted his brother through the Everglades.

He’s there. I doubt he’d make it simple by returning to their cabin.

That would make it too easy. He’s there, and I can promise you, he’s in hunter mode.

Whoever goes after him will be hunted as much as they’ll be the hunter.

He wants to pit himself against us and see if he can come out on top,” I told them.

“Do you think he’d do that?” Rardo asked.

“I do. And my gut is saying I’m on the right track.”

“Shit, her gut is rarely wrong,” Luc muttered.

“Then we’ll go in after him,” Alistair said.

“Have you spent a lot of time in the Everglades? It took us three weeks to find his brother last time, and that was when we had an idea where their cabin might be. This time, he could hide in over forty-three hundred square miles. Much of it will be covered in saw grass. If you’ve never been cut by it, you’re lucky.

It’s called saw grass because its edges are covered in tiny sharp teeth like a saw.

It can grow to be as much as four to ten feet tall.

Add in the wildlife, poisonous insects, spiders, and snakes, and you’re in danger every moment you’re there.

There’s no way to navigate without a local guide, and some of them will even refuse to go to places,” I explained.

“I’ve had some exposure, and so have a few other Hounds,” Alistair stated.

“And that’s good, but not enough,” I protested.

“Gia, your brothers and I will go with them. We’ll get the same guide we had last time. If he’s unavailable or unwilling, hopefully, he’ll recommend someone as knowledgeable as him,” Papà promised.

“Oh great, my whole family and my man, with his loved ones, will all be out in the middle of that while I sit here on my ass. I want to see the bastard pay for this, but not at the expense of him hurting or killing any of you.”

“Hey, don’t get yourself all riled up. I know you’d love to hunt him yourself, but it’s not possible with your leg, and you’re so freshly out of the hospital. We’ll make sure he pays and suffers. And we’ll make him tell us why now,” Fallon, one of Cian’s brothers, assured me.

“What if you go down there and I’m wrong? Or he is there, but once he knows you’re hunting him, he returns here. I feel his choosing me was personal, not merely because he saw me as an easy target,” I voiced my concern.

“That’s always possible, but you and the rest of the family will be guarded.

None of the women and children leave the compound without protection.

You’ll be staying at the compound unless you have a doctor’s appointment, and those can even be done here.

If you’re his real target, we’ll protect you,” Shane told me.

“And it’s not like he can get inside the estate to come after you here. Not with our guards and security in place,” Ciaran tagged on.

“He’d get the shock of his life if he did. We should let him in and see how he fairs against our sisters, Gia, and the mamaí, moms,” Rory snickered.

“I’d pay to see that,” Cathal agreed.

“Stay on task. We’re not bringing the danger to our home. We’ll find the son of a bitch, even if he is in his territory. And when we have him, he’ll tell us what we want to know. When we’re done with him, he’ll pay dearly for trying to kill my anamchara ,” Rian snarled.

He was seated next to me. I’d felt the tension coming off him in waves. However, when he said the last bit, his grip tightened on the hand he was holding. A barely audible hiss of pain escaped, alerting him. He immediately eased his hold.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“It’s alright. I know this is upsetting you. It pisses me off that I can’t go. I guess I’m worried he’ll find out somehow that I’m not with you, and he’ll circle back here. I don’t want to chance him hurting anyone here, especially the women and kids.”

“What if we ensure he finds out that you’re with Rian and in the Everglades?” Rocco asked.

“She’s not going into the goddamn swamp looking for that crazy bastard!” Rardo barked.

“Not into the swamp. Instead of spending what could be weeks or months hunting for him, we make it too tempting for him to stay hidden in there. We bring with us who we think he wants most, Gianna. She’s kept in a secured location on the outskirts of the Glades.

We make sure it gets out who she is and where she’s staying.

We make it appear she’s only lightly guarded and that the rest of us are in the swamp searching for him.

Only that’s not the truth, and we lie in wait for his ass.

When he comes for her, we take him, and then not only will everyone here be safe, but she can watch the fun,” Rocco explained.

I had to admit I wasn’t opposed to his plan.

It had merit, but I doubted my man or the others would go along with it.

However, I had to try to convince them to consider it.

They were muttering and making comments to each other, and under their breaths that I couldn’t hear.

I looked at Rian. He wore a scowl, and he was whispering frantically with Darragh and Papà .

I kept my mouth shut as long as I could, and then I had to say something.

It was about a three-minute silence—a record for me.

“Can I please have your attention?” I asked. When they didn’t appear to hear me, I said it louder. I cupped my hands around my mouth to help amplify it. “CAN I PLEASE HAVE YOUR ATTENTION?”

This did the trick, and all eyes turned to me. Rian came back to me. His arm went around my shoulders. “What is it, Gianna?”

“I think you know what it is, Rian. All of you do, whether you want to admit it or not. Rocco’s suggestion has merit, a lot of it.

Rocco’s suggestion is the way to go if we want to ensure that Tobias comes after me and minimizes danger to others while increasing our chances of capturing him quickly.

And I know what you’re going to say. It’s too dangerous due to my condition, and you refuse to put me at risk.

But it isn’t just me that we have to worry about.

What’s to prevent him from going after someone else if he can’t get to me?

Maybe an innocent person who gets in his way.

Or one of you? Or the women and kids here? Do you think I can live with that?”

“Gianna, I admit Rocco’s idea is a good one.

All those things you mentioned that could happen are possible.

But what if we do what your brother suggests, and somehow, Tobias gets past us and to you?

Do you think any of us can live with the guilt of him hurting you again or, worse, killing you? ” Rian asked.

“It’s a risk, but it’s slimmer than the other way—you guys hunting him possibly for months in the Glades.

You can’t take that amount of time away from your work.

The Hounds certainly won’t be able to do it forever.

We’re still working to track down more of the people trafficked to see if we can recover them.

That’s too important to put on hold. Tobias Beecham is a loose cannon we can’t afford to allow out there, taking our focus off more important work,” I stated.

“Gianna, I hear you, but I don’t know if I can do it,” Rian said.

“Rian, I don’t want anything to happen to my daughter.

I’d like to lock her up in a room with guards all around her, but I know her.

And I think you do, too. If we do that and always protect her, she’ll be miserable.

For better or worse, she’s been raised to be a defender.

It’s what she is. If you deny her that, you deny a large part of her.

How can she or you be happy if she can’t be herself with you? ” Papà asked.

Rian grimaced. I waited to hear what he’d say.

Patrick spoke up before he did. “ Mac , I know what a bind this puts you in. And I understand your concerns one hundred percent. You’re a defender, too.

And you’ve been raised to protect others, especially your loved ones.

However, Alphonso is right. Gianna is a lot like you.

In order to be happy and fulfilled, she needs to be a protector.

Becoming your anamchara will change how that looks, but not that she does it.

Her days of chasing bounties or bail jumpers everywhere are over.

Not with her being in the public eye. She’ll have to find a different way to protect others, and I know we can help her do that.

But she’s already giving up and changing so much to be with you. Are you going to take this from her?”

I had avoided acknowledging it to myself, let alone Rian, but what his dad said was true.

There was no way, as his woman, I could be out chasing down fugitives and bail skippers—not when paparazzi and others might follow me, and I would have to have a bodyguard.

The office work was feasible. And as much as leaving the fieldwork to others crushed me, I knew that as long as I could still help and have Rian, I was willing to make the change.

Rian’s pained expression made me wonder if he was reconsidering us. Panic hit. I grabbed his hands. “Please, don’t say it can’t work. I know it can. Yes, I have to make changes, but I’ll be okay as long as I feel I’m making a difference and helping people. I’ll make the changes.”

“I just realized that you’re the one making all the changes. And it was the same for Ashlynn and the others when they married into our family. We get to live our lives pretty much the same, but our loved ones have their lives turned upside down. Why would you do it?”

“I wouldn’t do it for anyone, only the man I love. And I do love you, Rian.”

He dropped onto the couch beside me, took me in his arms, and kissed me. He took his time. When we surfaced and broke the connection, we were hit with teasing comments, which made us smile.

“Okay, I’m willing to do it the way Rocco suggested, but only after we plan this out meticulously. I want us to think of every variable and what could happen. And for those, we have a plan. I’m not losing Gianna or anyone else to this bastard,” Rian stated.

My heart lifted. He saw me, and he would support me. And I’d see Tobias Beecham pay for what he did. I wanted to ask him why. And even more so, why now?