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I run out of my room—no, it's Ignacio’s now. My mind is focused on Tennant, and I’m almost to the front door before my arm is caught. I whirl around, ready to fight, but pull to a stop at Lio’s expression. My friend shakes his head when I go to say something, and instead, tugs me to his office. Once we get in there, he pushes me towards a chair and closes the door behind us.

“You can’t just run out.” He sits on the edge of his desk, staring at me with sympathy. “For one, you're my Second. You are needed here—especially with the cops still trying to go after us. Additionally, showing up frantically at the Amatos’ isn’t going to help anything. You can contact them and express your willingness to help. Fuck, I don’t care what it is, but you absolutely cannot leave right now. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you cared this much for him.”

“I…I didn’t either,” I respond weakly. I’m not sure where my mind is right now. I know my best friend is right. He’s the Boss for a reason, but fuck if I don’t hate this. “Maybe I could at least call Hollis? Or someone?”

“Hollis is going to be way too busy. I’ll be off and on with Roman as we navigate this. He has a large undertaking. If you want to talk with someone, I can get you a small window with him—but only if you can find something to offer.”

“Fuck. How the hell should I know?” I growl, gripping my hair. “He has everyone he needs already.”

Lio taps the side of the desk, waiting on me. I recoil in horror when I catch his meaning. “Fuck! No. Absolutely not. That… No.”

“Fine, then I need you to start coordinating with everyone else. I want Marcus and Keegan updated. And, I’m sorry, but you also are going to need to work with Ignacio. I’ll be checking with Sarah later to see if I can get Luca on a plane and out of here.”

Grinding my teeth, I glare at Lio, but he doesn’t back down. He never does. I deflate under his steady gaze, giving in to him. “Fine. Give him a call. But this does not mean I like him.”

Lio doesn’t make a comment as he grabs his phone. Part of me is happy to see him at ease with these parts of the job. The other part would do anything to protect him from what he’s going through. I’m ashamed he’s having to put things aside for me, but…

“ I don’t have time for this ,” Roman’s voice snaps out.

“I know,” Lio says calmly. “But I have someone who wants to talk to you—briefly.”

Roman makes a noise of agreement and I hesitate, even though I’m the one who agreed to do this. Lio gave me the choice. Taking a deep breath, I push forward.

“I…I’m worried. I know you are as well. What can I do? Not only to help Tennant, but to help you, Hollis, and Jude.”

I cringe and glare at Lio. He knows how much I fucking dislike Roman, and now I’m offering him my personal help? Plus Hollis and Jude?

“ I have everything covered .” Roman’s voice is taunt, and I glance up at the ceiling. I know exactly what the fuck is going on here.

“Roman, you are doing an amazing job. I’m only offering because I…care.” I press my hand to my heart, trying not to acknowledge that I feel like the world is crashing down around me. Hating that I’m having to practically beg to help. “If anything, I could help coordinate with Jude on things.”

“ Fine. And to answer your unasked question, we don’t know anything else yet. He’s still in processing, we’ll find out more tomorrow morning. You can get in touch with Jude. Maybe you can actually prove you learned something from Tennant .”

Roman ends the call and I slump in the chair, staring at Lio. “Look, I know you’re not a Roman fan, but right now, he’s the only way you’ll get answers, or access to Tennant. You can coordinate with Jude as time allows, but I need you to be here for me—or is this Family no longer your priority?”

It hurts to see my friend’s face so blank. I know he’d let me leave if I really needed to, even if it kills him inside. “You are still my priority. After all, friendship rules require it.”

Lio finally smiles, exhaling in relief. “I’ll accept friendship rules on this. Because I need you.”

“So does the rest of the Family, I’m sure. Someone has to keep you sane,” I tease.

“True. Now, the cops tried to pick Marcus up, but since they fell for the blind, nothing could be done. I’m hoping that gives some caution, but you never know. We need to somehow increase security on the locations that aren’t a blind, without being seen.”

I lean back in the chair, trying to force my mind away from Tennant—or, at least, only allowing a small portion to worry about him. “I hate to say it, but what if we reach out to one of the suppliers.”

“Fuck. You want to see about bringing in one of the gangs, or the fucking Cartel, to give us security? Do you know how much that will fucking cost? And how do we get them out afterwards? Master would kill me.” Lio stands up and starts pacing, his hands tightening into fists and then loosening.

“I don’t see a choice. We can’t be seen, but they can… The cops aren’t going after them at all. They’re putting all their focus on us. So, let’s throw them off even more.”

I study my friend as he continues to pace, noting the way his shoulders slump and the dark circles below his eyes. It hits me then that I should have been paying more attention before. At least I’m here now.

“Fuck. Well, the Jamaican gang sold out the Amatos. I don’t want us to be caught with our pants down, so you need to very carefully vet if we’re going that way.” Lio pinches the bridge of his nose as he whirls to a stop. “And offer enough of an incentive.”

“I’ll get with Marcus and see which ones would be a good fit. Then you can think of an incentive.” I stand and head toward the door, but Lio blocks me.

Huffing, he pulls me into a hug. “We’ll get Tennant back. Anything the Amatos need, we’ll help. You get in touch with Jude.”

“Thank you.” I rest my head on his shoulder before he gently pushes me away.

“Don’t thank me yet. You’ll also need to run this idea by Ignacio after you talk with Marcus.” My knees go weak at the very thought, and it’s sheer willpower that keeps me upright. Lio gives me an approving nod. “Oh, and in case I forgot to mention, we’re back to doing family meals. Now, get out of here. I need to go deal with Sarah and the bane of my existence. Hopefully, I can get him on a plane.”

I smile sadly, not able to even laugh about Luca. All I want to do is curl up in bed. I’ll get there eventually, but I know sleep won’t come easy. Between Tennant being arrested, and mine and Ignacio’s breakup… Fuck. Maybe I should just be like Lio and live on coffee. I don’t need the nightmares tonight.