Page 189 of Stand: Part One

Her pale yet blotchy complexion was marred by multiple scars, none of which could be hidden behind a curtain of hair since hers stopped just above her brow. Intriguingly, the faded buzzed-cut sides gave visibility to the outline of a red-and-black Japanese dragon tattoo etched along the side of her skull.

Likely in her late thirties, her ice-blue eyes were sharp as steel, a familiar dark gaze hardened by years of field experience. And Scott was right, she was built like a tank, with an impressive physique I knew Jaden would immediately envy. Maybe she would be a good match for her after all.

“She seems a little eccentric, but I’ll consider it,” I said as I set the profile aside. Catching Scott’s eyes, he looked like he had more to say. I raised a brow in expectation.

“Daniel is still asking for you,” he said, reminding me for the second time.

“He shouldn’t be. He needs to be resting,” I replied as I glanced through another profile.

“He says he can’t rest until he talks to you.”

I rolled my eyes before bringing them up to meet Scott’s gaze. “He just wants to pester me for shit he shouldn’t be thinking about. He needs to relax.”

“You know he won’t until you put his mind at ease. And it’s already been a week.”

“For fuck’s sake,” I cursed under my breath, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Fine. I’ll go see him this afternoon. Where are we with the investigation?”

Scott stared at me before sighing in apparent frustration and shook his head. “I have no idea how Matt knew we would be there. The only thing I can think of is he found some way to track us.”

I frowned at the logic. “But he already knew we were in Chicago. Why wait to have us attacked later when he could have done it then?”

Scott shrugged. “Maybe he didn’t have the time or the manpower then to mobilize an attack. Maybe the location was wrong? Who knows? Could be a million things.”

I cocked a brow. “He was the one who lured me to Chicago in the first place. It’s unlike him to fumble an opportunity.”

“Maybe something fell through, and he couldn’t act when he wanted to. Or maybe he had no plans to attack you in Chicago at all. Maybe he just wanted you out of California so he could take advantage of your absence and use it to attack Daniel.”

I thought about that

“Probably. But that doesn’t explain how he knew where we were going,” I added, sitting back against my chair. “He should have assumed I would just return home.”

Scott shook his head. “Someone had to have been tracking us.”

I paused to consider that. It was likely, and it wouldn’t be the first time someone followed me. But it was quite the stretch to follow me that closely undetected.

“There’s a missing link somewhere, and we need to find it.”

Scott nodded in silence, his eyes drifting off in thought while mine shifted back to the computer screen.

Jaden was now spoon-feeding something orange to Ella. I exhaled a deep, satisfying breath, relaxing my body as I watched her.

The longer I stared, the more I noticed a warm sense of optimism and hope blooming in my chest, overpowering my incessant drive for war and carnage. And soon, a decision quickly solidified itself in my mind over a desire that just couldn’t be beat anymore.

I wanted to finally start my family with Jaden. But in order to do that, I needed to destroy someone else’s.

“We need to arrange a hit on Matt and all of his immediate family members. I don’t care who kills them or how, I just want them all dead.”

Scott was quiet for a moment before he took out his phone. “How much?”

“Five hundred thousand each, and one million for Matt with a two-year exclusive contract.”

He nodded as he stood to make the call. Keeping my focus on Jaden, I realized I was already bored with this war with Matt. I just wanted him fucking dead so I could be done with his petty bullshit and move on. He’d destroyed one of my homes, one of my brother’s homes, marred his family, and nearly took his life.

Matt had caused enough hell to officially become a goddamn plague, so I would utilize every resource I had to finally bring it all to an end. And if that meant recruiting some blood-thirsty mercs, then so be it.

Their assistance would even give me the time I needed to flush out this new shadow enemy of mine before they became any more of a problem than they already were. I was not about to supplement one war for another when I finally found them out. I wanted that issue done quick, clean, and contained.

When I was finished looking through the remaining profiles for Jaden’s new bodyguard, I decided I was putting Daniel off long enough. Glancing back up at the computer screen, my chest warmed as I watched Jaden play with Ella on the floor, her gorgeous face lighting up with the same brilliant smile she would eventually show our own child.