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“Well, seems Kyle and I do agree on something,” I snarled.

“Dallas knows, though,” he added quickly. “He’s the boss’s go-to guy. He takes the money from the big dogs. Banks, car lots, shit like that. I do the small fish like this fucking place.”

He’s the boss’s go-to guy . The words peeled a piece of my soul off. The hand holding the knife shook as I gripped it harder as rage, betrayal, and a cold numbness filled me.

Leaning closer, I dug the tip of the knife in a little deeper. “You have no clue how lucky you are to be dumb.”

Before he could respond, I spun the knife around and slammed the butt of the handle against his temple. His eyes rolled back as he slumped to the ground, unconscious.

“Prick,” I grunted under my breath.

Yanking the envelope from his pocket along with a thick wad of bills, I stood, shoved my knife back into its sheath, and opened the door, stepping back out into the diner.

Emily, seeing me emerge unscathed, gaped at me.

Striding over, I shoved the envelope into Lee’s chest and stepped close until we were nose-to-nose.

“You need to figure out whose side you’re on,” I told Lee. “If it’s not the right side, then maybe the Harbor Mills pack needs to stop by here with a few torches and burn this fucking place to the ground. Do you want that?”

All he could do was shake his head, trembling in fear.

“Good. Stop informing Kyle, or I’ll make you wish you were dead.” Slamming the rest of the money down on the counter, I glanced at the customers and Emily. “I think this belongs to all of you. I’ll let you figure it out.”

“Thank you,” Emily said.

“No problem,” I said. “I’ve got a date with my shithead little brother, but it might be best for all of you and the cooks in the back to get out of here before that asshole in the bathroom wakes up. Lock that bathroom from the outside first, though.”

“Yessir,” Lee said, and jerked a keyring from his pocket.

I gave Emily a small nod and headed for the door, pulling my phone out and calling Langston.

“Christ, Cole, are you good?” he said. “I saw your message.”

“I’m fine,” I said as I stepped out into the sunlight. “He won’t be any trouble for a while. Have we heard from anyone else?”

“Porter checked in a few minutes ago,” Langston said. “He and some of your pack subdued a couple other guys on the west end of town. I took down some asshole who looked like he wanted more than money from the florist. I spotted Dallas heading toward the bank about ten seconds before you called.”

My teeth creaked as I ground them together, fingers flexing around my phone. “I’m on my way.”

“I’ll meet you at the crosswalk by the bank.”

“See you in a minute,” I said.

The streets were more deserted than before.

The people of North Crest weren’t stupid.

They knew something was going down. They’d probably seen my team taking down members of Kyle’s crew and would have called and texted people they knew.

Folks had been told to take cover and pray for the best. An entire town of innocent people had been turned into cowering rabbits, waiting for the wolves to come and take what wasn’t theirs—and my brother had helped make that happen. I quickened my pace.

Langston was already there when I arrived. “He’s still inside,” he said, nodding toward the bank.

“Good,” I grunted. Then, with a sardonic smile, I gestured at the town around us. “You know, this plan you and Trent came up with is working better than I’d anticipated. I’ve gotta give you props for that. Thanks.”

Langston shrugged and chuckled to himself. “I’d do anything to help Avery and Ashton.”

His words didn’t ring with the emotional impact that would make me jealous. No, this was a guy who truly saw Avery as a friend or sister and Ashton as family. It made me even more ashamed of how I’d acted before.

“Listen,” I said, “I know this isn’t really the time or place, but I really am sorry about before. You’ve proven yourself over and over, and you’ve shown that I can trust you with the life of my mate and son. I wanted you to know that. You know, before we go in here and do this.”

Langston eyed me, then nodded for a few seconds before slowly nodding. “All in the past. We have something to take care of now, though. I’ll let you take the lead. He’s your fuck-up of a brother, after all.”

A sigh hissed from my nose as I turned to the bank. “He sure as hell is.”

Langston’s phone buzzed, and he grinned as he read the text. “Porter says they’ve rounded up the last of the crew working through town.”

“Good,” I said. “Means no backup for little brother.”

As if summoned by my words, the door of the bank swung open, and Dallas strolled out, head down, phone pressed to his ear as he stuffed a thick envelope into a satchel hanging from his side. Langston and I paused mid-step to listen to his one-sided conversation.

“I got the payment from the bank… yeah, he bitched and moaned about it, but he paid up. The others are grabbing the smaller stuff, and I’m about to head to the police station. That’ll be the last payment… yeah… okay… okay, bye.”

He tucked the phone away and finally looked up. He nearly tripped over his own feet when he saw Langston and me.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Cole?” he hissed.

I growled and took a step forward. “You have the audacity to ask me that? I should be asking you the same question, Dallas.”

My brother shook his head, glancing around as though he was talking to an idiot. “Are you serious, Cole? What does it look like? I’m working.”

“Was that what you called it when you took my son? When your fucking boss murdered one of my people?”

“If you know what’s good for you, then you’ll get the hell out of here,” Dallas said.

“Enough,” I snarled. “Langston?”

Langston leapt into action. Dallas’s eyes went wide with surprise—honestly, mine did, too.

The guy moved like a panther. Before I could blink, he was on Dallas, grabbing his wrist, twisting it behind him into a joint lock.

Dallas winced and cried out in pain. His shout snapped me into action, and I rushed forward, grabbing his free arm.

“Let go of me . ” He yanked back, trying to free his arm from my grasp. Langston increased the pressure on his wrist. Dallas let out another cry of agony and stopped struggling.

“You’re coming with us,” I said.

“You two are making a huge mistake,” Dallas said through a grunt of pain.

As we marched him down the steps, I shook my head sadly.

“No, Dallas, you made the mistake. You fucked up the moment you chose that asshole over your own family.” I lowered my face until my lips were almost touching his face.

“Ashton is your fucking nephew, goddamn it. Doesn’t that mean shit to you? ”

“Whatever,” Dallas said.

The flippant way he shrugged off that statement sent a bolt of rage through me. It was so powerful, I could barely control myself. I dug my fingers into his skin until he winced and hissed in pain. It was better than beating him to death right there on the sidewalk.

“You aren’t my brother anymore,” I growled. “The instant you took my son, you became my enemy. Just like Kyle.”

“You fucking dumbass!” Dallas yelled. “You have no fucking idea what you’re up against. Kyle is smarter than you. He’s smarter than everyone.”

“Doesn’t look so smart now,” I said, glancing around at the empty town. “All your buddies are gone. Didn’t expect that, did you?”

Rather than looking defeated, a wicked smile spread across Dallas’s face. “Are you sure you got them all?”

A tremor of worry spread through my chest, and I glanced at Langston.

The big man furrowed his brow and shook his head. “We got them all. Every guy who was with Dallas. All neutralized.”

Dallas barked a laugh, and Langston and I froze.

“So,” Dallas said, “you got every single guy? Every guy ?” he emphasized the last word.

“Yes, for fuck’s sake,” Langston said, finally showing a bit of frustration, something I hadn’t seen from him before. “All of your men have been handled. No one was able to send word to Kyle for backup.”

“Your new friend doesn’t get it, does he?” Dallas said, throwing a grin in my direction.

A sinking feeling twisted my gut. I wouldn’t have been surprised to look down and see my feet vanishing into the concrete like it was quicksand. Langston might not understand, but I was starting to see what Dallas was saying.

“Men?” Dallas said. “If you got all my men, then that means you probably didn’t notice my girl Sydney?”

Langston’s face went slack in surprise, and he locked eyes with me before looking back at Dallas.

“Who the fuck is Sydney?” he growled, twisting Dallas’s arm.

“She’s a sweet little thing,” Dallas said.

“Real fucking good with a computer. You wouldn’t look at her twice.

Not the typical person Kyle hires, but she can really blend in.

” His eyes flicked to mine, and that smile became even more wicked.

“I’m pretty sure that if you don’t have her in custody, backup is already on the way. ”