Page 69 of The Hitman's Prince

“They know about Caspian, about Vanessa. They know the timeline; they’re planning to call?—”

Jacob’s phone ringing interrupted him.

“Jake,” Daren finished.

“Answer it,” Vince instructed.

Jacob untangled his hand from Caspian to fish his phone out of his pocket, answering the call on speaker and setting it on the table.

“Hello?”

“Jacob.”

He sighed. “Obviously.”

“How have you been? I know the church is restrictive and probably boring.”

“It’s fine,” he said before his father could say anything else. To a stranger, he would have sounded calm and unbothered, but I could hear the tension in his words, see it in the tight set of his jaw. I reached over and rested my hand on his thigh. His eyes widened briefly, then he grabbed me—hard. Holding my hand with far more force than he’d held Caspian’s.

Different uses, I reminded myself, thinking of our places with Vince.

“Tomorrow, someone is going to move against Vince Angelini.”

All of us looked to Caspian, who dipped his chin toward his chest, expression laden with misery.

“Move how?” Jacob asked.

“Another attempt on his life.”

Jacob let out a low laugh. “How many have failed? Why do you think this one will be successful?”

“There are plans in place,” his father said. Jacob tightened his grip on my hand. “After it’s done, you come into play.”

“What do you need from me?” he asked, tone deadpan.

“Tomorrow is the only chance North and Sinclair will have to bend the knee,” Phillip Moore said. “If they don’t…you know what to do.”

“You want me to…” he trailed off.

“You know what to do.”

Jacob cleared his throat. “Alright.”

“In two days, everything will be back as it should be,” Phillip continued.

Jacob’s palm sweat against mine.

“The Moore family will finally have the power they’ve always deserved. Too long we’ve been complacent and subservient to the Sinclairs and that time is over.”

“Understood, Father.” Jacob ended the call and shoved away from the table, his hand still tight enough around mine that he pulled my chair back at the same time.

I glanced at Vince, who gave me a nod. As Jacob’s fingers loosened to detach from mine, Igripped him harder, letting him pull me out of the dining room and up the stairs. I thought he would go to my bedroom, instead he went to his, and I kicked the door closed as he yanked us both past the threshold.

“I hate this,” he rasped, falling onto his hands and knees in the middle of the room.

I sank down behind him, wrapping my arms around his chest and pulling him up onto my lap.

“I know,” I whispered.