Page 95 of Forbidden Eyes
“Get it out of your mouth, Carter. Just say it so this makes sense to me.”
The sudden mental vision of Fia being made to leave this place, her body being dragged out of the door kicking and screaming by the man who's supposed to protect her, is enough for me to find a response.
“She’s not going back with him,” I mutter, searching for better words than that. There aren’t any, though. Not until I see her and work that out in my own head. “If she doesn't want to, she shouldn't be made to. That's no life for her. She should be here. With you.”
And me.
He lets go of my chest and nods, turning to walk towards Nate. “Good enough.”
I watch them both as I cross the hall, looking at their aged features. This house, the years I’ve been here, and I’ve never really noticed their age before this moment. I don’t know why. They’ve just been there, the two of them like father figures, I guess. Strong. Guiding.
Quinn fingers his brow, tension in his grip as he talks through the possibilities of what’s going to happen here. Now I’ve spoken to Hope can feel the atmosphere here, I know she’s right. There isn’t any nice way of dealing with this situation other than full throttle with no fucks given, no matter how he’d like to keep everyone safe. For the first time in my life, I'm questioning his ability to manage that with what's coming.
My feet root to the spot, eyes watching them some more. I'm the one who deals with dirt now, not them. I have been for years, trained that way. By him. The only way of getting this done cleanly would have been sending his sister and niece home—a thing he’d never do. So now we're here with no other option but to go full tilt to convince Vico we'll stand our ground against him.
ThatI'llstand my ground.
I palm the knife in my pocket and head outside, eyes locked on the driveway and then scanning the team Quinn’s brought in. The gates are open as if inviting him here to talk. Guess they think it’s not worth trying to keep him out or letting him know they see him as a threat. He is, though. A huge one. He’ll have all his guys with him, the same ones I’ve done business with over the years. They’re good, lethal at what they do for him. Just like I have been when needed. I frown and look back at the house again, checking that goddamn window she’s behind. All this for a woman, for a piece of something I should never have touched. I smile and turn my head back to the drive slowly, waiting. Guess that’s the shit that comes when love gets involved in business.
Does for me, anyway.
The rumble of cars comes the moment I acknowledge the thought of being in love, really feel it down in that spot I’ve been trying to ignore. I look at our guys lining up, ready to do whatever we ask of them, and then stare at the last of the day’s sun glinting off a black SUV as it turns through the top corner of the drive. Another follows it, and then a Merc.
Quinn walks past me the second we all know he’s arrived, Nate close on his heels, and then I feel Logan come to the side of me. “Hope she’s worth it,” he grumbles, shoving his gun into the back of his waistband.
I frown at his comment. To me, she’s worth everything. Including my life if that's what it takes. Whether she's worth theirs is something I still can't work out, but here we fucking are, all because of me.
The vehicles line up in military operation—precise, organised—and then the doors start opening. Four guys peel out of the first, all of them suited and dropping their sunglasses as if this is a business meeting. It isn’t. As proved by the second car emptying of guys with guns in their hands. Then Vico exits his own car, buttoning his expensive jacket and looking around the place like he hasn’t got a care in the world.
He walks over, head tilted, as Quinn approaches him.
“Vico,” Quinn says, offering a nod.
There isn’t any answer from the guy at first. He just looks around Quinn blankly, eyes firmly directed at me and nothing else.
“Bring them down here,” he says, menace highlighting the same features I remember from our last meeting. Everything in me tenses, my hands barely managing to remain calm in my pockets as I watch him looking at me. I deferred last time, offered myself to him out of respect. Not this time. “You give them up and this all goes back to the way it was, Quinn. I want my family.”
“They’re my family, too, Vico. Fuck you.”
His lips twitch as if something is funny, and he returns his stare to Quinn rather than me.
“This won’t end well for you. You know it. Don’t be fucking stupid, Cane.”
They seem stuck at an impasse, time ticking by. I notice Nate move, his body angling differently as if he’s about to pull his weapon and get this started before anyone’s given a chance to talk. Guns click and load around us, tension ramping up between both parties.
My feet step across the gravel towards them without thought, every part of me wanting to make sure he knows I’m not waiting in the background of this shit.
My fault. My decisions. My family.
Mine.
He looks back at me the second my feet crunch the gravel, murderous resolve on his face at my show of intent, and glares as I make my way up into his face.
“Carter,” Quinn mutters.
“No. Enough. Back off and let me handle this.” He doesn’t, but my presence is enough for Vico to stay focused on me instead of them. “You want them, you’re coming through me first,” I snap out at him, pushing Quinn backwards with my body. “They’re both staying where they want to be. Here. Fuck you. You will never lock her up again.”
The hell I remember in his features, the one I can still feel all over my body from the beating I took for her, drops again. Everything in the air changes. The team behind him move in, three of them solely focused on us as the others spread out into positions mirroring our own men.