Fuck. How is it she’s always the one apologizing when I’m the one being the dick?
She shakes her head. "I was so stupid, letting that man get close."
I suck in a calming breath. "No. You were being yourself, sweet and kind. But we can't afford that luxury anymore. The Keans are desperate, which makes them dangerous. We're winning, Hannah. The alliances are working. The Keans arelosing their grip on power, and they know it. That's why they're lashing out."
“But we keep going, right?” She’s still unsettled by today’s events but not curtailed, if the determination growing in her eyes is any indication. My brave little wife.
“I keep going. You stay safe. I’m tripling your security detail?—”
“If I can’t go out, what does that matter?”
“Don’t fuck with me, Hannah. Not right now.” My anger at her might be over the top, but I won’t be swayed from locking her away. I tilt her chin up to make sure she understands. "The Keans won't stop. They'll keep coming, and right now, their sights are set on you."
She shudders, and while I hate scaring her, I need her to understand how serious this is.
“Now, get some rest. I have work to do. Promise me you’ll do as I say.” I adjust her blanket.
“I promise.” She curls up under the covers. I want to curl up next to her, wrap myself around her and keep her safe from the world. Instead, I rise from the edge of the bed and leave. I have a man to kill.
As I head downstairs, I pull out my phone and dial Phoenix.
"The Keans made a move on Hannah,” I say when he picks up.
"Jesus, Ash, is she okay?" The concern in his voice tells me he’s worried I’m about to spiral like I did after Meghan’s death.
"Slashed her on the arm. Could've been worse. I think it was a warning. I've got the guy who did it and am on my way to cut the motherfucker up into a million pieces and feed him to the fishes.”
“Want company?" It’s not really a question. If the Keans are lashing out, Phoenix, as our fearless leader, needs to know whatthe asshole who attacked Hannah has to say. But I can also hear concern. He wants to be there for me.
“Meet me at the warehouse in twenty." The drive gives me time to process what happened today. How close I came to losing Hannah. The thought drives a cold fear into my gut. I can’t survive another loss. I don’t think I survived the last one. Only since Hannah came into my life have I felt like I’m not walking around in a black hole.
I arrive at the warehouse. I need to read the riot act to my men to find out what the fuck went wrong today. I’m almost to the door of the warehouse when Phoenix pulls in and parks by my car.
“How’s Hannah?” he asks as he meets me at the door.
"Scared, but holding up." Pride mingles with my anger. "She's tough."
We head inside where my men have the attacker secured. His hands are zip tied as he sits slumped in a chair. One look at his bruised face tells me they didn't handle him gently. Good. But my men aren’t off the hook. Later, they’re going to get a piece of my mind.
“Hey.” Phoenix pulls me aside for a quiet tete-a-tete.
“What?” I don’t have time for this.
“How many of Hannah’s guards are ours versus O’Donnell’s?”
I start to brush off his question until it hits me what he’s asking. “You think her father could have set her up?”
Phoenix shrugs. “I think if it’s his life or hers, he’d pick his.”
I study the men. It’s a mix of mine and O’Donnell’s partly because I wasn’t sure I could trust them fully. But up until today, nothing had happened to make me question their loyalty. They like Hannah. At least they seem to.
“I can’t see O’Donnell targeting his own daughter, but maybe Kean got to his men. I’ll talk to my men to see if somethingseemed off. But Hannah says she told them to let the man through to talk to her.”
Phoenix nods. “Okay. Let’s question this motherfucker.”
Good. I need to hurt someone. "Here's how this works," I tell Hannah’s attacker, rolling up my sleeves. "You tell us everything about who sent you, who helped you, and I'll consider letting you keep all your fingers."
Phoenix circles behind him. "Hampton must be shitting his pants to make such a desperate move.”
