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My eyes connect with my driver’s through the rearview. “Have my men arrived with my step-daughter, James?”
Worry flows off my driver. “Yes, sir. She waits for your arrival inside. Don’t worry. My brothers are at her side until the deal is done and you give the word to release her.”
“Good. After the meeting, instruct your brothers to follow the Accandis sons. I want to know where they go after they sign with me.”
Large brows pull together over dark eyes.
“For fuck’s sake, James. Stop acting like I’m signing her death certificate.” My step-daughter has everyone she meets wrapped around her fucking pinky. She’s made mushy stuffed bears out of my enforcers and now even my damn driver has fallen under her spell.
Apparently deaf, James ignores my outburst and wraps his hands around the wheel in a death grip of worry. “You think they will accept your terms, sir? Will she…will she be okay after this?”
“She’s getting married, not buried,” I deadpan.
“But to the Accandis, sir. What’s the difference?”
He has a point. “We lost one of your brothers. If we want this shit to end, this is the best way to do it. Agreed?”
A beefy shoulder lifts under a heavy leather jacket. “If you say so, sir. I know Maddox wouldn’t want your step-daughter a part of this, if that is what you are asking.”
“I’m not.”
I scrape my fingers over my jaw and consider the options if they don’t. “I won’t give them a choice, James. They will sign and we will stop this ridiculous bloodshed. Period.”
His tight expression and silence tell me volumes as he guides the car through traffic. A few minutes later he pulls the Rolls up to the curb.
We sit in silence for a long moment before I offer, “This is the right thing to do, James. We both know it is.”
James sighs loudly. “Yes, sir.”
I step from my car and greet the aging doorman wearing a wary expression and carrying a heavy air about him. What is it with everyone tonight? The slouching man wearing the Irons black and red uniform extends his arm and pulls the large glass door open for me.
“Mr. Gray. Thank you.”
The older man tilts his head respectfully and offers, “Mr. Irons. Always a pleasure.”
I push deeper into the empty lobby and punch the up button on the elevator wall. I’m tempted to ask what the hell has gotten into everyone, but I already know the answer.
I step into the elevator. Thirty-two floors up I have the view of nearly all of Chicago. My city of birth. The energy of this place flows through my blood. My heartbeat links with the city’s pulse. I thrive and everyone around me does. But the leech stuck to my vein is bleeding me and this whole fucking city dry. Accandis does not know how to end the fighting so I will. Too much longer and we will all die. I share its rule with other families, but where this building stands and as far as my eye can see is Irons territory.
I step into my foyer, immediately greeted by James’ brothers, Arthur and Con. My enforcers nod in greeting and silently lead me into my sprawling penthouse.
“Are they here?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And my step-daughter?”
“She’s, uh, in her room.” Arthur jerks his chin in the direction of her suite.
Two men I’ve seen drop men larger than them without sweating both exchange a worried look. I swear I watch them shake at the mention of a girl half their size.
I send him a questioning look. “And?”
“She threatens to kill anyone who comes close to her door and I believe her.”
To my surprise, Con the Beast—as he’s known by the crew because of his size and less than stellar anger management abilities—rubs at the side of his jaw and that is when I see the tiny red hand print across his left cheek.
“Did you touch her?”
