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“I disagree. She has sins of her own to pay for.”
God, he even sounds like Charles. I shake my head in disgust. “What the fuck were you thinking, Jas? You’ve made a lot ofmistakes, but aligning yourself with Charles Barnes? The man is a rodent.”
Jasper’s eyes flare, and I’ve surprised him. He didn’t know I knew about his little friend.
“Like I said,” I continue, “I’m rarely unprepared.”
He rallies quickly, schooling his face into a sneer. “And yet you’re here, standing alone on the side of the street at my mercy. What does that say about you?”
“That I trust too freely. And that I should’ve killed you when I had the chance.”
His hands are shaking. “Make the call. And put it on speaker.”
With a sigh, I dial Dominik’s number and transfer it to speakerphone.
“Arsen? What’s going on?”
“Keep a wide berth from Nonna Guilia’s,” I inform him robotically. “No one comes near the restaurant.”
“That goes for the Italian’s goons, too!” Jasper adds.
“Arsen—”
“Just do it, Dom,” I snap. “Laila’s life hangs in the balance.”
There’s a grudging pause. “Fine. I’ll clear the area.”
As soon as Dom hangs up, Jasper holds out his hand for my phone. “I’ll take that.”
I don’t bother denying him. I hand it over, and he waves for me to follow him. “This way.”
I’m expecting a waiting car, but he struts down the alley behind the restaurant, stopping at a rusted door that leads into the adjacent building.
“No weapons beyond this point.” He reaches out a hand, waiting for me to give him the gun at my hip. When I do, he cocks a brow. “And the other one.”
Rolling my eyes, I pull out my second gun and offer it to him. I feel naked without my weaponry.
“Anything else you’re hiding?”
“You’re welcome to pat me down.” I hold out my hands, daring him to lay a finger on me.
He seems to realize I’d snap every bone in his body if he tried, so he studies me for a few more seconds before I’m allowed into the building.
Immediately, I spot Laila. It’s a scene from a horror movie. She’s crouched on the filthy floor, bleeding from a cut on her forehead. Her lip is split and there’s a purple bruise blooming on her cheek.
“You motherfuck?—”
I’m halfway to Jasper, hands reaching for his throat, when I feel the barrel of a gun pressed to my spine. “Take another step and I’ll pull the trigger.”
“No, Dad!” Laila screams.
I turn slowly, looking past the gun now aimed at my face and into Charles’s dead eyes. “What kind of man takes his own daughter hostage?”
“What kind of man makes a pauper out of his father-in-law?” he challenges.
“The kind who wants to protect his family.”
“Jesus, you people have a lot of baggage,” Jasper complains as he ambles his way over to Laila. “I’m really not about family drama.”
