No. Ling didn’t play by the rules.
She walked the line of them, slipping a foot on either side of that line whenever it suited her. From what I gathered, she wasn’t the great leader she thought she’d be. Ruling purely from fear, not from respect. It was only a matter of time before The Dragons turned on her. Regrettably, I couldn’t wait that long.
“How bad is it?” came from behind us, and when I spun around, Zep was standing there, hands in his pockets and facing his brother.
“Bad enough that I want you in my house listening in,” Twitch said tightly.
Zep nodded slowly, and his face looked as tight at Twitch’s response. Evander crossed the street, moving to join his brothers-in-law.
Moments later, Thiago returned, jerking his chin toward the house.
The mass of us walked inside in complete silence as Twitch lead the majority out onto the back porch. Molly took A.J. by the hand. He yawned openly and rubbed at his eyes as she guided him to his room, putting him to bed.
Nobody spoke until she returned, and when Tama went first, I wasn’t expecting what he had to say.
He cleared his throat, gaining attention, and when he held up his cell phone and shook his head, he uttered, “Amoho called. It’s not good.” He looked spooked, and even I knew that for someone like this huge Maori warrior to look the way he did now, the news was indeed not good. “Van Nguyen was discovered in his sister’s bed.”
My face bunched.
Ew. Gross.
When nobody attempted to speak, Tama clarified, “He was stabbed so many times his chest caved in.”
Wait. “He’s dead?” I blinked at him, not expecting that story to take the turn it had.
Tama nodded. “And Ling’s missing.” He faced Julius. “Amoho lost sight of her somewhere on the highway about twenty minutes ago.” His lips thinned. “He’s pretty sure she knew she was being followed.”
Julius hissed in a breath through his teeth, and the strain he wore was plain to see. “Well, fuck.” Ana slipped her hand in Julius’s and they exchanged an apprehensive look that made my stomach hurt.
“There’s more,” Tama went on. “Seems The Dragons wanted a power change.” He made a knowing face. “As far as we know, The Dragon Queen has gone rogue.”
Gone rogue?
Gone rogue?
My stomach twisted painfully and I swallowed hard, sitting in the chair closest to me. My voice was weak. “Well, that doesn’t sound great.”
“No,” Evander agreed. “It doesn’t.”
“Where was she headed? What direction?” asked Twitch, and I knew what he was actually asking.
Was Ling on her way here?
Oh, Lord.
I held my breath.
But Tama just shook his head. “Last we knew, she was headed north.”
North. Away from here. Toward the king.
Thank God.
And even though I hated him right now, I swallowed my pride, and let out a softly irritated, “Someone should warn Luka.” When everyone looked at me like I was a crazy person, I shrugged, and uttered, “Jesus, guys. I’m pissed, but I don’t want him dead. And I definitely don’t have to stoop down to his level.” My eyes landed on my beautiful, brooding man. “Make the call.”
But Twitch shook his head. “You wanna call, you call. I ain’t wasting a single fuckin’ breath. Not on him.”
“Yeah, fuck him,” murmured Luna.
Fernanda muttered quietly, “I already did.”
Luna grinned. “How was it?”
Fernanda sighed dreamily, a small smile gracing her full lips. “Phenomenal.”
That was the point Thiago had enough. He put a large hand to his forehead, and uttered under his breath, “Jesucristo.”
Fernanda chuckled low and throaty while Luna leaned in, and whispered, “She loves torturing our brother.”
I could see that.
“Twitch,” I plead softly. But he simply shook his head. He wasn’t going to budge on this.
Stubborn ass.
I held out my hand with a glare. “Give me the damn phone.”
“I’ll call him.”
Twisting back to Happy, I shot him a grateful look. “Thank you.”
Even though Luka had forsaken us, I wouldn’t have his death hanging over my head like the sword of Damocles.
Twitch looked mad as hell, calling out to Happy as he walked back into the house. “You make sure he knows why you’re callin’. You tell him the woman he just refused help is still watching his fuckin’ back.” He closed his eyes, and ground out, “Motherfucker.”
The tension was thick enough to cut through. Surprisingly though, it was Fernanda who spoke on Luka’s behalf. “It’s not his fault. Having us here makes things difficult for him. He banished us with good reason.” She actually looked sad. “That’s why we left willingly. Being back in his domain against his edict... it raises question about his authority.” She made a face. “Or lack of it.”
It was the way she spoke—whisper-soft and utterly despondent—that had me asking, “What did you do?”
Her face turned expressionless a full second before she pasted on a cunning smile. “That is a story for another day.”
All right then.
Not my business.
Got it.
“Do we have a plan?” I asked to
the crowd. Nobody answered. I turned to face Twitch, and uttered softly, “We have to have a plan, honey.”
A plan was good. A plan meant we were trying to maintain control in a situation where we had none.
Twitch kept his eyes on me. “We’ll lay low the next few days. Keep A.J. at home—”
Already shaking my head, I cut in with, “I’ve already kept him from school the entire time we were at Luka’s. Anymore time away and they’re going to ask questions.”
Molly pursed her generous lips. “I’m with Lexi. Having A.J. at school means Ling’s target narrows onto the two of you, and I hate to say it, but my job is to protect that little boy, not his parents.” It stung how heartless her words were, but she was right. “School is probably the safest place for him.”
Luna was nodding. “She’s right. With Molly and the little niño out of the picture, we can focus on the two of you.”
I could see Twitch was caving. He spoke to Molly. “You stay with him. All fuckin’ day. You hear me?”
“I hear you,” she responded earnestly, and I knew Molly would do whatever it took to protect my son, even throw herself in front of a mass of bullets.
Julius pulled out a chair and sat, tugging Ana down onto his lap. “We don’t even know who she’s after.”
Twitch replied positively, “She wants me.” His eyes hooded more than usual as he ran a hand through his hair and spoke low. “It’s always been me.”
A moment of silence passed between us all, and I had a feeling we were all thinking the same thing.
He was right.
It had always been Twitch.
“You packin’?” Thiago asked him.
“Always, bro.”
“What about you?” he asked me. “You know how to use a gun?”
At the very moment I responded, “Yes,” Twitch uttered, “No,” and when he heard my answer, his brows furrowed as he blinked at me in bewilderment.
My brows arched. I spoke to Thiago but kept my gaze locked on Twitch. “Yes, I know how to use a gun.” A moment passed, and then I offered, “You think Julius Carter lived in my house six months, going through what he did, and didn’t teach me to protect my son?”
At that, Tony’s face softened. “You got a gun in the house.” A statement.