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Silence dropped around them with the force of a bomb. Bart kept his gaze even and glued to Bella. “Why don’t we have some coffee and tea and you can tell me all about it?”

“Yay! I want chamomile.” Bella wiggled out of his arms and slid to the ground.

Bart’s hand fell away from Sophia’s shoulder, and she met his gaze. His lips were tense and his eyes sharper than a hawk’s. Bart was a smart man. Nothing would get past him.

She’d have to be as honest as she could without endangering Cole.

Easier said than done.

***

Cole marched up the steps of Lexi and Nash’s house and pressed the bell. Hurried footsteps sounded and then Lexi yanked open the door, her hair pulled back into a ponytail and yoga attire donning her slight frame. Now, though, her middle swelled just a little bit.

“Hey,” he said, as he entered the house.

“Hey yourself. Where’s your girlfriend?”

Cole kicked off his shoes despite the annoyance flaring inside him. “She’s not my girlfriend.”

Lexi crossed her arms over her chest. “Thou doth protest too much.”

“She bugging you?” Nash came down the stairs with a drill in his hand. “Sorry, I forgot you were coming. Just got the crib set up.”

The normalcy irked the shit out of Cole. Hadn’t it just been last night they’d all been in the woods? Setting out to kill a bunch of people? “Well, you going to tell me what happened?”

Nash put the drill on the carpeted step and jerked his head toward the living room. Cole took the armchair while Nash and Lexi sat in the love seat.

“Everyone who was at the farm is dead,” Nash said, his tone flat.

“Who’s everyone? Do we have names?” Cole demanded. The fact that he hadn’t been there, hadn’t had the opportunity to do his due diligence and take care of loose ends, rattled him to no fucking end.

Nash reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone. Bringing it to life, he passed Cole the device.

Cole stared at Nash’s camera roll. There were eight images of IDs. Cole studied the names, but none registered. “This is good, but what about the rest? There must be more. None of these guys look like the man who snagged Bella from the park.”

Which meant there were still some out there.

Nash heaved a sigh and combed his fingers through his dark hair. “I know, man. I don’t know what else we can do. We need to get closer to Lionsgate and—”

“No,” Cole said, shaking his head. “We need to find their headquarters and fucking bomb it.”

Lexi’s eyes rounded, but that was the only sign of surprise from either of them.

“They’re like cockroaches, Cole,” Lexi said. “Where there’s one, there’s ten more. Finding everyone will be next to impossible, especially on a short timeline. Our best bet is to get to the big guys. Without them running things, the others will die off.”

As much as he wanted to disagree, because nailing every sonofabitch who’d ever worked for Lionsgate—besides Nash—would be ideal, he nodded. Looking to his youngest brother, he rubbed his thumb over his knuckle. “Think you can get Dare to locate some bigwigs for us? I’d do it, but—”

“You’re a little busy,” Lexi sang. Her tone held a suggestive note, and she bobbed her eyebrows. If she weren’t his brother’s fiancée and mother of his soon-to-be niece or nephew, he’d have colorful words for her.

Instead, he sent her an impatient glare.

Nash hid his smirk behind his hand. “Uh, yeah. I’ll get Dare on it. What about that guy from the tattoo parlor? Can you start there for now?”

“I forgot about him. Not sure if he survived,” Cole mused. “I’ll find out.”

“I don’t have anyone at Lionsgate who’d speak to me. But I might be able to put out feelers—you never know who might have left the organization.”

Cole stood. “Thanks. We really don’t have much time. Bella’s staying with her dad for a few days, but that won’t last long.”

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