Page 33 of Siege of Blood and Betrayal

And I will. Even as angry as I am—and I’m undeniably furious—Bran and Francesco were great men. They deserve respect in their final death. Taking Francesco’s head has already crossed a line. If I can liberate their bodies and bring them to Zane and Scotland, I will.

When nothing more comes back, I put my phone away and get into the car. Jaxon is sitting in the driver’s seat, looking curious. “And?”

I grab my seatbelt and guide it across my chest. “We’re on clean up and recon. Back to the residence.”

Zane

After sending Huntley screenshots of the traitors I know of and the identities of the attacking force, I check my watch. It’s after four in the morning and a decision must be made. If we stay here any longer, I’ll be trapped for the day.

That could go very badly if these upstarts know where we are and are biding their time until they attack. If I were the one orchestrating this, that’s what I would do.

I would wait until full light and then attack.

Having me burst into flame and ash during an escape attempt gets the job done just as well as a bloody throw-down. Except, they need my head and the dagger. They can’t provethemselves the conquerors of the seethe without the heads of the reigning family and the corresponding dagger.

I glance across the hall to the bedroom where Scottie is sound asleep. Now that her side is healed, she’s unconscious.

She went through a lot yesterday and needs rest.

I don’t want to wake her and make her move locations, but I also don’t want to be locked out of the business if whoever is behind this goes after my seat.

I can’t let that happen.

I also can’t simply walk into the office tower like nothing happened and expose myself to being killed. Unfortunately, Huntley is right. Scottie is one hell of a scrapper and Bran has taught her to defend herself, but she isn’t the one who trained for over a decade to defend me.

I need Huntley on our team.

Prickly as he is, he’s also lethal and driven.

I drop my head back and let off a long sigh. Will this night ever end? It feels like my brain is on fast forward and I can’t catch up. Staring at the glow of the computer screen all night hasn’t done me any favors.

My eyes are burning, and I rub at the ache and yawn.

I need rest too. When the enemy comes for me, I can’t be rundown and weak. Where can we go to rest, have access to the business center, and be secure enough that assassins can’t come at us the moment we let our guard down?

I open the file folder that lists the properties within the Vasari holdings with those three criteria in mind. There has to be a place. And if I’m going to be of any use today, I have to find it and move us in the next hour.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Huntley

Jaxon parks in the underground parking lot beneath the Richmond–Adelaide Centre. It’s a public lot, so our arrival will go unnoticed, giving us a chance to get into the compound without drawing attention. When we get out, Jaxon clicks the key fob. The car locks chirp and the lights flash. The two of us walk across the concrete floor and into the parking garage maintenance hall.

When we get to the door leading into the compound corridor, I pull out my phone and remotely access the security camera. After setting the visual feed on a loop and deactivating the motion notification, I punch in the door code.

The two of us slide inside the corridor without issue and make our way to the stairs leading down three flights to the security access of the main residence.

After disabling the security features again, we’re home.

But it doesn’t feel like home.

From the moment the security door closes behind us, I feel it. The aftermath of the attack hangs heavy in the air. It’s likeentering a bubble and feeling the insulated silence and pressure pushing at you from all sides.

Jaxon rubs a hand over his chest and frowns. “That’s majorly creepy.”

It is.We stick to the shadows, and for once, Jaxon isn’t endlessly spouting off.

Look at that, he has a sense of self-preservation.

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