Page 106 of Precious Legacy

That’s why, at this very moment, I feel like I’ve failed him. I consider all the men of The Five to be family. My best friends are more like brothers, Haven is like a sister, and Alanis…well, she’s the one I’ve always felt drawn to. A primal urge to protect.

Once again, I’ve let her down.

“This wasnotyour fault,” Axel reassures me with all the softness of a blade.

I look back at him. It doesn’t even surprise me that he’s able to read my mind. “I should have been there.”

He shakes his head, chuckling incredulously as he leans back in his chair. “You and I both know you can’t be there all the time. Alanis wouldn’t allow it, either.”

He’s right. Out of everything I know, Alanis would be pissed if I treated her like some delicate flower. But I can’t help thinking how if I had, then maybe tonight wouldn’t have happened.

“I should have killed him when I had the chance,” I grumble, running my hand through my hair. It’s still damp from the shower, where I focused all my attention on cleaning Lani up.

“Why didn’t you?” he questions, one brow arched.

“Lani.” I don’t need to say much more than that. Axel understands the situation between his daughter and the NYPD. He knows about Prescott’s involvement with the raid and working for the Russians. What I can’t work out is why the hell he was so focused on getting to Lani.

A smile curves Axel’s lips, so subtle I’d miss it if I blinked. “That girl will be the death of me,” he mutters, just loud enough for me to hear it.

“Me too,” I grumble. “But none of this makes sense. Why did Prescott go after Lani?” The only thing I can assume is that it was to get to The Five, but would he be that stupid?”

“I’ve been doing some digging… well, Lucchese has.” He pulls open his desk drawer and hands over a manila file. It’s too damn early in the morning to be reading shit, but I know whatever is in here is important. “Prescott’s motivations might differ from what you thought.”

Peeling open the file, I look down at the information on the first page. “Aidan Daniels?”

Axel nods once. “He was the D.A. who tried to frame me for murdering the Mayor a while back. Obviously it didn’t stick.”

“Obviously,” I comment, flicking over to the next page. A handful of photographs drop to the floor and I pick them up one by one, briefly scanning the contents of each image. There’s nothing much to see besides white plastic once sealed with tape,a body beside it that has been cut up and disintegrated by god knows what.

“Long story short, Daniels went after Cassie to try to get to me.”

My eyes shoot back to his, and I can already guess what he’s about to say.

“So I killed him.”

“So, Daniels is his…”

“Brother. Sort of. My guess is he took it personally and built a vendetta against me. The Russians would have been the perfect alibi for him.”

“So he wasn’t really working for them?” My head spins with this new information; details we never thought to look into. I guess I’ve still got a lot to learn, and I’m not too proud to admit that.

“No, I think he was. But I don’t think it was for reasons other than that.” He points at the file in my hands.

“This is a hell of a coincidence,” I mutter.

It’s starting to make sense. Prescott could’ve effectively wiped The Five and the Russians out if we hadn’t found this information out. Hell, I would be making patchwork quilts out of their fucking skins if it weren’t for Axel telling me I needed to think rationally. The drive to his place was enough to calm me, and I’m glad I listened.

A war could’ve started tonight if I hadn’t.

Pressing the file closed, I rest it on Axel’s desk and stand. Now that I can think a little clearer, all I want to do is to crawl into bed with Lani and put tonight behind us.

“You need to make sure she sees this training program through,” Axel insists as I amble towards the door.

My brows furrow as I turn.

“If Prescott knew who she was, others do as well. I can see how bad she wants to be a Police Officer and I respect herdetermination, but she can’t do it alone.” He leans forward on his elbows, pressing his fingertips together. “She’s going to be looking out for her brother, you too.”

I already know what he’s going to say before he says it. “You know you don’t even need to ask,” I say, the same thought clearly on both our minds. I’d protect her with my life and Axel Bonanno doesn’t even need convincing of that.

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