Page 218 of Inferno

I squeeze her shoulder.

“Vlad will be heavily armed for this,” she says sternly.

“And so will we,” I reassure her.

“Mikhail has guys going over there now to check it out, Jax and Alexei. They’ll report back tomorrow and can lay anything out we need before we even confirm with Vlad,” Finn informs us.

“We’ve got this.” I hug Charlotte tight to reassure her.

The pressure I feel must be nothing in comparison to her.

“We will catch up with you later,” I tell my brothers, leading Charlotte out.

“What are you thinking?” I ask her, guiding her by the lower back.

“I need to get some training in. I’m feeling weaker than usual.” She spins to face me with a grin.

“You got any throwing knives? Machetes?” she asks.

That glimmer in her eyes makes my cock throb.

“Let’s head to the cabin. Conan has everything. Can even throw some axes if you want.”

“I’d love to.”

She nudges into my side and grabs my hand.

“That’s what gets you going? Violence?” I chuckle, and she stops.

“I suppose so. It’s who I am now.”

“I like you just how you are. Never change. Just no throwing knives at me.”

She nods and giggles, making my heart swell.

“If you behave, Mr. Quinn. You won’t become another flower tattoo.”

I let out a groan as she takes off into a jog towards the woods. I speed up to match her.

“Your next flower can be your last, if that’s what you want.”

She rubs a hand over her forearm and slows her pace.

“I have a special spot saved especially for that asshole. I’m ready. This is the closest I’ve gotten to ending it since I ran before.”

I stop and rub my face.

“What happened when you tried to leave?”

“I was five months pregnant. I knew it was only a matter of time before he realized she wasn’t his. I’d been protecting my father for years by staying, but then I had something more important to fight for. But it wasn’t successful. I managed to take out the guards and get out of the compound; he always had one over on me. He stopped me in my tracks. I lost my father, and I lost my freedom completely, but Isabella, she was free from harm, so that is all that mattered. I never saw a way out, not with the threat he put on her life.”

She takes in a shaky breath, and I squeeze her shoulders, pulling her into my embrace.

“Until now.”

I’m fucking murderous, he threatened my baby.

Oh, he’s going to die a slow and painful death.

---