Page 228 of Deadly Sweet

“Yeah. One of our men confirmed it. They followed Corbin back here. They watched as he took Lucy inside. From there? I have no clue. We tried to hack into the security system, but it’s offline.” Jerry turns to us. “Be careful in there. He’s desperate and reckless, so he’s going to be more likely to make mistakes. The Corbin Miller the world feared isn’t who he is anymore. He’s a man with nothing left to lose.”

Part of me is thrilled that he’s lost everything. A man who used to think of himself as invincible got too cocky and lost it all.

But I can’t celebrate or gloat because he has my best friend.

He’s already taken so much from me, I won't let him take anything else.

“Is it even safe to be out in the open like this?” I ask, looking around. “Where is everyone?”

“Most likely inside. When I tell you Corbin has lost everything, I mean everything. Not just his money and properties, but his men too. You find out real fast where loyalties lie when it only existed in the first place because you paid them. Corbin never cared about the people who worked for him, so they turned on him quickly when his money disappeared. The only people left are those in his close circle.”

There are a lot of us here tonight—a whole little army at our side. While Corbin ruled with fear and money, Duchess built a family out of love and loyalty.

The people here will fight at her side and die alongside her if that's how the universe chooses to take this.

“Savvy,” Duchess gets my attention. She looks badass right now, dressed in all black, her red hair up in a ponytail, and guns strapped to her body.

I’m dressed pretty similarly.

“If you find yourself in a position that won’t lead to the ending you want, I want you to leave.”

“What?” My brows furrow.

“I don’t want you to die trying to kill that monster,” she growls. “You have so much to live for. I don’t want him to take it all away from you again. So if it’s between you and him, you need to pick yourself. Always.”

“No–”

“Yes,” she growls.

“I’m going to kill him,” I insist.

She gives me a big grin. “Fuck yeah, you are.”

We’ve gone over the blueprints and have a plan in place. Or at least the best we could with what little time we had to really think things through.

Jerry is right. If we drag this out too long, Corbin could get impatient and end Lucy at any moment. We need to get in and get out, make this quick.

She’s not the one he wants; I am. He’s expecting me, and I’m walking right into his trap.

My eyes find Jerry, and I nod. He nods back and looks to Cobra.

In a flash, Caleb and Leroy are gagged and cuffed as they get dragged towards one of the vans we brought.

“I love you,” I call out. “I won’t let him hurt you. I’m sorry.” Tears fill my eyes at the look of rage and betrayal directed at me as they fight to get free.

“We need to do this. Now,” I tell Duchess.

She nods. “Let’s go!”

Guns in hand, we head into the building.

The plan is for everyone to look for Lucy, taking out anyone who gets in their way while I make my way right to Corbin’s office.

Knowing him, that's where he’s going to be. Sitting in his chair, thinking he’s won. Waiting for Duchess to show up with me at her side and make a deal. At least that's what he’d want us to do. He would think that he’d kill Duchess and Lucy before running off with me.

His plan is for everyone but the two of us to die tonight.

Not fucking happening, buddy. Not while I’m still breathing.

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