Page 169 of Brutal Knight

"I said I didn't know who that was, but they'll find him eventually."

"Can I keep this?" I held up her phone. At her nod, I shoved it in my pocket, then marched out of the storage closet.

Fuck my life.

This was all my fault. I'd acted against Bourbon's direct order not to retaliate. And now, chaos was happening, just as Rose was having her baby.

Just as my mother predicted, I'd acted selfishly, and now I didn't even have Tatiana by my side for it.

I was going to have to fix this, and, I knew that in order to solve this, I would have to go back to the beginning.

To my past.

To the reason my family was killed.

To the enemies of my grandfather.

"What the hell is going on, man?" As soon as I entered the room, Coulter was by my side, whispering low so no one else could hear.

I passed over the phone, making sure to turn the volume all the way down. Coulter's face changed from concerned cautiousness to a glowering, angry ball of fury. The temperature in the room turned to a sudden frigidness, sending goosebumps up my arm. He looked like he wanted to murder someone.

"This is my fault," I said, the guilt returning.

"This is the cartel's fault," Coulter growled, his eyes lit up with his fury. Grabbing my arm, he pulled me so that we were facing away from the proud couple and Aster. "Remember, I told you something like this would happen?"

"But I'm the one who--"

"I don't give a shit," Coulter protested. "they would've done something regardless."

"But they probably would've waited if I hadn't killed one of their men."

"Fuck that," Coulter cursed. "They betrayed me right after they made a peace agreement with me. It didn't matter that I upheld our agreement before, and it doesn't matter now."

"Then why were you so pissed?"

He straightened, a surprised look on his face. "I was mad because you didn't tell me about it. You needed my help but you didn't come to me."

"I am fully capable of killing a man on my own. You have no idea the things--"

Coulter held up a hand, cutting me off. "I don't care what you've done in the past, or what you will do in the future. We're a family, and family helps each other, whether or not we need it," he pointed a finger at me, "you understand me?"

I nodded, a knot lodged in my throat. "Yes."

"Except... I don't know how Bourbon will react. Not now," he gestured towards the bed, where Rose was cuddling with the new baby, looking adorably exhausted. "Not when he's finding out after the fact."

"I know."

"Okay." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "For now, we need to figure out how to handle this. We've got to keep it from him, at least for a few days. I've got men prepared but we need to know who exactly--" He was cut off by Gina's voice at the door.

"Sir, I think you can wait."

She was talking to a police officer, standing between him and the entrance to our room. Romeo had her back, completely blocking the doorway.

"Ma'am, Sir," He gave them both a stern look. "I need you both to move."

"And you need to get out of this area," Gina thundered. "You're posing a security risk."

Bourbon was still looking at Rose and the baby, but I could sense that his attention was focused on the door.

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