Page 49 of Declan's Dove

Matteo comes from the kitchen with a cold cloth and a glass of water. He lifts Violet’s hair, eliciting a growl from me as he places the cloth on the back of her neck and hands her the water. “Drink, Dolcezza.”

I glare at the fucker, not liking the endearment. The asshole chuckles, lifting his hands as he moves back to his seat.

“Only trying to help,” he says with a smug grin.

“Carter is with Caleb and Liz. He’s on club property, surrounded by my brothers. No one can get to him there. They know to be on alert. Hawk manufactured a doctor’s note. I called the school and told them Carter’s been sick and will be out for a few days. Then we emailed over the doctor’s note to excuse his absences.” I explain as much as I can about all the safety measures we’ve taken for Carter. There are a few others, but she’s not ready to hear about the trackers we’ve put in his shoes and his backpack just yet. Although she may like the idea for Carter, I have a feeling she’s going to be pissed when she finds out she’ll be wearing one in her sneakers too, as soon as I can get my hands on them.

“Is he okay? He’s not really sick, right?” She looks so worried. I just want to wrap her up in my arms and hold her until she feels safe again.

“No, baby. He’s not sick.” I smile. “The little shit has Liz eating out of his hand. Trust me, he’s perfectly happy.”

Violet lets out a sigh of relief. “Liz is probably spoiling him rotten with her baking and using every bit to bribe him into getting the chores done for her.”

“How’d you know?” I ask, genuinely surprised.

“Because every mother knows you fill the kid with good food first, then send them out to work,” she says. “Plus, Liz only makes cookies if you complete the work.”

Kayce laughs. “Smart kid. He knows where to get the good shit and how to make it happen.”

Even Matteo is chuckling now.

“Okay. Let’s get this shit out on the table, Vi,” Kayce says. “I have another meeting to get to and you two have some things to discuss.” He looks between me and Violet. She scrunches her face but doesn’t question.

“When Tate discovered Declan’s message, he stumbled onto a few other things your hacker friend was doing, like tapping into the security cameras at your apartment.” Kayce narrows his eyes at me, and I shrug.

“It’s a Garrison system. We have the right to check the maintenance.” Even if it wasn’t, we would’ve been all up in the system, but he knows that. He knows me.

“Yeah, maintenance my ass,” Kayce says. “Anyway, Tate caught a glimpse of someone going into your apartment last night while you were tending to Mili.”

“What?” Hawk hadn’t told me about that. I reach for my phone and shoot off a text. I grip Violet’s chin, turning her to face me. “Is that where you were? With your doctor friend?”

“How do you know Mi—Carter.” She puts two and two together on her own. I nod.

“Mili isn’t Declan’s concern,” Matteo says. “The boss has seen to her care, and we’ll have the fuckers responsible soon enough. We need to know what’s coming for Violet so we can all be prepared.”

The way he says all has my hackles raised.

“So that’s why you’re here? Parisi was seeing to the doctor. So, who has been taking care of my woman and convinced her to stay away from her son without explanation?” I have a pretty good idea, but I want to see if he’ll tell me the truth or not.

Matteo leans back against the couch, one ankle crossed over the other knee, relaxed as you fucking please. “Violet makes her own decisions.”

“Bullshit,” Violet coughs into her hand and I chuckle, kissing her on the temple.

“Who’s been forcing you to do things you don’t want to, baby?” I ask. “Give me names and I’ll end every one of them.”

Violet leans back, looking up at me under her lashes.

Jesus, she’s beautiful.

“Everyone. Including you. So, if you want to rid my life of every asshole who’s ever told me what I’m going to do, make sure you add yourself to the list.” I nip her bottom lip causing her to yelp.

“I’m the only one who’s allowed to order you around. You’re my woman.” I lean my forehead against hers. “These other fucks need to step back and let me do my job.”

“Your job?” She looks at me skeptically like I’ve lost my mind, then turns to Kayce. “Did your team hand the case over to Garrison?”

“Fuck no,” Kayce spits.

“Then what is he talking about?” She asks, still not looking at me. I turn her face to mine and answer her question.

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