Page 98 of Declan's Dove

“No. I said your ass got busted, and you were in the slammer. Not your ass was busted, although I can’t be sure until I ask. So, did you get your ass busted?” he asks seriously.

I move Sadie to the side and lunge for the dickhead. He’s laughing, backing up behind Jake and Avery. “Hey, I have my laptop. You gotta wait until after church to wrestle with me. Although, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to upstage the performance of the guys you were with last night.”

“You’re a fucking dead man,” I growl.

“All right. That’s enough. Ladies, good to see you. Assholes, we got shit to talk about. Kayce’s sitting in on this one,” Gabe announces to the room, making it clear this isn’t a regular church session.

Sadie’s phone chimes, and her face lights up. Avery leans over her shoulder, and her face matches Sadie’s. I’m not the only one who sees it either. Hawk’s appearance goes from playful to irritated right before my eyes.

Gripping his shoulder, I move him toward the sanctuary, whispering, “You keep joking about me getting my ass busted, but I think someone is about to bust your balls, brother.” His only response is to grunt.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Declan

“Everyone take your seats. Kayce, I’m going to open the conversation up with you. What the fuck do we know about the shitshow that went down last night?” Gabe asks.

“Well, for starters—” I don’t give him a chance to finish his sentence before I ask what I’ve been waiting to know since I got in the car and left the jail.

“Where’s Violet and the kid?” I know Kayce knows. He’s been following the both of them closely for far too long not to.

“She’s out. Got out in the middle of the night,” Kayce supplies.

“Out where? Why isn’t my woman here, with me and our family?”

Kayce sighs. “Because Vincenzo got a judge to drop her charges and is keeping her with him.” Kayce leans back in his seat. I’m two seconds from wiping that smirk off his face. Fucker. “It’s safer for her to be there until we get the kid back. It appears people are able to sneak off your property undetected. We didn’t want to take the chance of Violet trying to sneak off to get to her son.”

I lunge. “Oh, you son of a bitch!” Ethan and Jake grab my arms, holding me back. Mack is standing between us, and Kayce, the smug fucker, is smiling at me over Mack’s shoulder.

He shrugs. “Tell me I’m wrong,” he taunts. “Did you not just lose a prisoner recently? Escaped from a locked cell, in a basement with multiple security measures that should’ve prevented or at the least alerted you to the breech? Forgive me if we thought she would be better protected with the mob boss in his fortress.”

Narrowing my eyes, studying his face as I process his words, things are starting to make sense. “You know where Thomas is.”

He shrugs again. “I know a lot of things. But if you want to know the same things, I suggest you sit the fuck down and let us get on with it.”

“Eaton,” Gabe warns. “Quit goading Declan. I don’t give a shit what you know. You keep this shit up and eventually my men will let him tear your ass apart.” He gives Kayce a pointed look that says he’s not fucking around. “Now, let’s get this shit done. The sooner we have all the information, the sooner we can mobilize. And Eaton,” Gabe lays his gun flat on the table, leaning forward on his fists. “If you ever try to command my men in my clubhouse again, I’ll put you down myself. You may be top dog with your men, but this is my house. My club. You wanna fuck around, you’re gonna find out. You got me?”

Kayce’s smile is faint, but I see it. He respects Gabe more for standing up for his men. It’s something that resonates with the soldier in him. Gabe’s just established the chain of command, and Kayce will honor it because it’s what he would’ve done if someone tried to take control of his team.

“All right.” Kayce raises one hand up, pulling out his cell phone with the other. He presses a few buttons. It rings once, and a voice picks up.

“Identify,” the voice says.

“This is Guardian One. Is the Angel secure?” Kayce says.

“Affirmative. Angel is secure. The Cherub has been relocated to the transition home. We have eyes on the location.”

Seemingly pleased with the news, Kayce drops the code-speak and says, “Dallas, I’m going to need you to get Tate and the others on the line. I’m with the Kings and we’re going to need to brief them on the situation.”

“Roger that. Give me a second to get them all in here.” The line goes silent for a minute, and we all settle back into our seats. Hawk opens his laptop and gets it booted up, connecting it to the flat screen on the wall.

“You’re going to need this.” Kayce hands him a thumb drive, which Hawk installs. We all sit and listen as Kayce and his men communicate over the phone.

“You there, boss?” Dallas comes back online.

“We’re all here. You got everyone?”

“Here,” comes over the line from several voices in unison.

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