Page 100 of Pride
“I shared my company with you.”
“I don’t want money. I want you!”
He scrubbed his face. He wanted Alice too, but he needed to prove he could save his sister and then destroy Julius. He had to fix his mistake. He put his hand out. “Do you have the address for where Daisy is?”
She lifted her chin. “If you think you’re going without me, just forget it.”
“This is my battle, Alice. Not yours.”
“Except it’s not. I’m your mate. Apparently your future wife! It’s always going to beourbattle. And if you ever try to keep me from fighting at your side again, I’ll… I’ll…”
He raised his brows indignantly. “You’ll what?”
“I’ll sneak into your room and cut all your hair off while you’re sleeping!” She held his gaze, never backing down.
She’d do it too.
Alice was the sort of woman who would stand by his side and not only support him, but improve him. This was one of those moments. Away from her, he was half a man. Together, they could be invincible. His lips tugged up on one side.
“Does this mean you accept my proposal?”
She put her hands on her hips. “No, it doesn’t. That was a shitty proposal. Do better!”
“I bought you an entire closet, and you tried to send it back. I didn’t exactly think you were the flowers and chocolate type.”
She dug into her pocket and threw something in his face. He caught it, opened his fingers. It was a Chinese Flower Knot made from purple rope. He frowned. Hadn’t that been in his office desk drawer?
“Not a flowers kinda girl, huh?” She scowled. “I’ve been carrying that around in my pocket for days. Whatever. Let’s go.”
His cheeks heated, and he hated getting it so wrong. Everything was wrong. He pocketed the flower, resolving to deal with it later.
“So they all got out of the country all right?” he asked, squinting up at the wet sky. “Tell me at least that part of my plan worked.”
“I’ve been a little busy trying to get you out of here, but as far as I know, each leader’s biometrics were captured. AIMI has been working to disable their systems. I asked the Sinners to provide back up one last time, and as before, one has partnered with each of your family to visit each site.”
“Even Griffin?”
She nodded. “They all decided this was the make-or-break moment. All hands on deck.”
“Good. And what happened after I was arrested? Did the Syndicate leave the penthouse without drama?”
“One of them said something cryptic to Wyatt as they left. Something about this being the beginning of the end for us.”
“What do you think?”
“I think Julius is keeping a lot of knowledge to himself. Axel said he’s been ignoring Syndicate calls. The attacks on the cathedral were all Julius. He went through a phase of blaming the Sisterhood for all his problems and just wanted retribution. It had nothing to do with the grander Syndicate plan. Now he’s moved onto something else. Something he won’t share with Axel or the rest of them, only his lead scientist.”
“And you trust this Axel guy?”
Alice bit her lip. “I think he’s sick. Dying. And somehow he thought his only hope was to work with the Syndicate so his younger sister won’t go into foster care when he dies. He’s had his hopes twisted, just like all the Faithful. I don’t think he’s a bad man, just someone in a crappy situation. I’ve done bad things in order to survive. So have you. He knows it’s not right, and he’s trying to correct it.”
Interesting. Parker searched his partner’s face and knew she believed it.
“Where is he now?”
“He’s waiting for us somewhere near the docks.” She shook her head. “I think Daisy is underground in the sewers.”
“So Daisy has been under our noses the entire time. Makes sense why the tracking wasn’t working. We should have searched them earlier.” Parker wanted to be sick. Julius had somehow managed to evade Parker for years. This time, he wouldn’t get away. This time, Parker was going to end things for good. “We go and save Daisy. The family will take down the international Syndicate machine and we destroy Julius.”
