Page 64 of Dangerous Command
Everyone was capable of violence. It just took the right push.
But this wasn’t me.
I had taken a life. Was I no better than my stepdad?
Was I just like Derek?
“The Last Isle,” Derek murmured. He nodded toward the door. “Let’s go.”
CHAPTER 18
Derek
The Last Isle was a private island off of the coast, far enough away that we took the plane, but too close to Sage City for comfort. It wasn’t incorporated into any government, which meant that it was unchartered territory, an outlaw’s playground. I called my brothers before we took off from New Mexico. They put me on speakerphone while the two of them were at Jimmy’s, our family gambling hall, back in Sage City.
“The Last Isle?” Wil asked. “You’re kidding me.”
“That’s our lead,” I said. “We’ve gotta take it.”
“And Kiley won’t confirm it?”
I wasn’t even going to try. I knew the answer. “Not interested. How are the wives?”
“Whoa. Since when do you care?”
“They’re family,” I explained. The bathroom door shut; Maddie returned, her hair freshly combed around her soft features. The woman could murder a man and still look flawless.
But I needed to stop thinking of her like that.
“Damn right,” Demi’s chipper voice said in the background. Ellie laughed. I let out a long exhale in relief. My brothers had kept to their word then, never letting their wives out of their sight until Muro was dead.
“We can be there in a few hours,” Wil said. “Just give us time to catch up.”
“No,” I said. Ellie was trained in martial arts, and Axe had taught Demi to use a gun, but if they died while on my watch, it would destroy my brothers, and I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself. I needed to protect my family’s legacy, and that meant making sure that my brothers stayed back.
Above all of that, Ineededto do this alone. To show that I was the leader of the Adler mafia. That I was meant to hold the family’s legacy on my back. To prove, once and for all, that Muro didn’t stand a chance.
And I needed to give Maddie the opportunity to tell the truth with her own volition. That would be impossible with my brothers around.
“Contact Ethan,” I said. “Have him return to Sage City. Make sure he knows what to expect, should we need him to travel elsewhere. I want him ready to go.”
“But not us?” Wil asked.
“You need to protect our territory,” I said. “I will take care of this.” Translation: An order is an order.
“Got it,” Wil said reluctantly.
After I hung up, Maddie fidgeted beside me.
“Nervous?” I asked.
“This is my second flight,” she said. “Does it always feel like you’re going to throw up?”
The smaller planes had the tendency to make a person nauseous, but after the way she had acted with Kit, I knew it wasn’t just motion sickness. Maddie had never killed anyone before.
She was Muro’s stepdaughter, but that didn’t mean she was like him.
At least, that was the mantra I told myself. I wanted it to be true. Needed it.
