Page 74 of Dangerous Command
I wanted to kill him. For my family. For all of the shit he had caused.For her.For every time that he had hurt her. Pain that she refused to acknowledge. This should have been the final test, to see that Maddie was willing to kill Muro, just like she was willing to kill Kit. But her guns were on the floor, a few yards away from her feet. Her head was bowed, like I had seen Margot the last time Wil and I were in the headquarters, trying to negotiate with Muro the right way. The people in Muro’s life lived in constant fear.
I jumped ahead and kicked one of the guns towards her, but Maddie didn’t move. Then I realized that she had given up her weapon by choice. Muro laughed, the sound curdling my blood.
But it wasn’t because Maddie was on Muro’s side. She must have done it because Mack was in jeopardy. Because Muro made her.
“Let me teach you this, Derek. What your old man didn’t understand is thatthisis the only power that matters. Figure out what people are afraid of. Use that against them.” He nudged the barrel into Maddie’s head. “I told her she could go free if her son died, but this pathetic trash cares more about her son than her own life.”
I couldn’t stand to see Maddie like that. There was strength inside of her, but right then, she was so damn afraid.
“Where is Mack?” I shouted.
Muro grinned. “So youarepart of the family now. Oh, I’m so happy for you.” He tilted his head at the pile of rubble, and in the midst of it, there was a clear path to a single door, the structure about the size of a closet.
“I put him in the safe room,” he said. “Witha bomb. I’m afraid the safe room won’t do much to protect him if they’re both inside of it, though.”
“A safe room?” I asked.
“How else do you think I survived the number you did on my building?” He bared his teeth. “But let me tell you something, Derek. If I’m going down, I am taking this bitch and her son, and all of you Adlers with me.”
I couldn’t let that happen.Wouldn’tlet it happen. Maddie’s shoulders shook, and my heart burned for her.
Do this for me,I thought,Kill him. Prove that you’re on my side.
But she couldn’t do that. It would be risking Mack.
They needed to be safe.
“Take me,” I said.
Muro’s jaw slackened. “What?”
“Let them go free,” I said. “Take me instead.”
Maddie finally looked up, her eyes full of tears.
“You want to give up your chance to kill me—” Muro said, looking at Maddie, then back at me, “—for a woman?”
I narrowed my eyes. “For Maddie and Mack,” I corrected. Muro was older than me by about a decade, and smart too, but I was as capable. I had a better chance of escaping than Maddie did. And I would never let her or Mack be put into danger like that again, even if it meant risking my life for them.
Maddie was right. Family wasn’t just about legacy or blood. It was about people you put before yourself.
“Cuff me,” I said. “Whatever you want. Kill me. I don’t care. But let them go.”
“You’re a comedian,” Muro smirked. “There’s no way I would kill you that easily. Not after what you did to my empire. Killing you would be a mercy I can’t justify. You understand that, don’t you?”
“Don’t do this,” Maddie said. “He’ll let Mack go. Once he gets bored of me. You need to go. Run! While you still can.”
I ignored her.
“You have to let them go,” I said. “We’ll watch them leave. Then you can cuff me.”
“And how do I know that you’ll keep your end of the bargain, letting me cuff you?”
“You might not be a man of your word,” I said coldly, meeting him eye to eye, “But I am.”
He smiled. The man was so full of smiles, despite the bomb strapped to his chest, that it made my skin crawl.
He bent down, unlocking Maddie’s cuffs, then he threw the set of keys at her feet. “Go on, Maddie,” Muro said. “Go get the child. But be careful, now.”
