No one is particrly happy with me when I take matters into my own hands, but it’s been three days since Quincy’s doctor’s appointment. We haven’t had any other progress on ending Costa, and something had to be done.

    If Ridge’s motto is, “It’s always motherfucking something,” mine is, “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than it is to ask for permission.”

    Quincy shouldn’t have to worry about being attacked on the way to the hospital or, even worse, once she’s inside recovering.

    While I have a code that ensures I would never stoop low enough to attack a target in a medical facility, I do not have that same level of confidence in the other contract workers who have taken the job to end Ridge’s life.

    Costa must be handled immediately.

    Once he’s dead, there will be no one left to pay out the contract, meaning the other teams will move on to wherever they see dor signs next. They certainly won’t pick up the mantle to kill Ridge out of respect for Costa’s dying wish.

    Easton is whatever one step past furious is when I call to let him know I confirmed Ridge’s kill in the system. It’s almost like I can feel the veins of his forehead poking out from here. Too bad it’s not a video call. That could be humorous to witness.

    I truly can’tprehend why he’s so angry about my decision to burn the King of Hearts persona. I’m the one who spent the better part of ten years curating that 99.1% kill rating.

    If nothing else, it will lull Costa into a false sense of security. He has no idea about my connection to Shadow Security, meaning he’ll believe I’m incentivized toplete the trade without incident.

    Otherwise, I won’t get paid.

    Little does he know, the money won’t save him. His minions took a shot at my very pregnant girlfriend. They’ve tried to kill me and my packmates multiple times.

    Enough is enough.

    I’m not going to apologize for doing what had to be done. We have an appointment to view the hospital on Monday. It’s now Thursday night. That means we have less than three days to eradicate Costa Maloney.

    I want him dead before Quincy steps out of the house again, so Easton, Ridge, and whoever else they’d like to have watching our backs at the swap had better clear their schedules this weekend.

    Of course, I’m not actually nning to kill Ridge to deliver his head as proof of the contract beingpleted, but David has been rotting away in Easton’s torture dungeon for weeks.

    It’s finally time we put him to good use.

    Quincy and I have had many conversations since my ill-timed thank you after her deration of love. It was awkward the first day or two, but she’s warmed back up to me since.

    I’m hoping my news will soften her toward me even morepletely, and I don’t hesitate to invite myself in as she soaks in the tub in the pack bedroom.

    She’s been having bouts of contractions and on-and-off lower back pain. The jets in the tub seem to lessen some of her difort, and her doctor’s office assured us that baths are fine, even while she’s dted.

    That onlysts until her water breaks. Though once that happens, I imagine we’ll be on the way to the hospital.

    The warm water sshes around my back and arms as I settle across from her. I keep my legs on the outside of hers since mine are longer, and it’s the only way that I’ll fit. This would be more enjoyable if I were to settle behind her, but I don’t want to block her ess to the jets if she decides to flip them on again.

    Her head tilts, a slow smile crossing her face. “I always forget how different you look without your sses.”

    “Am I more handsome this way?” I grin. “I could look into contacts or LASIK.”

    Sheughs. “You’re always handsome. You don’t need to change a thing.”

    I lick my lips, studying what she’s projecting through our connection. “Can I ask what that emotion is?”

    Quincy’s face morphs into confusion. “In the bond?”

    “Yes.”

    “Happiness?” She shrugs. “Love? Somebination of the two. I don’t know. I was thinking how cute you are, and how grateful I am to have you. So yeah, probably happiness and love.”

    My mouth goes dry, and I stretch forward, cupping her cheek in my palm. “I care deeply about you, Quincy. It’s hard for me to express my emotions. Often because when I feel something, it doesn’t corrte to how others exin experiencing the same emotion.”

    She pulls her hand from the water and cradles mine. “That’s okay. You don’t need to change any part of yourself for me to ept you. I love you just the way you are.”

    She’s far too good for me, but she makes me want to be worthy of the love she so freely gives.

    “That’s not to say that I don’t love you, I’ve just never experienced that emotion romantically.”

    “When you’re sure, say it then.” She smiles, running her fingers over mine. “I don’t have to hear you say it. I can feel your affection in the bond. That’s much more important to me than hearing the words.”

    I nod.

    All of that sounds reasonable.

    “I do love you, angel. The baby too,” I say, staring into her big blue eyes.

    “I know.”

    “Oh, good.” Then why did she seem angry with me? Perhaps I’ll never know. I am relieved things seem to have returned to normal between us, but dealing with others is always confusing. “Can I ask, do you have any solid feelings about what you’d like to do with your grandmother’s house?”

    Quincyughs. “That’s kinda out of left field. Why?”

    I sigh, releasing her cheek and settling back against the edge of the tub. “The night I retrieved your extra belongings from your home, I ran into Pete. He was very insistent about his offer, but I was hoping you might sell it to me.”

    “Um, you’re not allowed to live separately from the rest of us, so don’t even ask.” She jabs a short finger at me.

    “The thought never crossed my mind,” I tell her truthfully. “However, I’m going to need a new source of passive ie. I believe it could be turned into a bed-and-breakfast easily enough, or it could be used for short-term rentals.”

    “Did you forget how packed it is?” She leans back against the other edge of the tub and pushes the button for the jets. “I mean, it’s full of old-people stuff, but all of that would have to be emptied if I sold it to anyone else.” She shrugs, wiggling as the water begins to spray against her back. “I hate to take your money, though. If you want to keep it and use it, I’ll just give it to you.”

    If she had any idea how much money I have stashed away in multiple different banks in a variety of countries, she wouldn’t make that offer. I suppose it’s irrelevant since we’re bonded. What’s mine is hers.

    I just need to get that ring on her finger and the packmitment paperwork filed.

    “You running a bed-and-breakfast?” Quincyughs. “I kind of love the imagery of that.”

    If I hire the proper staff, I think I can ensure it’s a low-effort endeavor. I’m sure I’ll lose money at first, but it’s more of a need to show some kind of ie on my future tax returns. And if it ends up being an unwise investment, I can always sell it in a few years.

    “These jets are incredible.” She moans, catching my attention. My cock perks up. “But I’m turning wrinkly. Are you ready to get out?”

    I nod, but I have one more piece of business to address. “Ridge and I will be away for several hours tonight. Omen and Valor n to bring Saylor over to keep you and Hartleypany.”

    Costa took his sweet time—twenty-six hours to be exact—to reply to my message, but he agreed to my suggested meeting location. He was quite haughty, and he made it clear that he didn’t care if I had other Saturday night ns. He stated he would be at the warehouse at eleven p.m. If I wasn’t avable at his chosen time or if I didn’t show up, he would decline payment via the website.

    That can’t happen because it would once again list Ridge’s contract as active.

    “And after tonight, things will go back to normal?” She looks so damn hopeful, and it makes me despise Maloney even more.

    “Yes, love. Costa will no longer be a problem after tonight.” I just have to kill off the professional persona that I spent nearly ten years building to make it happen, but that’s a small price to pay to give Quincy the guarantee of safety.hr

    “Just, ya know, don’t die,” was not afortingst sentence for Ridge to say to me before he split off to stay with Calder in themand van.

    Technically speaking, it was sound advice, but isn’t there a phrase in theater about “breaking a leg?” So if he truly wanted to be helpful, he would have said something like, “Get yourself killed.”

    Christ.

    I’m overthinking everything since Quincy came into the picture. Either way, I won’t be dying tonight.

    Keir is my partner for this exchange that will end in a bloodbath. He drives the car into the warehouse, and I begin to wonder what the building was used for before it became old and dpidated.

    The bay openings arerge enough for a semi-truck to pull in with a storage container on its tbed, but that’s convenient since it allows us to drive inside.

    Not that the car will give us any additional cover, but hopefully it will allow for a faster exit.

    “Don’t forget your mask,” I murmur to Keir as he puts the vehicle in park.

    The SUV that must house Costa and his men is a few feet away, but the windows are tinted, making it impossible to tell how many individuals might be inside.

    He demanded Ie alone, but Easton wanted someone else “boots on the ground” with me. Even as I appraise the scaffolding, I can’t make out the snipers that are meant to be watching our backs. That’s a good thing, though, as it indicates Costa won’t be able to spot them either.

    “Got it,” Keir replies. “I’ll retrieve the head from the trunk.”

    Nodding, I unbuckle my seat belt and toss the passenger door open. “Thank you. I’ll be waiting by the hood.”

    Although Keir and I had a moment of mutual distaste outside of his office when Quincy and Ridge bonded, I can appreciate him as a partner.

    It’s time Costa Maloney became an issue of the past.hr

    The three faces of the men who approach with Costa are familiar. They’re the ones I gged as being in town, which is a solid reminder that I’m good at what I do.

    “I told you toe alone,” Costa says as hees to a stop five feet away.

    “I work alone.” I shove my sses up, gesturing to Keir as hees around the front of the vehicle. “However, I don’t conduct face-to-face transactions without backup. You felt the need toe four deep to a hand off. I brought one associate.”

    “We’ve got a vehicle approaching,” Calder says through my earpiece. “One SUV iing with… One, two, three…could be more guys. It’s impossible to tell with how dark the windows are.”

    “I’ll check it out,” Ridge says.

    “Fuck no,” Easton growls in response. “I’m circling the building to appraise the threat.”

    “He’s already climbing out of the van,” Calder says, and we can hear evidence of that over the feed.

    Jesus Christ.

    Ridge is still healing.

    That pain in the ass.

    Now I need to conduct this business quickly so I can get out there and ensure he doesn’t die when I promised Quincy I would keep him alive.

    “All right, let me see it.” Costa rocks on his heels, shoving his hands into his pockets. “The transfer won’t proceed until I give my ountant the go-ahead.”

    “The package,” I say to Keir, holding out a hand.

    It’s more like a small stic bin with a box and wrapping inside.

    It does contain a head.

    That head just belongs to David.

    It seemed fitting to serve Costa the severed head of one of his minions, but I’m grateful that I wasn’t the one who handled the beheading. It’s messy and gruesome, no matter what steps you take to try to prevent a grisly oue.

    “I swear to fucking Christ, I’m going to shank you myself if you step around that goddamn wall before I’m at your side,” Easton hisses through my earpiece. “Leo, if you can provide us with coverage from your position, I wouldn’t turn it down.”

    It’s quite difficult to keep my face cid, but Keir steps forward, shoving the container at me.

    “It would require a one-eighty turn, and I’m in Costa’s line of sight, but there is a window. I can make it work if you give me thirty seconds,” Leo whispers.

    Well, they clearly need the backup more than we do. Which means I need to have Costa and his associates firmly focused on me so Leo can swap his location without being noticed.

    I stride across the concrete, handing the box off to Costa. His team gets twitchy, but I don’t retreat. “Open it. Verify and approve it. I’ve already been in town for an additional day simply waiting for you. I have other assignments that require my attention.”

    More arguinges over thems feed, but I’m hyperfocused on watching Costa as I pop the buttons on my suit coat.

    He tilts his head down, undoes the sp on the bin, and reaches inside.

    “Say hello to David,” I murmur, grabbing the knife under my left shoulder. David is the code word for the action to happen. The sound of bullets whizzing through the air is an excellent backdrop as Costa pulls David’s head free of the box. His face betrays his confusion for a half second before I slide the de over his throat and bury it into his heart.

    Pulling my foot up, I connect with his knee and shove him backward. The de falls free, and I pivot to assess the situation, but the three men he brought with him are down.

    Well.

    Now I’m just holding a bloody knife. I bend down and wipe the de off on Costa’s thigh. My glove must have some stter, but the ck material hides it well.

    If this were any normal kill, I would leave a King of Hearts ying card with his body and take a picture as confirmation to supply as proof the job had beenpleted.

    The ying card became my calling card at my mentor’s goading after missing the heart on my first real contract. Even from the grave, he continued to taunt me about my greatest failure. It’s been many years since then. If nothing else, it became a convenient way for others to confirm one of my kills.

    “All five on the exterior are down,” Leo says through the earpiece.

    “Costa and his three guests are too,” Keir says. I can hear it both in person and as an echo through my earpiece.

    “You guys didn’t even need me,” Shaw says, chuckling. “One of my bullets hit, but Keir was on it.” Thest few words ring with more of his slight country ent.

    “Is Ridge okay?” I ask.

    “Yeah, but East is currently ripping him a new asshole for breaking protocol,” Calder says, distractedly. I exhale in pure relief. “All right, everyone rally at the van. The cleanup crew is ten minutes out.”

    “Are we bringing the car or leaving it?” I ask Keir.

    “I think we’re riding out with the others in the van, but Easton can tell us once he’s no longer verbally eviscerating your packmate,” Keir says, ripping off his mask.

    I nod.

    Whatever gets us out of here the fastest is the method I would like to take. I have an omega to snuggle with.hr

    Our post-op briefing makes it clear the second vehicle that joined us after my meeting with Costa began was filled with one of the other teams that took the higher bounty. Luckily, they weren’t expecting a sniper, Easton, and Ridge to pick them off while they were still in the process of exiting the vehicle.

    By the time we decontaminate and make it home, Quincy and Hartley are asleep. Ridge and I break off for separate showers, but I help him bandage his shoulder before we fight to see who can make it to the bed the fastest.

    I’m just a second quicker, so I take Quincy’s front.

    Ridge can snuggle with Hartley.

    “You’re home. Thank God.” Our little omega’s eyes pop open as soon as I’m situated. “Where’s Ridge? Did you handle the problem?”

    “We did,” I assure her, brushing her hair back from her face.

    “Right here, Mama.” Ridge stretches an arm over Hartley and cradles her stomach. “We’re free. Get some rest.”

    “d you’re both alive,” Hartley mumbles. “Sleep now. Tell us what happened in the morning.”