JAXON He’s a dead man walking. I can almost see it: his blood all over my hands as I make a clean cut across his throat, the life that slowly and very steadily drains from his eyes while he makes terrible wrenching sounds, reaching for his neck, clutching his skin trying to piece it back together. The fear would no doubt paralyze him until he’s gone. No, almost. Uncle has asked for his body and Ronan has given his word. But if Luke harms Sarah in any way, there would be no body to give. I would gut him open like a fish and leave his body to rot in the open, his intestines spilling all over the floor. And I swear to all that I am, I will get it right this time. I will… “Jaxon.” Ronan’s shaky voice calls me out of my thoughts. When I blink, Luke’s lifeless body fades, and I’m back in the surveillance room. His hand gently squeezes my right shoulder blade. Swallowing hard against the lump in my throat, I turn to him. “We’re getting his location. It’s going to take a couple of minutes to pin an exact spot.” Relief floods my chest like a tidal wave. The skin of my eyelids press firmly together, fighting back the dam of tears ready to burst open from the corners of my eyes. I exhale and nod. There are no words in my mouth. Everyone is busy around me. Luke’s face covers half of the huge screen in front of us. My stomach twists into a tight unpleasant knot. I focus on the other half of the screen, the GPS tracker. “We have him pinned,” a girl says out loud. I can feel my heart leap out of my chest. Ronan rushes towards her table. “Where the fuck is he?” She types a little more on her keyboard, and the big screen zooms out into a singular spot. “Golf estate. House 33—well, somewhere behind house 33, it seems.”A bitter scoff rips through my throat. “The slums on the outskirts of Durmont. What’s to say he doesn’t live there?” I find myself thinking out loud, turning to Ronan. “Where’s uncle? And Mal?” “They stepped out to make the call,” he hurries over to me. “I have to leave now. The plan is to keep him on the call for as long as possible. I’ll take some men and head over.” A small pause. “You stay here, okay? Let me know if he makes a move…” My jaw clenches. “No.” Ronan sighs. He’s not asking me to stay behind because I’m the best person to keep him updated. He knows Luke is a deranged, dangerous, bastard. He saw what he did to our mother more than any of us, he shielded us from it for as long as he could. And I know…I know that if he could, he would have stopped us from seeing her lifeless body swinging from the roof. He would do anything to erase that picture from our minds, the picture that made me a killer. I won’t let him take another hit because of me. “You stay, I’ll go.” Another sigh leaves his lips as he rubs the skin of his forehead. “Jaxon…” “You can’t keep him away from me, Ronan. We don’t know what tricks he has up his sleeves, and you know it. It’s why you want me to stay here, it’s why you want to keep me safe,” He doesn’t speak, but I know I’m right from the look on his face. “I started this, brother. Let me finish it.” He’s reluctant. Still, he takes a step back and nods in agreement. I turn to the girls in front of us. “You’re all bikers, aren’t you?” I ask aloud. The room goes silent immediately, all heads in the room turn in my direction. They nod in synchrony, like their minds are controlled from a hive. “I need three of you to come with me. You need to have stealth, and a good fucking gun.” Three girls from the left rise to their feet. Their resemblance is so strong, they could pass as triplets. One last look at Ronan, then I nod to the girls. “Let’s go.” My back is barely turned away when Ronan grips my shoulder gently. “I’ll keep you in the loop.” “I’m counting on it.” Adrenaline flows viciously through my veins, it’s burning hot under my skin. I relish every minute of it as we step out of the surveillance room. Barnes approaches me with a silver tray in both hands. Three beautiful daggers, halfway out of their sheaths, stare up at me. “They’re some of your uncle’s finest.” He says with a smile. I pick the one in the middle, the shortest, for more…impact. “Thank you.” I walk away from him, heading to exit door. “He needs you to come back safely, your uncle.” His words stop me dead in my tracks. A quick turn has me looking at him. “He told you that?” “He never had to. He just asked after the three of you every day he was behind bars, and everyday since. That’s far more than I can say for his own son,” He takes a few steps forward. “You might think you three were only weapons to him, but he…” Barnes pauses and takes a deep breath. My heart squeezes painfully in my chest. “Just come back safely for his sake. He can’t lose another person to Luke. His heart won’t take it.” My gaze darts towards the half open door of his mock study where Uncle Abel’s voice filters into the dim hallway. A small smile, the first in a long time, forms on my face. “I’ll see you around, Barnes.” When the old man takes a step backwards, I head out with the dagger in my jacket. Two dozens of motorbikes are assembled in my uncle’s state of the art garage. I make my way to one, fix my phone and put it on speaker, before gripping the handle bars tighter, revving the engine to life. “Can you hear me, Jax?” “You’re on, Ronan.” I clench my fists around the handlebars. “We’re heading there now.”