Chapter 37
Chapter thirty-seven
Lincoln
The lobby smells like money.
Polished marble floors stretch from the glass entrance to the elevators at the far end of the room.
Light pours through the towering windows, bouncing off chrome fixtures and glossy stone until everything gleams. The sound of heels tapping against floors and mumbled conversations mix with the faded sound of a busy Billings afternoon happening outside.
It’s all so clean. Expensive. Untouchable. Or so they think.
It’s exactly the kind of palace a man like Miles Keller builds for himself.
Above the reception desk, brushed, ornate steel letters spell out the name of his empire.
Hearthland Development.
The logo catches in the light like it’s something to be admired instead of admitting what it truly is. A symbol built on lies, manipulation, and threats.
Lawson leans back in the leather chair beside me, one ankle resting casually over his knee, his fingers drumming slowly against the armrest. If someone didn’t know him, they’d probably think he was bored.
And despite the fact that he so clearly doesn’t belong here—at least not based on the way he’s dressed—he’s the very picture of cool, calm, and collected.
But I know my brother better than anyone.
The tension in his jaw says everything you need to know.
Across from us, Beau sits forward with his forearms resting on his thighs, hands loosely clasped together. His expression is blank—completely unreadable—but his eyes track every movement in the room.
The receptionist smiling at someone asking for directions.
The security guard near the door.
The group coming out of the elevator on the other side of the room.
Jasper sits beside him, baseball cap pulled low, elbows on his knees. The look of sheer determination in his eyes. He’s quiet. Calm. Ready for what’s about to happen.
Three days ago, Joe walked through the front door of our house with Dante, Luca, Enzo, and Sebastian in tow.
Three days.
That’s all it took to turn weeks of groundwork into something the federal government couldn’t ignore.
I glance at the elevator again as it dings.
Still not who I’m looking for.
Good.
Let him take his time.
Let him think he’s in control.
The receptionist lifts the phone again, her voice soft as she speaks. “Yes, sir. They’re still here.”
Her eyes flick toward us nervously.
Lawson smiles politely, not wanting to intimidate her. None of this is her fault.
Regardless, she looks away immediately.
I smooth the sleeve of my suit jacket. The fabric feels strange on my shoulders today. But this is where this version of me belongs.
In rooms like this.
In places men like Keller believe only they control.
Our plan started weeks ago.
Quietly.
Carefully.
It didn’t take long for the pieces to start to fall into place.
To find the right people.
To gather the evidence we needed.
Affidavits from ranchers who’d been forced off their land. Financial records Sebastian pulled out of places no accountant would have been able to reach.
Emails.
Shell companies.
Fraud.
Witness intimidation.
Bribes.
Threats.
All of it threaded together, piece by piece.
Luca opened the doors we couldn’t.
Sebastian handled the ones that needed breaking.
And Dante and Enzo helped with Victor using their… intimidation tactics.
He was the final domino.
A man like Miles Keller builds his empire on loyalty purchased through fear and money. The problem with that kind of loyalty is that it disappears the second prison bars enter the conversation.
Victor folded faster than any of us expected.
For someone who surely seemed like he wasn’t afraid of anything, all it took was one visit from Dante and Enzo for him to give us what we needed.
Once he did, the rest of the puzzle came together quickly.
The last three days have been spent gathering the last of our statements, signed testimonies, and financial trails.
It’s enough for a federal prosecutor to choke on.
Enough that when Seb finally dropped the file on the right desk, they didn’t even have the choice to sit on it.
They moved.
And they moved fast.
Which is exactly why we’re here today.
Three days after Josephine arrived.
Three days after Lawson made the call.
Three days after Abigail nearly collapsed in the driveway because a dead cow made her think Keller had come for her. Again.
My jaw tightens at the memory.
Never again.
She’s never going to be that afraid ever again.
Not on our land.
Not anywhere.
Which is exactly why she stayed at the ranch today with Joe.
Where she’s safe. With Dante, Enzo, Luca, and Sebastian.
Four men who barely know her, but four men who took a risk on saving her one night and brought her to us.
Four men who will give their lives to protect her, just as if she were their own.
Abigail didn’t ask questions when we left this morning.
But she knows something big is happening.
She knows there are things that we’re not telling her. And yet, she’s trusting us anyway.
We will explain everything tonight. When this is done, there won’t be anything she doesn’t know.
The elevator dings for what must be the fiftieth time since we got here, but this time the receptionist straightens instantly.
Lawson’s foot stops bouncing, Beau leans back slowly, and Jasper just looks up from beneath the brim of his hat.
The elevator doors slide open, and Miles Keller steps out with all of the confidence of a man who’s gotten everything he’s ever wanted.
That all fucking changes today.
A shark’s smile spreads across his face as he walks across the lobby. “Well… Isn’t this a surprise?” His hands remain in his pockets as he looks over at me first. “Mr. Taylor. Have you finally come to give me what I want? Or are we going to have to keep doing this the hard way?”
None of us stands from our chairs to greet him as we meet his eyes calmly.
“Funny,” I say. “We were wondering the same thing.”
Something flickers across his face. A brief crack in confidence.
His gaze shifts between the four of us, studying us slowly.
His attention finally settles on Jasper’s lethal stare.
“I have to admit,” Keller says lightly, “I do admire your persistence.” Jas practically snarls at the calmness in Keller’s voice.
“But you boys should learn when the fight’s over. ”
Silence stretches as the receptionist pretends very hard not to listen to what’s happening.
Keller tilts his head slightly before a slow, devious grin spreads across his face. “Tell Abigail I said hello. Oh—” He raises a finger in the air as if he’s just remembered something. “And I hear congratulations are in order, yes?”
My stomach goes cold.
The room suddenly feels smaller.
“Such a precious gift, isn’t it?” He looks over at Lawson, who looks like he’s about two seconds from jumping out of his chair and wrapping his hands around Miles’ throat.
But none of us move.
None of us speaks.
We have to stick to the plan.
Keller watches our reactions carefully. He thinks he’s won—that he holds all the power.
He leans a little closer and whispers, “I do admire the resilience in this family. It’s a shame I have to be the one to destroy it.”
That’s when it happens.
The shift.
All four of us smile.
Keller’s brow furrows, which only makes Lawson grin wider.
Beau leans back in his chair, Jasper finally relaxes, and I stand from my chair and button my suit jacket.
Keller and I stand eye to eye. I place my hand on his shoulder—savoring the shock on his face that someone dares to touch him—and give him a firm squeeze. “I sure do hope you enjoy the rest of your day, Miles.”
And as if it were scripted in a movie, the front door to the building flies open.
Federal agents flood the lobby. “Federal agents!”
The receptionist gasps and puts her hands in the air.
The security guard freezes.
And Keller’s face goes white before my very eyes. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he shouts.
An agent steps forward, his badge raised in the air. “Miles Keller, you are under arrest for conspiracy, racketeering, wire fraud, and witness intimidation.”
Keller’s eyes snap to me, realization of how well and fucked he truly is spreads across his face. “You?”
Beau, Lawson, and Jasper step up beside me. “No, Miles. You did this to yourself. We just helped the process along a little.”
“You—you don’t have evidence for this.”
I fold my arms across my chest. “Oh… you’d be surprised at what we found out. And from whom.”
More agents close around him. Cuffs snap around his wrists.
“Let’s see how long you last in prison once the Bratva finds out what a liability you are,” I whisper low enough for just him and me to hear.
I pull back, expression blank, and without another word, an agent reads him his rights as they lead him toward the front doors.
Reporters are already gathering outside—their cameras flashing through the tinted glass—which is such a coincidence.
I wonder who could have tipped them off?
Keller almost makes it past us before he turns his head one last time. “You think this protects her?”
The question drips with venom.
He now knows the ranch is no longer our priority. Now it’s her.
It will always be her.
Jasper leans toward him.
Voice low. Controlled. Venomous. “She was never yours to threaten in the first place, you piece of shit.”
And just like that, agents push Keller through the lobby and out the front doors.
Flashes explode outside.
The glass doors close behind him.
And just like that—
Miles Keller’s empire ends.