Chapter 13 #2
I take a breath. Not a shaky one. An important one. Because everything I’m about to say matters.
“I’m not asking for your approval.” I glance between them.
My blood. My family. My chaos and my anchors.
“When it was Frankie on the line, you threw yourselves into battle for her. Against Denver. Against the Arctic. Against the doctor. Against all odds. You protected her, chose her, when the cost could’ve been your lives.
I didn’t question it. I respected the hell out of it.
That level of loyalty and love? It’s the only thing that’s ever made sense to me. ”
I turn to Leo. “You would’ve died for her.”
To Kody. “You almost did. Twice.”
Then to my dad. “You gave up your life, your career, everything in your world to get her back.”
They don’t argue. They remember.
“That’s what this is for me.” I tap my chest, slow and hard.
“You think I’m reckless and fall too fast. Maybe you’re right.
But this isn’t some crush or passing obsession.
It’s instinct, bone-deep and loud as a gunshot.
My gut, the same one that kept us alive in the hills, tells me she’s the one I’m supposed to protect now.
Not because she’s weak or helpless. But for the first time in my fucked-up life, I look at someone and see a future that doesn’t end in loneliness. ”
They don’t move. Don’t speak.
“If I ignore this instinct, if I walk away because it’s inconvenient or messy or dangerous…
” A huff escapes my throat. “I’ll regret it every day for the rest of my hellborn life.
I have enough ghosts. I’m not adding her to the list.” I square my shoulders, my voice calm despite the volcanic heat in my chest. “You don’t have to trust her.
You just have to trust me. The same way I’ve always trusted you. ”
Silence swells around them, no longer angry or hostile. Just heavy. When it settles in their eyes, I see approval. And something deeper.
Pride.
Respect.
For once, I think that means I said it right.
“You want to protect her.” Monty straightens. “Then we’ll protect her. But understand this. When she brings danger to our door, we’ll do what’s necessary. All of us. No hesitation. No apologies. We go full Strakh on this.”
My mouth dries.
Full Strakh.
I know what that means. I’ve seen what that means. When they’re in, they’re all in.
“She’s under our roof now.” Monty shares a look with Leo and Kody. “So we’ll protect her like she’s one of our own.”
“Fine.” Leo sits back.
Kody nods and returns to his spot on the couch.
One of our own.
Deep in my chest, an ancient instinct coils. The instinct to kill for her. Or die trying.
“We’ll handle the legal and digital side and put a discreet security detail on her.” Monty meets my eyes. “How will she respond to that?”
“She won’t run.” I rub my nape, thinking. “She’s different than anyone I’ve met. She’s tough and doesn’t want anyone to save her. But she needs us. She needs me.”
The patio goes quiet for a stretch before Leo speaks. “If she doesn’t want anyone saving her, she won’t tolerate a security team.”
“She’s stubborn.” I exhale a breath. “But not irrational. She knows when to accept help.”
“Ask her.” Kody directs his gaze toward the edge of the trees. “She’s been eavesdropping this whole time.”
We all turn.
I squint at the shadows between the guest house and the trees. Sure enough, there’s a pale glint. A shimmer of blue hair.
“Dove,” I call, not harsh, just enough to let her know she’s been made.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.” She steps out of the dark, arms crossed and shoulders tight. “When I heard my name…”
“Come here.” I crook a finger.
Carefully, as if stepping into enemy territory, she edges closer. And closer. When she settles on the edge of the porch beside me, still not touching but close enough to share heat, the night air settles, too.
She’s one of us now.
For a moment, no one says anything.
Then Leo, predictably, breaks the silence. “So Dove… You want his head, his balls, or his bank accounts first?”
“He doesn’t keep anything valuable in his pants.” Dove blinks. “I want the only thing he’s ever really loved. His control.”
Leo’s expression slackens, all woolly bigfoot-like with knotty braids twisting around his face.
“We need to understand what kind of criminal we’re dealing with.” Monty tips his head. “We have money, resources, and a lot of reach, but we need to know what we’re fighting.”
Dove hesitates, and I give her a small nod.
“Jag’s a hacker.” She exhales through her nose. “A damn good one. He doesn’t just break into systems. He burrows into them. Governments, banks, private security firms, even hospitals. He covers his tracks better than anyone. I don’t know why he does it. He never told me.”
“He has enemies.” Kody leans forward.
She nods. “Some are underground. Violent. I’ve seen things over the years. Scary men following me and him showing up at the right time to stop the attack. He would chase me from one town to the next then up and disappear for a month. I stopped asking questions. He doesn’t like questions.”
“He’s possessive of you.” Leo frowns.
“I don’t know why. It’s not the hacking. Not the power. It’s me. The one thing he thinks he can control. Since our parents died when I was eight, he’s been watching me, shaping me, caging me. If I step outside the role he wrote for me, he loses his mind.”
“Then we start there.” Monty nods, already building a strategy behind his eyes. “We disrupt his control and identify his contacts and enemies.”
“I’ll lure him.” Eagerness charges my blood. “Play with him for a bit.”
“You don’t know what he will do.” Dove’s expression hardens.
“You don’t know what I will do.” I grip her chin.
Rather than pulling away, she leans into my touch.
“In the meantime,” I breathe, pressing closer, “you won’t go anywhere without armed guards.”
“I can’t afford that.”
“We can,” Monty says.
“I appreciate your help, but…” She shifts aways from my touch. “What do you want in return?”
“Nothing.”
She makes a sound of disbelief.
“Don’t insult us, Sparkplug.” I clasp her nape, capturing her gaze. “Accept our protection.”
“I don’t understand. You’re… What? Offering a security team pro bono? Without payment of any kind?”
“Exactly.”
She sits with that for a moment, absorbing the repercussions with a pinched expression. “Will they be discreet?”
“You’ll hardly notice them.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?” I arch a brow. “No fight?”
“I would be an idiot to turn down your help.”
“Good girl.” I kiss her lips and release her.
When I glance at my father and brothers, their predatory eyes watch with curiosity.
I can’t control life. I may never control my demons. But keeping Dove safe? That’s one fate I’ll bend until it screams.