Chapter 17
Kai
Dannie gave me a quick tour of the house after we arrived.
It was a large old house, the kind that seemed to have been built to survive generations rather than simply provide somewhere to live. Grandma had decorated almost every corner with things she loved.
“She loves this place,” he said.
I could tell. There was something almost comforting about the house. It didn't feel like the cold, heavily guarded spaces I'd grown accustomed to. It felt lived in. Loved. Like people had actually grown old here.
Then he led me upstairs and opened the door to a guest room. “You can sleep here.”
I stepped inside, then stopped.
“I don't know if you'll believe me,” Dannie continued, “but I had you in mind when we decorated this room.” He gave me a small smile. “My best friend.”
I forced a smile back.
It was a strange thing to realise. My childhood best friend had turned out to be my half brother. It should have been a blessing. And it was. Except there was still one thing standing between us.
June.
If it hadn't been for Dannie, I never would have agreed to cut her out of my life. I had spent years trying to forget her, trying to convince myself that what I felt for her belonged to another lifetime.
Then, just when I thought I had finally managed to move on, he had dragged me back into his life and given me the cruelest news imaginable.
We were brothers.
Suddenly, so many things made sense. The anger I had carried without understanding. The fire I had spent my entire life trying to suppress. The darkness I had always been afraid would consume me if I ever stopped keeping it under control.
Maybe it had been there all along, written into my blood. The blood of a triad.
Violence. Power. Control. Things I had spent most of my life trying to convince myself I didn't need. And yet they had always come so naturally to me.
Maybe that was the part of myself I had been fighting all these years. Not because I was destined to become a monster, but because I knew exactly how easy it would be to become one.
I looked around the room again. Dannie hadn't been lying. This room was exactly my taste. The clean lines. The dark wood. The understated furniture. Even the lighting. It was almost unsettling. It felt as though we had somehow shared the same interior designer without knowing it.
The rest of the house had Grandma's personality written all over it—warm, traditional, filled with memories. This room felt different. It felt like mine.
I walked toward the large mirror beside the wardrobe. The frame was gold, old-fashioned and slightly extravagant.
I stared at my reflection, then frowned.
Dannie and I really did look alike. I had known that intellectually. But seeing us standing in the same house, me wearing his clothes, with the same dark eyes and similar features… it was different.
Dannie had given me something I didn't know I wanted.
A room. A place. A brother.
I wanted to appreciate it. I really did. But I couldn't. Not yet. Because underneath all of that gratitude was something I couldn't ignore.
June.
I needed to talk to him.
I still loved June.
I wanted to be with her.
And if that was going to happen, I couldn't simply go after her without Dannie knowing.
Whatever happened after that would have to be June's choice. Hers. Not mine. Not Dannie's.
I took a breath. “Dannie… we need to talk.”
“Of course.” He stepped closer. “Is there something you need?” His hand landed gently on my shoulder. “I'm sorry for everything I've put you through. Really sorry.”
I opened my mouth. I was ready. I was finally going to say it. Then—
“Is there something to eat in the house?”
The words came out before I could stop them. I looked away, feeling like a coward.
Dannie stared at me for a moment, then smiled. “Of course. We always keep the kitchen well stocked.”
That smile.
I wanted to punch him.
How could he be this nice? Wasn’t he supposed to be a triad boss? A criminal? A bad guy? He was making it very difficult to hate him.
I left the room. And found the kitchen within minutes.
The refrigerator was enormous, packed with fresh food, fruit, vegetables, and drinks. I grabbed an apple and took a bite.
Crisp. Juicy. Real.
How was I supposed to survive on just bunker food?
Then I heard voices. Quiet. Familiar. My two favourite people in the world. I stopped chewing and followed their voices.
“Who died?”
Both turned, looking almost guilty.
“Kai.” Lincoln’s expression changed immediately. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry,” June repeated.
My stomach tightened. I already hated that word. I had a feeling I was going to hear it a lot over the next few days. “Why are you sorry?”
I looked between them. June glanced at Lincoln. “Lincoln, do you…” She stopped.
Lincoln cleared his throat. “Listen. Do you want to sit down?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Just tell me.”
He reached for my arm. “Let’s get inside. I’ll get you a chair.”
“Get it fucking over with.” I pulled away. “Honestly, Link, you’ve become a pussy since you became a family man.”
Lincoln’s expression hardened. “Cool it, Kai.”
He stepped between me and June. I barely registered what happened next. Frustration took over, and I lunged forward, my hands grabbing Lincoln.
Lincoln caught my shirt and yanked me back.
“Let him go.” June stepped between us, her voice firm. “Lincoln Young. I said let go.”
Lincoln held me for another second before releasing me. “You really need to calm down.”
“Then fucking tell me.” My fist slammed into the wall. “Tell me who died.”
“Dave.” June answered.
Everything stopped.
“What?”
For a second, I couldn’t breathe. The name didn’t make sense. It was just a word my brain refused to connect to reality.
Dave.
My Dave.
The man who had been beside me through years of shit. The man who knew when to speak and when to shut the hell up. The man who walked into dangerous situations without hesitation because that was simply who he was.
Dead?
I looked at June. There was no joke in her face. No hesitation. I turned toward Lincoln.
“Tell me this isn’t true.”
He simply reached for me. “I’m sorry.”
My knees gave way. Lincoln caught me before I hit the floor.
“Let’s get you inside.”
June grabbed my other arm, and together, they guided me toward the kitchen. I barely felt my feet moving as they lowered me onto a stool at the breakfast bar.
I leaned forward, pressing both hands against my forehead.
People like Dave weren’t supposed to disappear. They were supposed to be there. Always.
I lifted my head. “There’s more, isn’t there?” My voice barely sounded like mine.
He hesitated. That was enough.
“Your whole team…” He swallowed. “They’re dead.”
“Everyone?” I stared at him. My vision blurred. “Everyone is dead?”
Lincoln didn’t answer immediately.
Then a familiar voice came from behind us.
“I’m sorry, boss.”
I turned.
Andy stood in the doorway, and suddenly, everything inside me went cold. She appeared behind him, accompanied by Dannie.
“Not everyone.”
Relief hit me so hard that I almost laughed. I got to my feet and crossed the room, pulling Andy into my arms. She hugged me back, and for a moment, neither of us said anything. I held her tightly, almost afraid that if I let go, she would disappear too.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.
She pulled back, wiping at her face. “I’m sorry, boss.”
“No. Don't.” We exchanged apologies neither of us really needed to make. She cried, and when I looked down at her, I finally saw what had been missing.
Her hand.
I wanted to cry. Maybe tears were appropriate. Maybe I should let myself grieve. But tears wouldn't bring Dave back. They wouldn't bring Squirrel back. They wouldn't bring any of my people back.
What we needed wasn't grief.
We needed revenge.
“What happened that day?” I asked quietly.
Andy took a shaky breath. “It happened so quickly. Someone blasted the door open, and then everyone started dropping. I didn't even know where the shots were coming from.” She swallowed. “I hid.” Her voice broke. “I was so scared.”
I rubbed her shoulders gently. “You're safe now.”
“Then they found me when I was trying to get to the elevator.”
I looked down at her arm. “Your hand…”
She looked at it too. “I tried to block the machete.” A weak smile appeared on her face, then disappeared beneath another wave of tears.
I swallowed. “I'm glad you're alive.”
“I called Mr. Young the moment I thought it was safe,” she continued. “Then I contacted Clare and told the Shanghai team to increase security.”
“Thank you.” I squeezed her shoulder. “You did the right thing.”
“I couldn't let those bastards get to your family, boss.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “I wouldn't have been able to live with myself.”
“You did well, Andy.”
June had moved closer. She gently stroked Andy's back. “I'm really sorry this happened to you.”
Andy looked at her. “And I'm sorry about Squirrel.”
“It's not your fault.” June's answer came immediately. “If it wasn't for you, Kai and I would be dead in that apartment.”
She was right. If Andy hadn't contacted Lincoln, I would never have known where we were. We wouldn't have made it out.
And as much as a part of me had wanted to stay in that bunker with June—to disappear from the world with her and pretend we could somehow build a life there—that wasn't my reality.
Getting out alive had also meant confronting another truth.
I'd failed.
I'd spent years believing I had the best security team in the world. The best systems. The best people. And yet, when it mattered, almost all of them had been wiped out. I had underestimated the people coming for us.
That mistake had cost lives. People I had promised to protect were dead because I hadn't been good enough.
I couldn't change that. I couldn't bring them back.
But I could make damn sure whoever had done this regretted surviving it.
“Do we have a plan?” I turned toward Dannie.
“Soon.” His answer was calm. “Now that I'm back, some of the people still loyal to me have started coming out of hiding.”
“That’s good.”
June glanced at him. “I'm sorry I couldn't get them to come out. They only trusted you.”