"Yes, master," she teased.

"Already late. Don't tempt me," he warned.

Her lips twitched up, not a smile, not completely but it was something.

He'd take it.

For now.

"Six, babe."

She nodded.

He left Olivia Shade in his house without him there, rolling the door closed himself.

He heard the bolt go.

Livvie safe inside, he walked to his Jag.

11:56 Late That Morning "Okay..." Knight said, his voice vibrating.

Nick watched his brother take a breath in through his nose.

Then he finished, "What?"

His brother was in his office, the door closed, Nick was giving him a full brief.

He'd just shared about Olivia's scars.

Many would misunderstand Knight Sebring's purpose of providing administration services, including client vetting as well as protection, to a stable of call girls. Most every human being would think he was doing it for the ten percent he got, making money off p.u.s.s.y.

He was not doing it for the ten percent.

He was doing it because he was Knight, a name that defined him, a baby born to a wh.o.r.e with the intent to use him as a s.h.i.+eld. Knight had protected his mother for as long as he had memories. It was the first thing he'd learned to do.

s.h.i.+t like that was hard to shake.

Needless to say, that being him, a woman being burned for any reason was not big with Knight Sebring.

"You heard me," Nick said quietly. "We aren't that far with figuring s.h.i.+t out so she hasn't shared the story direct, but from what she said, she had somethin' with Tom Leary and her dad didn't like it. Made his point. She says her dad owns her and she's terrified as f.u.c.k he's gonna find out about us and hurt me."

"He burned her."

"Knight, brother, need you to focus."

"He burned his f.u.c.king daughter."

Nick fell silent.

He gave Knight a few beats to pull his s.h.i.+t together.

Then he said softly, "I feel this, brother."

"I know you do," Knight gritted out.

"You can drown in that, Knight."

"I know you can."

"I can't let you take me there. I can't drown in that. I gotta stay focused. So you need to lock it down or I'll let it loose. Now I got two missions and the new priority is Livvie. I let that loose, I f.u.c.k it up and neither of us are safe."

Knight looked to the wall behind Nick.

He drew in another breath through his nose.

Then he looked back at Nick.

"Just take these motherf.u.c.kers out," Knight clipped.

"Olivia's owned. Georgia is a wildcard."

"You're worried if you end Shade and his soldier, the sister'll come after you or your girl," Knight stated accurately.

"I've watched both those women closely for years, Knight. Georgia does not give the impression she's doin' anything she does without anything but gettin' way the f.u.c.k off on it. And if that's the family dynamic, that it's cool to force loyalty through pain, there's no tellin' what she'll do. Georgia is the heir to the throne. I gotta know as in know what kind of woman she is before I take that on 'cause I gotta decide how it's gonna go with Georgia. I get this done, Olivia is free. Not her and me buying a new enemy who's a threat."

"Right, then I got somethin' to share with you that's gonna p.i.s.s you off but you're gonna have to roll with it because it also works in your favor," Knight told him.

Nick stayed silent but he did it tensed.

"I set Sylvie and Creed on this," Knight said. "They've been in Denver for two weeks, workin' Olivia for you."

Nick looked to his desk in an effort to control his reaction.

"I know you wanted to do this just you, but she had you tied up," his brother explained.

Nick looked to Knight.

"The House of Shade is finding its footing," Knight informed him. "They got labs producing s.h.i.+t, men putting it out on the streets. Olivia has been moved out of the warehouse, into the legit side of the business. And Raid's been-"

"I got every office in the warehouse bugged, Knight. I know all this s.h.i.+t. And Raid told me himself when Georgia called him in to find David Littleton. He found him. He turned him over. And David Littleton hasn't been seen since. The labs are on Turner's radar. Comings and goings and deliveries being monitored. But none of that is linked to any of the Shades physically or on paper. Georgia has it compartmentalized. Even her closest men, Harkin and Leary, don't deal with those labs directly. And Vincent Shade doesn't even know they exist. So until one of those f.u.c.kers slips up, I cannot use any of it to hurt the House of Shade."

He took in a deep breath and finished.

"You dragged Creed and Sylvie up here the only time of year it's worth livin' in Phoenix and you did it for nothing. I have it covered."

Knight looked impressed.

Nick tried not to be annoyed.

"For some reason, Georgia isn't saying s.h.i.+t," he went on. "Vincent doesn't know she's reestablis.h.i.+ng a foothold in the Denver drug market. I don't know why. But my guess is, she's been frustrated for years with his incompetent management, not to mention he's made it clear she's his heir, but he's dismissive and condescending both to her face and in talking about her to others. If that was me, I wouldn't put up with it for long. I reckon she's feeling the same since she's put up with it for seriously long, is fed up and setting up for a takeover."

"That makes sense," Knight said.

"The problem with that is that if Georgia is the brains and the power behind their now-successful but illegal operations, and her father doesn't know s.h.i.+t, I got nothin' to feed to Turner to take Vincent Shade down."

"Sylvie and Creed report Harkin, who has for a long time been considered Shade's most trusted lieutenant, is no longer Shade's man. Not only him but also Tom Leary are both tied to her skirt. So you get dirt on Georgia and you gotta jump that gun to keep your girl safe, least you can take Harkin down because they're tight so we know he's in deep with Georgia Shade and her production labs."

"The plan never was to take Harkin down, Knight. He was following orders but he pulled the trigger. The plan has always been to take Harkin out."

Knight's gaze on him was intent but he said nothing against Nick's decree.

"Thank f.u.c.k Marcus and my protection hasn't worn thin," Knight muttered.

That was a definite "thank f.u.c.k" considering the fact that once Knight and his crew extracted Nick four and a half years ago, Knight as well as Marcus Sloan made it clear, and they did that widely, that Nick had their protection. They also made it clear that if anything happened to him, it would be blood for blood until there was nothing left of anyone who harmed him, including and especially anyone with even remote ties to the House of Shade. And both Knight and Sloan could guarantee that, with far more men in their armies who were loyal for real reasons.

They'd also shared Nick was no longer connected to the FBI and his cooperation with them in the first place had been about the girls being trafficked, something known wide through Denver was a family thing.

They didn't lie.

Officially.

What Vincent Shade didn't know that eventually blindsided him didn't matter.

Shade had let Nick be and Nick had been careful not to f.u.c.k up as he carried out his plan. As far as Shade was concerned, Nick had learned his lesson through Hettie and was returning the favor of letting Shade be.

And in the meantime, Nick had built his own threat that included a loyal army. But he knew if Shade found him a threat, Shade would ignore that. He'd even ignore Knight.

But he would not get in the face of Marcus Sloan.

"In your listening, Georgia Shade have any clue what went down with Hettie and the FBI?" Knight asked.

"No one mentions it except Shade, Harkin and Leary, but only in Shade's office. Never Georgia. Definitely not Olivia. Don't listen myself, but reports state she doesn't even know much about what's going down with the labs, has been fully removed from the illegitimate operations, her ties to the soldiers have been cut and she's not in close communication with the warehouse anymore at all."

"Sister protecting sister as one builds up to a takeover?" Knight asked, his brows going up. "Or sister cutting out sister as she builds up to takeover?"

"No clue," Nick answered, his mouth tightening after he did.

He had no bugs in Olivia's new office. But he got a report on her conversation with her sister weeks ago, including Georgia's not-gentle nudges for Olivia to start seeing Dustin Culver.

It was a strange fixup considering Culver was an attorney with no ties to anything illegal in any way except a few semi-dirty clients who weren't much to get excited about. And Nick had no idea why Georgia was pus.h.i.+ng that because, outside her nudges, neither Georgia nor Shade had mentioned Culver.

After he broke things off, Olivia not a focus of his plan, Nick didn't know if she'd started seeing him.

Or f.u.c.king him.

That got scratched on the top of the list of s.h.i.+t they were discussing that night.

"Nick," Knight called.

Nick focused on his brother.

"Want you to take a chance on finding someone, bein' happy. Not real thrilled you picked the way you picked, not your girl, a tough road you both gotta travel. But I've already found what I need. I know how it feels. You find what you need, I'm happy for you and I've got your back. But is that all you wanted with askin' me here? To tell me you found a woman you wanna try to make happy, your neck's on the line and the woman you're claimin's neck's on the line? Or do you want somethin' from me?"

"I called you here because I wanted you to know my decision about Olivia. I called you here because you need to know that's the path I'm on and it's gonna be b.u.mpy. And I called you here because, along that path, I might need you and I needed to give you that heads-up."

"To launch this operation, you pulled in your buddy Turner, a f.u.c.kin' Fed, and every other marker you got out there and you asked nothin' from me." Knight smiled. "I was feelin' left out."

"Think, over the years, I've asked enough of you."

His brother stopped smiling and stated, "You don't got much left to learn. You set about learning it and you didn't f.u.c.k around doin' it right. But one thing you do still gotta learn is, when it's family, Nick, there's a limit to the s.h.i.+t I'll eat. But there is no limit to the love I'll give."

Nick kept his mouth shut but he did it to swallow against the lump that was all of a sudden blocking his throat.

Knight let that go and pushed up from his seat.

Nick pushed up with him.

"Want her a.s.s at Anya's and my place for a steak, soon's you can," Knight demanded.

"They watch her, brother," Nick told him.

Dark flashed in his brother's eyes before he said, "Clear her of a tail and get her a.s.s to Anya's and my place for a steak, Nick. Soon's you f.u.c.kin' can."

"Right. It isn't just that. You need to give me time. She's closed up tight. Face value, she's cool to ice-cold, man. You don't know the warm under that surface, she isn't easy to like."

"Kat and Kasha'll break that down. They don't, you know to dump her."

"I'm bein' serious, Knight."

Knight tilted his head. "This woman's the woman you're willin' to put your a.s.s out there to get her safe, puttin' the mission you been livin' and breathin' for four and a half years in jeopardy, she's gonna be at our bar eatin' steak more than once over the years. I think we can look past her bein' a little cool and uncomfortable with us the first time around. So get her a.s.s to Anya's and my place, soon's you can."

"Jesus, you're a bossy motherf.u.c.ker," Nick muttered. "Then again, you always were."

"You don't know the half of it," Knight muttered back, but did it grinning.

He probably didn't know the half of it. What he did know was that he didn't want to.

Nick grinned back. "Get out of my office. Got s.h.i.+t to do."

Knight didn't stop grinning as he moved to the door.

Before he opened it, he stopped and turned back.

"Anya made it easy. Fell for me, gave me the beauty of her, didn't make me work for it. Not even a little. Not a lot of women like her would put up with a man like me. Who I am. What I am. How I am. What I do. Barely a hesitation, she was all in. I needed that. Life I was born into, I needed something that important to come easy."

Nick again remained silent, held his brother's eyes and let Knight give him what he needed to give.