Time to Take Down an Enemy

ZANE

We’d spent the entire day preparing. I was determined to take this guy down before he even knew what was happening. I’d gathered all my high-tech gear, ready to use it against him.

Conner had been glued to his computer, digging up everything he could on Luca. We’d figured out that the blue car tailing us from the ice cream shop was his.

He was holed up in an alley, trying to strategize his next move. He knew he was outmatched against the three of us.

Over the past day, several of his guys had tried to breach my property. My security team caught them, but they didn’t spill any useful information. I tossed them into the maze and let my guys have a little fun hunting them down.

Mark had also been tracked down and dealt with for trying to set me up. His plan was for a sting operation—my guys would deliver his order, and the FBI would swoop in to question them.

“Boss, they’re on their way. He’s got a whole army with him. Does he still not trust you or something?” Noah chuckled as we watched about fifteen cars packed with his men roll through the gate.

“I’m not sure. Maybe he’s just flexing his muscles. Or maybe he’s got a plan and brought them to help us out right away?”

Shay entered the room, her hand scanned for access. Conner had added her to the system, so now she could go into any room she wanted, anytime.

With this mission looming, I wanted her to feel at home. This was her place now, too, not just mine. I wasn’t going to keep secrets from her anymore.

She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I kissed her arm. “Did you have a good nap, love?”

“If this is what being pregnant is like, then this is our only kid. All I do is sleep, throw up, and feel exhausted. I hate this.”

She pouted, and I swiveled my chair around to pull her into my lap, kissing her deeply.

“The vitamins the doctor gave you should help, but he said it would take a few days for them to kick in.”

We’d seen my personal doctor that morning. According to the ultrasound, she was right at eight weeks. We wouldn’t know the sex for a few more months, but I was over the moon.

I’d even told her about what happened at my dad’s yesterday. She was scared, but Noah and Conner reassured her that she was the one keeping me grounded this time.

I also filled her in on what had happened before and why we were going to these lengths now to end it once and for all.

“Am I meeting your dad today?” she asked, her voice shaky.

“Yes. I know you want to see Forest again, and my dad wants to meet you. I’ll let you know when you need to leave the meeting—unless you want to stay.

“I’m fine either way. This is your life now as much as it is mine. If you want to be involved, I won’t stop you,” I said, kissing her cheek.

“Do you think your dad will like me? I want to be accepted into your family, not feel like an outsider,” she said. Her eyes were filled with worry.

Conner chuckled. “He’ll love you, Shay, don’t worry about that. He might be like Zane here, but he does have a heart somewhere in that body of his.”

I smacked the back of his head.

“Damn, boss, that hurt!” he said, rubbing his head.

“Don’t talk about my dad like that. She’s worried about meeting him. Shay, don’t listen to this jerk; my dad will love you. He knows that if a woman has captured my heart, she must be special.

“If he has a problem with it, then he’ll answer to me. He won’t want to get in the middle with you carrying his grandchild,” I said, rubbing her belly in slow circles.

“Thank you, baby. I’ve been a little worried. When can I meet the rest of your family?” she asked.

“Sometime in the future. It might not be until we get married. My mother doesn’t like to travel much; she prefers staying at home in her gardens.

“We’ll probably have to go to Italy for the wedding unless we do two of them. One here for all of your family and our friends, then a small one at their estate in my home country.”

Her eyes went wide. “When are you thinking about doing this?”

“We can figure that out later, but I didn’t know if you wanted to wait until after the baby was born or before. We can talk about that more this evening or even tomorrow.

“Right now, we need to get to this meeting in the office. Forest should be there by now, and my dad arrived about an hour ago.

“He wanted to check out the warehouse since he hasn’t been here in over three years. Come on, everyone, let’s not keep them waiting any longer.”

I helped Shay to her feet and stood up. I took her hand as we walked down to the office. Forest and my dad were standing there when we walked in.

She pulled her hand from mine and jumped into Forest’s arms. He caught her and spun her around, laughing.

“Thank God, woman. I haven’t been able to talk to you since that night. I hoped you had forgiven me for not telling you about my background.”

He stopped, and she hugged him tightly. “How can I stay mad at my brother? I was just really upset that night and had way too many emotions running through me without even knowing about my hormones.”

“Are you saying what I think you are?”

“Yes, Forest. I’m pregnant, and I want you to be an uncle to this child.”

My dad was watching all of this unfold and looked over at me with confusion. He mouthed, “Brother?” I held up my hand and shook my head.

“Shay, I’m so happy for you. I can’t apologize enough for what I did to you, so please forgive me?”

She kissed him on the cheek and nodded her head. “Of course I do. You’ve always been my best friend and brother. I want you to enjoy this life with us.”

I cleared my throat, and she returned to my side. “Dad, I’d like you to meet Shay, the love of my life.”

He ambled over to her, enveloping her in a warm, encompassing hug. “Welcome to the family, Daughter. Zane’s told me a lot about you, but he left out how stunning you are. You’re absolutely breathtaking.”

Shay’s cheeks turned a soft pink at his words. “Thank you, sir. Zane keeps saying that, but I don’t see myself that way. I was raised not to think too highly of myself.”

“Please, call me ~Dante~ or ~father~. ~Sir~ makes me feel like I’m aging.” He flashed her a kind smile.

“Sure, Dante. I’m comfortable calling you that if it’s what you prefer.”

“Let’s all sit down and get to the heart of this matter,” I suggested. “Honey, are you sticking around?”

Shay nodded in agreement, and I guided her to my chair, settling her onto my lap.