Page 49 of Stay Little Fighter

KINGSTON

NOW

Islip out of the room once Chloe is happily chatting away to Camilla, leaving Ryker and Ronan to watch over her.

Damon follows without a word, and we don’t have to go far to find Bishop on his phone down the hallway.

If there’s one thing that I can relate to, it’s the need to stick close to the woman I love.

Even now, I don’t know how I kept myself away from her all those years, how I allowed other people to watch out for her when it went against my nature to trust anyone else with the most important thing in my world.

But never again.

I spent all those years building a life suitable for her, and I fully intend to give her everything she’s ever wanted.

Bishop notices us and quickly ends his call before shoving his phone in his pocket. “How’s she doing?”

“Better,” I reply. “I spoke to the doctor while Damon was helping her shower, and he said he expects her to be discharged tomorrow if all goes well.”

“That’s great news!” He smiles. “I just spoke to Crew. He’s putting together a team to assist as needed.”

“You don’t need to do that,” I argue.

“Unfortunately for everyone involved, Camilla won’t take no for an answer.” He chuckles. “Chloe was there for her through everything, and now she wants to be there to return the favor any way she can.”

I nod in understanding. It’s not news to me how special their bond is because I watched it develop from afar. I saw as they both healed from losses that once seemed impossible. I watched as Chloe nurtured Camilla’s soft side while her father pushed her further into the role she was born for. And my heart ached for my girl as Camilla needed her less and less the older she got.

“Any news on Lombardi?” he asks, eyes flicking to Damon behind me. “Senior, that is.”

“He’s been far too quiet, and it’s beginning to worry me,” I admit. “He’s a paranoid fuck at the best of times, but by now he realizes that both his sons have left the fold with no intention of returning, and that leaves him vulnerable. He has no clear successor, which means he’ll have threats from the outside as well as his own men looking for an easy power grab, and if there’s one thing I know about Salvatore Lombardi, it’s that he’s most dangerous when he’s backed into a corner.”

Bishop nods. “I’ll see if any of the New York families have heard anything, but I’d imagine he’s playing his cards close to the chest right now. What about Mikayla?”

“In the wind,” I sigh. “She all but disappeared when our guys were following her. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say she swapped cars, but Corbin hasn’t been able to confirm the theory.”

“I think the best thing we can do is take time to get all the information,” Damon says. “You’re right about my father. The walls are closing in on him, and he’s going to be out for blood. We need all the facts before we even think about taking him and his operation out.”

I turn to him with a raised brow. This is the first time he’s confirming he wants to play a role in taking his father down, and I want to make damn sure that when push comes to shove, he’ll be able to go through with it.

He ignores my look of surprise. “Mikayla is a whole other beast entirely. We’ll need time to look into what Sebastian told the guys under duress and make sure he was telling the whole truth. Taking down a global trafficking ring isn’t something we can rush into, but we do need to ensure Mikayla is off the board and never able to hurt Chloe again.”

“Where is Sebastian now?” Bishop asks.

“The guys are taking turns watching him while they’re not here. He’s not going anywhere, but I’d rather keep him alive while he could be useful to us, especially given how little we know about the organization the Vegas are in bed with,” I reply.

“Good thinking. We can take him back to New York with us if you’d rather not have him in Maine while Chloe recovers.”

I glance at Damon in question, giving him a chance to weigh in. If things are going to work between the five of us, I have to give up my need to control everything and make every decision, even if it goes against my nature to do so.

“That might be for the best. Chloe has been through enough, and she doesn’t need to know there’s a prisoner somewhere on the premises. Plus, your guys will likely have their hands full if all of us are going to insist on being wherever she is rather than on the ground.”

“I’ll have Kovu prepare the basement for a guest. It’s been a while since he’s gotten his hands dirty.” He chuckles.

“Thanks, man. Appreciate it.”

“We’re basically family now.” He nods to the closed door our women are behind.

I’ve kept my circle since leaving the Lombardi compound all those years ago, but I don’t hate the idea of widening it half as much as I would have a few months ago.