"What happened?" he asked, his voice low as he moved closer to me. He herded me off to the side. Out of the way of prying eyes, I realized as we rounded the corner into the closest alley. "Where have you been?"

"Would you believe me if I said I took a vacation?"

"Maybe if you didn't look like you went one too many rounds with an MMA fighter."

"Well thanks."

He blinked at me. Once. Twice. Then he ran a hand through his hair, completely destroying the calm composure he had been keeping. His eyes snagged on that billowing smoke in the distance, and then they ran over me again. They cataloged the bruising, the cuts, the ash I was sure smudged my face and clothes. He blew out a breath, letting his head fall back.

"He's dragged you into it, hasn't he?"

My hackles rose, and I fought not to glare at him. "I actually got myself into this mess, thank you."

"I don't doubt it," he muttered, a smirk toying with his mouth as he dropped his head to look at me again. "Do you need my help?"

"Not yet."

"So, the bombing that just happened in the square?"

"Are you a cop now?"

"No," he huffed. "But if you need legal representation, you know you can come to me, right?"

"Chris," I sighed. I opened my mouth to continue, but at that moment a familiar SUV rolled to a stop at the mouth of the alley. Thankfully, it wasn't Vincent's Escalade we had taken today.

Vincent let the engine idle as he swung himself out of the vehicle. His forest eyes landed on Chris, and I watched the mask snap into place. His gaze was sharper, that muscle in his jaw ticking as he stalked toward us. Chris gave Vincent a nod of acknowledgement before returning his attention to me. Under the scrutiny of both of them, I forced myself to straighten my spine and raise my chin. I'd be damned if I looked weak in front of them.

Although the minute Vincent's arm wrapped around my waist, I melted into him. He tipped my face up, his thumb running over my bottom lip. His eyes softened the tiniest bit, and he pressed a kiss to my forehead. By the time he faced Chris again, there wasn't an ounce of tenderness in his expression.

"Monroe," Chris grunted, narrowing his eyes.

"Kenton," Vincent replied.

"So, you two do know each other." They both looked at me, brows raised. "What? Chris, I didn't even know your last name."

The blonde huffed out a laugh and shook his head at me. "What have you two gotten into?" he asked.

"Nothing that you should concern yourself with," Vincent said, his voice hard and unyielding. I elbowed him in the ribs. His eyes flicked to me. He took one look at my face and rolled them. "Yet."

"I can understand that." Chris pulled out his wallet. He selected a crisp white card and handed it to us. I took it, glancing at his name printed in shiny blue letters underneath Kenton & Hutch Law Offices. His number was there too. "I've told Jules this before, but if you both ever get to the point where you need my brand of help, call me. I may be practicing under the corporate head now, but I started my career in criminal court."

I hadn't known that.

Vincent pulled me farther into him, and I noticed Chris track the movement. The way I relaxed into the man at my side. A smile flitted across his face, and he nodded when our eyes met. I returned the gesture, giving him as much of a smile as I could with the pain still wreaking havoc on my system.

"Thank you," Vincent finally said. And to my surprise, that was begrudging respect on the gang-leaders face as he offered Chris his hand.

Chris shook it. "Well, I'm sure my sister is losing her mind with worry in there. I'm going to go tell her you're going to be alright."

"Bring her in to Tuxedo some time. I'd love to meet her." I winced. "Properly."

He laughed, leaving us alone in the alley. The moment he was gone, my knees buckled.

"Easy, princess," Vincent murmured, taking the brunt of my weight as he angled us toward the car. "Let's get you home."

"No third degree?" I teased.

"It's coming. But after Brandon gets back and looks you over. I think you might have a concussion."

* * * * *

Vincent looked like the cat who swallowed the canary as he sat behind his desk. Brandon had just walked out, saying he was going to go make sure Angelica was still doing okay.

Because we both, indeed, did have concussions.

"If you say one word," I warned, pointing at him. "I will shoot you in the foot." He opened his mouth. "One word."

He threw his head back and laughed.

My scowl deepened as the sound grated on my pounding head. Picking up the closest thing to me, which happened to be a half-empty water bottle, I chucked it at him. Still chuckling, he dodged it with plenty of time. His eyes were sparkling, and it was everything I could do to hold the frown on my face.

I lasted about another minute before my lips twitched.

"Come here."

Groaning, I made my way over to him. He rolled his chair far enough from the desk that I could settle myself onto his lap. Once I was situated, he wrapped his arms around me and tucked my head underneath his chin. Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly as my whole body relaxed into his warmth.

We were quiet for a while, and I just listened to the hustle and bustle going on outside his office door. He was surprisingly calm, considering Jack had just tried to blow us all to bits. But I knew that he would talk when he was ready, and not a moment before. It had been over an hour since we had been back, so I let my eyes flutter shut.

"You could have died today," he told me some time later, his voice a low rumble in my ear.

"I could die any day," I muttered.

"Juliette."

"I know, I know." I sighed, pulling myself far enough back to meet his gaze. Those forest eyes were dark, troubled. His furrowed brow cast shadows over his cheekbones. I ran my fingertips along the pucker between his eyebrows, and the muscle smoothed out under my touch. "We will find him, Vincent. Brandon said he had news. You are the one who told him to make sure Angel and I were alright first."

He grumbled something unintelligible under his breath at the same time there was a knock on his door. He called for whoever it was to come in. Lucas was the first one through the door, closely followed by Brandon. Both of their faces were grim, and they made sure to shut the door behind them. Lucas met my gaze first, and I could read the unspoken question shining in his hazel eyes.

"I'm fine," I told him, offering a small smile. Vincent scoffed, but his arm tightened around my waist.

"Glad to hear it, sugar."

"We know where he is," Brandon said.

"Where?" Vincent and I chorused.

"No more than two blocks from the gym. He had to have known that we would assume he would go anywhere but there. Or, he lead me there on purpose and it's a trap. Either way, we at least know somewhere that he stays. He went into the apartment and didn't come out until just a bit ago. I had one of the other guys take over while I came back to check on the girls."

"I want a full team on that building. Now," Vincent ordered, voice hard as his hands flexed where he held me. "This ends tonight."

Resting my head against his chest, I let their plans fade into background noise. We were close. Before the end of the day, Jack would be dead. This whole mess would finally be behind us. I took one of Vincent's hands in mine, entwining our fingers together. When Lucas began to lay out his plan for cornering Jack, Vincent dropped a kiss on the top of my head. I could feel the relief starting to work its way through his body. He was finally going to be able to avenge his sister.

Then, once everything with this gun deal was finished, the gang could take a breather. No more shipments to check. No more late-night meetings. At least not for a while.

"Lucas, you run point. Brandon, I need you here. Text me when he shows his face again. I'll get there as soon as I can. No one makes a move on him without me."

Lucas and Brandon nodded before vanishing out the door to carry out their orders. Anticipation roiled in my blood, but I was exhausted.

"I'm going with you," I mumbled, not bothering to lift my cheek from his shoulder.

"Like hell you are."

"Vincent."

"Princess, this has nothing to do with me feeling like I need to protect you. This is your fight as much as its mine. But you need to rest."

"Then bring him back here."

His muscles locked up beneath me. It caused a smile to dance across my face. As much as Vincent allowed me in on ever since the night I kept him from bleeding out, he still wasn't used to the position I had taken in the gang. Still wasn't used to me meeting him on even footing when it came to making decision. Giving orders. Angelica wasn't the first person to call me 'Mom' in the past few weeks, and he knew it. People were beginning to look to me if Vincent wasn't around. Sometimes even before Lucas.

Not that the blonde cared. He was half of the reason for it. He deferred to me before making any choice when Vincent was otherwise occupied.

The intricacies that came with running everything were mind-boggling. The sheer number of people that Vincent managed in one way or another on a day-to-day basis made my head spin. But I had done my best to keep up. Between the guys and Angelica, I had learned the basics within the first week, and it had only gotten easier from there. When I had said I didn't want to be in the dark anymore I had meant it. And I had jumped in headfirst.

"Why?" he asked, breaking through my train of thought.

"Because this is my fight too. I want to be there when it's finished."

Vincent hummed, running his fingertips up and down my arm. "Do you want to be the one to do it?"

A tentative question. But a genuine offer, nonetheless.

"This is your kill," I told him. "For Alana."

"And for you."

"And for me," I echoed, tilting my head back to give him a lazy grin. "I'll let you be my knight in shining armor. Just this once."

He rolled his eyes at me and flicked my nose. Then he rose in one fluid movement, keeping me in his arms. A startled squeak escaped me, but that was all that I got out before we were heading for the door.

Several of the gang stood when we entered, but Vincent didn't pay them any attention as he headed for the stairs. My scan of the room had me noting Brandon's absence, but I spotted Lucas barking orders. Both Angelica and Devyn were missing as well, so I was guessing that was where Brandon had vanished to.

There was one recent addition to the gang that still made me a little squeamish every time I saw him.

But there Dante sat, immersed in a game of poker with several of the gang in a far corner. He must have felt my gaze because he raised his head. He muttered something to the group before placing his cards face down and heading for us. I tugged on Vincent's shirt, nodding in Dante's direction. An almost inaudible groan escaped him as he set me down. I swatted at his chest before turning to face my boss.

His nostrils flared as he took in the multitude of new bruises and cuts littering my exposed skin.

"So," I said, trying and failing to muster a smile. "I might need another few weeks off."

"You're lucky Devyn and Anthony were able to train Ember so quick. Otherwise, I might fire you." I snorted. He just narrowed his eyes to slits. "I'm serious."

"Sure you are."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I hate you."

"Dante, is there something you needed?" Vincent asked, irritation dripping off his words.

"Be nice," I muttered.

Despite the tension flowing between them, Dante smirked. He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I just wanted to make sure she was okay."

"I'm fine," I told him, softening my voice to match his. "I just need a nap."

"They found Graham," Vincent said, pulling me into his side as he addressed Dante. "You're more than welcome to go with the team to stake out the apartment until he returns."

Dante's spine went ram-rod straight in an instant. "Consider it done. I'll text you both if I notice anything."

"Stick with Lucas. He's running lead. Brandon is staying here to watch over the girls, make sure their conditions don't get any worse."

"I have a concussion, not cancer," I threw in. They both just gave me flat stares. "What?"

Dante grumbled something that sounded like "Magnet for trouble," under his breath before heading for the door. Lucas's hazel eyes met mine, and I nodded towards my boss. With a broad grin, he met Dante halfway. They exchanged a few words, and then Lucas clapped Dante on the shoulder before leading him out of the warehouse.

"That's still going to take some getting used to."

"Tell me about it," Vincent grumbled. He sounded irritated, but when I looked up at him, that ghost of a smile was playing at the edges of his lips.

"You like it."

Vincent herded me towards the stairs, and I leaned on him heavily on our ascent. His arm around my waist was a comforting weight. When we finally reached his door, he kissed my temple before swinging it open. The jingling of tags rang through the room as Dexter jumped down from the couch and came to greet us.

"I told you to stay off the couch," Vincent scolded, leaning down to scratch the dog behind his ears. Dexter's whole butt wiggled as he wagged his tail. "Guess I'll have to get over that."

"We can buy him a bed," I suggested, breaking from him to make my way up to the bedroom. The exhaustion was hitting me with the force of a tidal wave, and all I wanted was to sleep.

"It'll be fine," he said. When he caught up with me, he swept me off my feet.

"I can walk."

"Shut up." I pouted in response. "Brandon said you were good to sleep after the first hour. So, while we wait for Graham to show his face again, I'm going to make sure you get some."

When we made it into the bedroom, Vincent set me on the edge of the bed. My lids were heavy as I watched him. With painstaking gentleness, he began to undress me. My boots and socks went first. He undid my jeans with deft fingers, and our gazes met when he encouraged me to lift my hips so he could slide them off. There was no heat in the depth of those forest eyes. Only concern. And for the first time since the car blew, I let myself think about how I would feel if the roles were reversed. If it had been Vincent who narrowly escaped death, only to run off in pursuit of the one who tried to cause it. Alone.

"I'm sorry," I breathed, cupping his face in my hands. "I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have gone without back-up."

"No, you shouldn't have. But I get it. I'm just glad you're okay, princess. I'm glad you made it back to me."

"I love you," I said, leaning forward to press my lips against his. The kiss was soft, and he kept it brief.

"And I love you. But, please, try not to scare me like that again."

My lips twitched. "No promises."

__________________________________________________________

I'm not gonna lie, I have only the vaguest idea of where we're going from here. I'm as surprised by each chapter as y'all are at this point.

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Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!

-Erin