‘Listen to me, babygirl, I need you to stay where you are. I need you to stay in the apartment.’

‘Are you coming here? Is everything ok? You sound like... Like you're on a mission.’

‘I am. It's a mission to keep you safe. We got him. We know who's behind this.’

‘You do? Who?’

‘It's Bruno, babygirl. He’s been hiding out at Benny's that worthless piece of shit. Bruno just left there, but we're on his tail. We’ve got him. This will be over soon. I need you to stay right there. Get naked and get into bed, ‘cause when I get home, I'm gonna expect you to be very grateful to me for saving your life.’

‘Don't flirt with me when you're walking into danger, tough guy. I love you.’

Gratitude didn't begin to cover the maelstrom of emotion warring in her now. Her love and guilt swirled together because the danger wasn't over yet. There was still a chance that Dax wouldn't make it through this and if she lost him it would be her fault.

‘I can meet you, help you,’ Ivy said, trying to quell her desperation. ‘I don't want to lose you, Dax. I can’t.’

‘You won’t. Have faith and trust me. Of every time I've told you to stay put, this is the most important one. Please, babygirl, will you do as I say?’

She didn't know where he was or where he was going. But he was asking for her faith and she wouldn't give it to anyone else. Through her life, Ivy had believed that she was the only one who would act in her best interest. Altering that mind set wasn't so hard when she heard the hope in his.

‘I'll stay here. Just be safe. Come home to me.’

‘I will. I'm not giving you an escape route because I plan to be at your side again. Soon.’ The line went dead. She’d been dismissed. Now all she could do was wait.

Bruno had been one of his top candidates, but Dax hadn’t wanted to spend the time chasing down the guy until he had a clear lead that indicated him. Bruno could’ve been sunning himself in Barbados this whole time, and he would have loved for Dax to show up ready to take him down for something that he had nothing to do with. Bruno would take great pleasure in hearing that Ivy was in danger and that Dax had wasted his time chasing down Bruno.

But now he knew it for sure, that piece of shit Benny had folded like origami the moment Dax and Serg closed in on him. Benny had never had the stomach for keeping secrets, and he loved his face too much to risk having it rearranged.

Bruno had put up the bounty after he and Mauri had their fight. According to what Benny had told them, Bruno had gotten a call from Mauri less than an hour ago, and he was on his way to the mansion, which was where Dax was going right now.

Dax had told Ivy that he wouldn’t go back to Mauri’s mansion, but this was a one off necessity. Hoping that Ivy heeded his advice and remained at the apartment, Dax prepared himself for this to be wet. He didn’t want Ivy to have any blood on her hands. It could get messy enough that Dax would worry about his own safety, and he didn’t need to be worrying for Ivy’s too.

‘I’ve never seen you this pissed,’ Serg said from the driver’s seat.

It was a good thing that Dax wasn’t driving, he didn’t have the inclination to adhere to any speed limits and if a cop thought about stopping him now… He was too in the mood for a fight for that to go down well.

Serg had never seen Dax this angry because nothing had been personal in the past. When they went after guys who needed to be taught a lesson, it was all business. This situation involved his wife, the woman that he loved, and their future. Someone thought that they had the right to take that future from them, and now that someone had a name.

‘Just get there,’ Dax said, judging from the time and speed they were less than a minute away.

It wasn’t smart of him to go in there ready to combust, but Dax couldn’t calm himself enough to be reasonable about this. Ivy would tell him to have a plan, to be prepared for different contingencies. But the only occasion in which he spent time predicting his opponents’ next move was in the ring and it was never a bad idea to be adrenaline-pumped in that location.

Security let them through the gate, and Serg drove up the driveway at a pace that made Dax consider practising his craft here. ‘Think about what you’re going to do before you get in there,’ Serg said.

‘Fuck that,’ Dax said. ‘You stay out of it.’

The car stopped, and Dax jumped out. Going straight to the front door, he was happy to dispense with anyone who wanted to get in his way. But there were no guys on the door to obstruct him, which was unusual.

He found out why security was absent from the rest of the house when he got up to Mauri’s suite. There were ten security guys in there, forming a barrier around Mauri and pinning Bruno to the wall near the door. Carina was on the couch, wailing about something, but Dax blocked it out. As far as he was concerned, Bruno was his prey and that was all he was focused on now.

Snatching a handful of the first security man’s shirt, he hauled him back and decked him. While that guy was rolling on the floor, Dax pulled the other one off and landed a knockout punch on him. Bruno was freed, Dax could hear Mauri’s protestations and the thunder of security men closing in on him.

Bruno’s smug face deserved a punch of its own. Dax delivered, knocking the man back against the wall with a thud. He’d had to contain the power of his fist because he wanted answers before he ended the man.

‘Why?’ Dax asked, balling his fists in Bruno’s jacket and slamming him back against the wall. ‘You tell me you fucking piece of shit why my wife was the—‘

‘The slut’s got you on a leash,’ Bruno said, showing his teeth in a grin. ‘Here pussy, pussy—‘

‘Jealous you motherfucker?’ Dax asked. Bringing one arm back, he clenched his fist and thought about how much he’d enjoy ending this bastard’s life.

‘Wait!’ Mauri exclaimed. ‘Dax, don’t!’

‘Why the fuck shouldn’t I?’ Dax asked with his eyes pinned on Bruno, who was still grinning.

‘Daddy wants you taking over the organisation,’ Bruno snarled. ‘That double-crossing bastard needs you to be squeaky clean.’

‘He is your father, Dax,’ Mauri said. ‘Family is—‘

‘Bullshit,’ Dax said, thrusting away from Bruno he turned to face Mauri. ‘You wanted me as long as I did what I was told. You don’t want me now, you don’t want me running the racket; you just want me to agree, so you know that you still have me.’

‘You’re here now,’ Mauri said. ‘This is where you’re supposed to be.’

‘It was you he wanted all along,’ Bruno said, coming close enough to mutter in Dax’s ear. The sound of a gun being cocked made Dax leap back a step, but when Bruno raised the gun it was trained in Mauri’s direction. ‘I gave you my life, and you favour this piece of shit!’

Dax was forgotten in Bruno’s mist of psychosis. Bruno strode toward Mauri. Some of the security men backed off, while others closed in around Mauri. Carina bounced up to her feet, and Dax kept backing away, widening his field of vision so no one could take him by surprise. There wasn’t a person in this room who he trusted, but the only person in the world he did trust was locked up in his apartment far from this danger.

‘You won’t even face me like a man!’ Bruno screamed. ‘You get these bastards out of here and we’ll settle this.’

‘Dax is your son,’ Mauri said. ‘You should be proud of what he’s accomplished that he can take over an empire like the one we built.’

‘We! We built it,’ Bruno said. ‘You betraying fuck—‘

‘Betraying?’ Mauri asked. ‘You slept with my wife for half a decade!’

Dax hadn’t been sure that Mauri knew that before Ivy brought it up, apparently he had. ‘You forgave that!’ Bruno said. ‘That was years ago!’

‘I caught you together, I had no idea that it had gone on for as long as it had. I let you walk away from here alive because of our history and now you do this? You come in here and threaten me in my home! Kill me, yes, you can do that, but it will change nothing. My assets are still bequeathed to Brad and Dax, a bullet will not change that.’