“Nah. Probably won’t now that he lives in China, and that’s fine with me.”

“Do you have any news?” I asked Dad.

He shook his head. “I just know they’re having a summit tonight in Switzerland. Still got my boys looking in on the son of Shax to see if he’s ally material. He seems legit, but I’m not sendin’ you to have words with him till I know for sure. How’d he seem when you met him?”

Everyone looked at me, and I thought about it.

“Well, compared to creepy Caterina, he seemed normal, but I still wouldn’t turn my back on him. He’s slick.”

Dad nodded, and ran a hand over his do-rag. “I was hopin’ to have more allies by this point. I think we all know it’s going down soon.”

We sat quietly, an intensity blanketing the room. It felt like things were happening too fast.

“What are we going to do?” I asked.

“We roll with it,” Dad said. “All we can do is be ready, mentally, for whatever they throw at us. Be strong. Keep your wits. They’re not expectin’ a team of you like this. We gotta fight smart.” He tapped his head.

He was right. We couldn’t formulate any kind of plan when we didn’t know when or how the Dukes would attack. But that didn’t have to mean we were weak.

“So . . . we wait,” I said.

“We wait,” Dad confirmed, glancing at his empty pie plate. “And eat.”

As always, Dad couldn’t stay long. Patti and I measured him and then sent Kopano and Zania to the nearest mall with his credit card for new, less conspicuous clothes.

Kope and Z returned with big bags.

“These look good,” Patti said, pulling out the clothes for Dad. “But your hair . . .”

“Hot mess,” he agreed with a low chuckle as he ran a big hand over his hair, which needed a good brushing or cut.

Patti stepped up and handed him a Miami Heat ball cap. He fitted it on his head and grinned.

“Yeah. That’s nice, right there.”

The three of us walked back into the family room, where everyone was sitting, and even from the corner of my eye I could see Dad’s larger-than-life walk—the kind of body movements that forced people to notice him.

As Dad started talking to Blake, thanking him for pulling off our recent plan, Jay approached me.

“You know, since he still knows how to talk and walk like Big Rotty, I bet he could still rap if he tried.”

I could only shake my head, giving him my “you’re crazy but I still love you” look.

“What?” He laughed. Marna smiled at him from the couch.

Kaidan walked to my side and I linked my arm through his, hugging his bicep. Dad came over and put his hands on Kai’s shoulders. They shared a serious look.

“You take care of my girl, you hear me?”

Kaidan nodded. “I will, sir.”

Dad patted his shoulder, and then looked at me. Deep in those eyes I saw my dad—his love and concern for me that stemmed from his soul. I let go of Kai and reached for Dad’s waist, squeezing him. His arms went around me, and I felt the same pit of sadness I always felt when he had to leave, never knowing when we’d see each other again.

He kissed the top of my head and said, “You make me proud. Every day.”

“Love you, Daddy,” I said into his shirt.

He turned to Patti, who stood behind me. Dad pulled a strand of her curly hair, like a little kid, then let his hand rest on her shoulder. They said nothing. She patted Dad’s hand and tried to smile. Good-byes were never easy.

Without looking back, Dad picked up his bags of clothes and walked out of the house into the dark, leaving us in silence.

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins Publishers

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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE—

NO GIRLS

It was late when Jay and Marna went for a walk. Blake and Ginger played video games on Jay’s game system, and Kaidan and I chatted with Kope and Z. A tiny strand of discomfort still permeated the air between Kaidan, Kope, and me—a leftover from the kiss I’d shared with Kope and the jealousy between the two of them.

Kopano made a solid effort to get past the tension, wanting to hear more about my interactions with Marek, the son of Shax.

“He’d be a great ally,” I told them. “He freaking stole my car keys from under my nose. But I couldn’t get a good read on him with Caterina there. He definitely isn’t a fan of hers, which gives me a little hope about him.”

“Strange to think her father is an ally,” Kaidan said.

“Yeah,” I agreed. It was also strange to think of Jezebet as Caterina’s father at all. He was now a woman. Jezebet was the first Duke to ever take a female body. His change of guard must have happened just after he’d fathered Caterina. As far as I knew, Jezebet was Dad’s only ally among the Dukes, but Dad was known to keep his secrets close.

When Jay and Marna returned from their walk, Jay took out his guitar. He was decent at it, but the piano was his best talent. He couldn’t get a certain riff right, so he handed the instrument to Kaidan, and my heart flipped.

I recalled him saying he played guitar, but I’d never actually seen or heard him play. Kaidan began to pick at each string, testing and tuning with his full attention. I watched the way his hands moved across the wood and strings, gently, reverently, his body seeming to curl around it as if it were a part of him. . . . I felt my hands getting sweaty, because watching Kaidan get lost in music did crazy things to me. My breathing became ragged and I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

He looked up at that moment and caught me staring hard. He knew. He knew what it did to me! I could tell because his badge expanded.

He angled himself away from the others and signed to me, I want to be alone with you tonight.

Patti did have a lot of guests staying in the house. I signed back, I’ll work on it.

“Excellent,” he whispered, a hot grin sliding onto his face.

“Hey, Kai,” Jay called from across from us.

“Yeah, mate?”

“What’s the difference between a drummer and a large pizza?”

Kai held back a smile. “I’ve no clue.”

“A large pizza can feed a family of four!”

Everyone cracked up.

Blake said, “Thank God for Daddy’s money, huh?”

“Bloody right.” Kaidan turned his attention back to the guitar. When the first rich notes of a popular ballad met my ears, I stared at his forearms and lower biceps, then his fingers as they moved, seemingly without effort. The way he concentrated and fell into his own world fascinated me. Each sound was clear and vibrant, stirring my blood until I had a dizzying head rush. Yep, I was taking this guy home tonight. He was all mine.

I went upstairs and found Patti making the second guest bed. I got on the other side to help straighten the sheet. “So . . . I was wondering if you minded if Kaidan and I went back to my dorm tonight, since you have a houseful and all? We’d be back first thing in the morning.”

She tried to keep a straight face, but I could see her fighting a smile. “Sure thing, honey.” She may have been the woman who raised me, but she was also a romantic.

Kaidan and I weren’t the only people walking across campus close to midnight, but we might have been the only sober ones. At one point while we were walking I heard distant cheers, then Kaidan busted out laughing next to me. I followed his eyes and the sounds until I spied the backs of three naked guys streaking across the quad.

Kaidan covered my eyes, but we were both cracking up.

We passed a big group of girls who were talking at top volume, giggling like crazy. They got quiet when they saw Kaidan, putting all their energy into staring as hard as they could. Kai didn’t even glance their way, but his fingers tightened around mine as if to reassure me.