Page 113 of Mia

“Deucy—”

“The fuck you just call me, Jigsaw? Only my wife calls me that, and I don’t even like the shit then. Find you something safe to do, Mia.”

I laughed as I reached out to pinch his cheeks.

“Aww, Mr. Grumpy Pants.”

He slapped my hands away. “Don’t ever do that shit again. I’m not that damn mutt you call a dog.”

I mushed his head. “Don’t talk about my baby. She’s not a mutt.”

“She is a mutt and the reason my wife made me promise to bring her and the kids a damn Frenchie back. I could have gotten her one at home, but no. She wants one from here. Now I have to ride back with that little fucker.”

I rolled my eyes. “Deuce, please. You were gonna get the dog no matter what because Salima asked. Pussy whipped ass.”

I brushed past him and headed for the stairs with Titan on my heels. When I made it to the bottom, my brothers were all dressed in suits while the others were dressed to kill. My grandfather called me earlier to let me know he’d dispatched twenty additional team members just in case we needed them. They were all standing here with my family, ready to go.

Booker grinned as we reached the bottom step. “Doesn’t my future stepdaughter look nice?”

“Booker, please don’t make me break your arm for real,” I said.

He laughed. “You think I’m playing?”

He inched closer to my mama and kissed her cheek, prompting her to put him in a headlock.

“If you wanna make it back home, keep your fucking lips to yourself,” she threatened.

“I love when you talk dirty to me,” he said when she released him.

“Thirsty, bitch,” DaVinchi muttered, shaking his head. “Y’all ready to get this show on the road?”

“I’m ready.” I stared at them all for a moment. “Y’all know I don’t get sentimental and shit, but I really appreciate you all being here. I wear a lot of blame for why we’re here. I own that. But I’m here to correct my fuck up. JacQues DuPont took something very special from us,” I said, grabbing Titan’s hand. “I want it back in blood.”

“We’re with you, baby,” Smoke said. “Whatever you need.”

“Everybody strapped?”

Nothing but the sound of guns clicking could be heard.

I smiled. “Let’s go.”

We headed out and filed into multiple blacked out SUVs. Quaid and Nolan got into the mobile tech van while the remainder of the crew piled into the passenger vans. We pulled out of the driveway and headed for the city. Everyone had their assignments, so once we hit city limits, we all went in separate directions.

When we pulled up at the gala’s venue, the place was already packed. Camera crews and reporters gathered out front. I watched as Quaid and Nolan pulled up in a van across the street.

“Is he here yet?” I asked, touching my earpiece.

“His location says he’s about twenty minutes away,” Quaid said.

“Good. That gives us time to scope out the place and be discreet. Let’s go.”

We filed out of the van. Hand in hand, Titan and I made our way up to the entrance with my brothers right behind us. When we walked in, my eyes immediately scanned the space for the exits. After heading to the bar to grab a drink, we took up residence in a corner in the back so we could see the entire space. My eyes were trained on the door, waiting for JacQues to enter.

While everyone around me was talking, my gaze was laser focused.

I felt his presence before I saw him.

The hair on the back of my neck stood. My breathing hitched and my eye began to twitch. I felt my face growing hot and my palms growing sweaty. When he stepped into the room, a deep growl rumbled in my throat. I felt an arm come around me. That’s when I realized I’d started moving in his direction.