Page 96 of Stay Little Fighter

But I suppose out of all of us, he has the healthiest relationship with Chloe and has learned to compartmentalize things that the rest of us are still working through.

Crew stops beside me, his mismatched eyes moving over the warehouse cataloging what we have left to do, but there isn’t much. We’ve made far better time than we thought we would, even with two of our guys glued to their phone like their lives depended on their eyes remaining on the screen.

“You doing okay?” he asks.

The false placation is on my lips, but I shake it off. If there’s anyone in this building that understands what’s at stake here, it’s him. He knows what it’s like to wait your entire life to find your soulmate and then they find themselves in life-threatening situations that could have you losing them at any second.

“Not really.” I half laugh. “But I have to keep it together for the others.”

He smiles as he watches Camilla and Bishop help Ronan with the microphones we’re planting around the warehouse to catch every word said.

We want to make sure we have every bit of ammunition we can to take them down if by some miracle they leave here alive.

“Things will get better,” he assures me. “The early days of a relationship like ours can be hard. Instead of just two people’s emotions being considered, there are five, and that’s a lot to contend with. But the more settled you get, the easier it is to compromise for one another.”

I sigh. “Things have fallen into place a lot smoother than I expected. The fact Damon and Ryker couldn’t last an hour without threatening each other’s lives a few weeks ago and now they’re working together like they’ve been doing it their whole lives is a testament to that. But we have a long way to go.”

“You’ll get there, and then you’ll forget you ever had a life where you weren’t all together.”

In the moments between planning and plotting, I’ve allowed my mind to wander to the future and what it might hold for the five of us, and the thing I’ve found in each one of those daydreams is the fact that I don’t care where we end up or what we fill our time with. All that matters is that we’re together with Chloe at the center of our universe.

Bishop frowns and looks our way. “Lombardi is on the move. Looks like they’re coming early.”

“Time to get this show on the road.” Crew claps his hands together and starts barking reminders of everyone’s positions, but I zone it out, instead moving to where Damon is leaning against a pile of pallets, watching the tracker.

“Are you going to be okay?”

He shakes his head. “I wanted her to be somewhere safe while I did this so my focus wouldn’t be split.”

“I know, and I’m sorry we changed the plan at the last minute, but the guys will get her back here, and by the time this is over, she’ll be safe and sound.”

“That doesn’t fill me with as much comfort as you think it does.”

I scoff. “It wasn’t supposed to, but you need to get your head in the game. I know it’s hard. I know you’re scared for our girl, but the most important thing for you to do right now is make it out of this alive so we can go home to her.”

“I’ve got this.” He sucks in a breath and takes one last look at his phone before tucking it into his pocket.

Patting his shoulder, I take a look around before taking the metal steps up to the second level, where me and Ronan will be watching from the office.

Ryker and the Syndicate of the Legion will be a block away with the rest of our men until everyone arrives, and then they’ll move in and take out any guards our guests leave outside.

And Damon will be standing in the middle of the warehouse, ready to go toe-to-toe with the man that’s caused him nothing but pain his whole life.

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

DAMON

NOW

It’s harder than I would like to slip the mask of indifference I spent my life mastering into place. It was the barrier I kept between me and the rest of the world to keep myself safe, but at some point that shield became my biggest weakness, and it only took almost losing the love of my life to realize that.

None of this shit matters.

Power and infamy and money don’t mean shit if you have no one to share it with.

The legacy I spent my whole life living up to will fall tonight, and with it, all those expectations, all the sins, it all dies right alongside it.

My earpiece crackles, reminding me that I’m not facing this alone, even if I am the only one standing down here waiting to be surrounded by our enemies.