Rolling into their suite at the Armon, Margaret wasn’t surprised to discover her sister conspicuously missing. The overprotective mobster wouldn’t let his pregnant wife anywhere near Donovan. Johnny was too smart to do anything quite that risky. Margaret found some genuine fondness growing in her chest for her sister’s fiancé.

Walking up to her, his eyes were serious, “Are you sure you want to be involved in this?”

“We plan for me to provide cover, just like the last time,” she responded.

“We need to lure him out.”

“Are you considering using me for bait?”

White hot anger jumped onto his face, “Hell, the fuck no, I am not.”

“Good, because Dark would blow a gasket,” she remarked.

“I’m using me for bait. I’m the one he’s after.”

“Absolutely not; Sarah would kill us.”

“We’re spending too much time on this shit. The stupid fuck has us running in circles and I’m tired of playing his game. We need to take a chance and get some closure.” Reaching out to grab her arm, his expression turned intense. “I trust you to cover our six. No matter what happens, if you get a clear shot of Donovan, you take it.”

“I will and I won’t miss,” Margaret promised.

“Any particular reason you got your hand on my woman?” Dark demanded as he came closer.

“She’s gonna be my sister, so don’t go getting all uptight. I’m volunteering myself to be bait. Let’s set up a meet.”

Drawing her back into his arms, Dark commented, “That’s the best idea I’ve heard so far.”

Johnny’s jaw tightened, “Let Margaret call him so he thinks he’s getting us both in one fell swoop. Tell him we’re willing to make a deal for the right price to give him back the international locations. Make it clear that we don’t trust him, that it’s now or never and we’ve got to meet immediately. I’ve got a location picked out. It’s an abandoned gas station on a highway no one uses anymore. It’ll be nice and private.”

Handing her a burner phone and piece of paper with the address and Donovan’s number, Margaret took it with trembling hands. Not a good quality for a sniper to have.

Getting on the phone, her tone was quiet and professional.

“Mr. Donovan, it’s Margaret Hensen.”

“Let me guess. You’re tired of running with a bunch of thugs and you miss the accommodations at Dragonfly?” Donovan smirked.

“You might say that, sir. Nothing is working out like I thought it would. They aren’t like imagined.”

Sounding genuinely interested, he queried, “What’s going on?”

“They’re always at odds with each other and internal power struggles between the mafia and the MC is keeping us from getting anything done.”

“Sounds about right.”

“I don’t know what to say, sir. They’re a bunch of animals. They drink all the time, engage in stupid risky crime for very little reward, and are one step away from getting busted by the law constantly. If I hang out here much longer, I’m going to end up dead or in jail. Hell, they don’t bathe regularly,” Margaret continued.

“Well, I guess your luxury suite and three hits a month work schedule is looking pretty good about now, isn’t it?”

“You know that it is, sir. They’re getting tired of trying to figure out how to run the international offices and I’m supposed to tell you they want to make a deal.”

Growling into the phone, his voice kicked up a notch. “They want to offer me a deal to buy back my own fuckin’ company? You can tell them to fuck right off, Hensen.”

“They don’t have their listening ears on right now. Johnny wants to meet with you and he says if you pay him ten million, you can have the international offices back.”

“He wants to meet with me like he met with Townsend? I don’t fuckin’ think so, Hensen,” Donovan shouted.

“Suit yourself, sir. What would you like me to tell them?”

“Tell them that I’ll call them in three days for a meeting.”

“I’ll tell them, but you should know something.”

“What’s that?”

“They’ve talking about having their men burn down the international offices and then just putting a contract on your head. I think they’re overwhelmed and just want out,” Margaret informed him.

“Where and when do they want to meet?”

“They don’t trust you, so they want to meet now, at a gas station out on Route Sixty.”

“Give me the fucking address and tell them to bring the number to their offshore account. Make it perfectly clear that after I pay them off, I don’t want to see or hear their names ever again. Can you do that, Hensen?” Donovan asked.

“Yes sir, I can.”

Thank God for small favors.”

“One more thing, sir.”

“What, Hensen?”

“Can I come back in? I learned my lesson and I won’t cause any more problems,” she asked.

“I’ll think about it. You’ve caused me more trouble than you’re fucking worth.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll text you the address now.”

“See you in a bit. And Hensen, don’t fuck this up or I’m going to put a bullet in your brain.”

“I understand, sir.”

The moment she ended the call, Dark pulled her to his chest and Johnny kind of went a little crazy. “I’m going to kill that prick until he’s dead from it. Mark my words, Margaret. Who the hell does he think he is?”

Dark responded curtly, “It doesn’t matter, cause he’s a dead man walkin’ as far as I’m concerned.”

A deep male voice spoke from the doorway. “Look, Johnny, you two fuckers are going to have to get ahold of yourselves. I know she’s your sister but you’re supposed to be the fucker that never gets rattled. Bitches have got you all messed up today.”

Margaret grinned at Gino, Enzo, and Charlie. “Welcome to the party. I feel a whole lot better now that the whole crew’s here.”

Dark gave her a little tug backward. “Laugh it up, sweetness. Once this is over, your pretty little ass is mine.”

“Looking back at Dark, she smiled, “It already is. Let’s do this.”

Johnny jerked his head to Charlie. “You take your new club queen and make sure she finds a safe spot to provide cover for us. I feel safer with Eagle Eye on the job.”

As they turned to leave, Johnny’s rough voice rang out, “Eagle Eye.”

Shooting him a questioning glance, she waited for him to speak.

“I wasn’t joking about you putting a bullet in his head. If you get a clean shot at any time, you are to immediately take it.” The tone of his voice silenced the entire room.

“I got it, Johnny. You can count on me.”

Nodding, his eyes slid away from her. The look on his face was blank but she knew the big mobster didn’t like her being involved.

Charlie grabbed her by the arm and gently guided her out towards his bike. Margaret wanted to ask where he’d been but she knew now was not the time. Jumping onto the back of his bike earned her a dirty look from Dark. It made her wonder if riding behind a man meant something she was unaware of in biker culture. There was still so much about his life that she didn’t fully understand. With her rifle case strapped securely to the side of his bike, they made for the rendezvous point.

The sun was high in the sky by the time they arrived and the place was totally deserted. Several vehicles pulled in behind them, kicking up a huge dust trail when they stopped. Once the men got out, the vehicles pulled back out again. Margaret instinctively knew they were covering their numbers.

She pointed to a small water tower a short distance away and Charlie headed for it. Jumping off the bike, she grabbed her rifle case and they climbed to the top. Charlie hid his bike in some tall grass and joined her.

Watching her put her rifle together, he commented, “Are you serious about teaching Dawg to snipe?”

“I sure am. He needs to take care of himself and get better first. Though he didn’t lose mobility in his hands, snipers need to be able to climb to get the best angle on a shot. He can’t do that if his body doesn’t heal properly.”

“I heard learning to shoot a sniper rifle is all he’s been talking about.”

“To be honest, I’m pretty excited about it too. I love the idea of having a sidekick, and I really like Dawg.”

“That’s damn nice of you. From the looks of it, you’re staying.”

Feeling embarrassment creep up her cheeks, she answered honestly. “Dark is so deeply ingrained in my heart that he’s never coming back out again. The sexy bastard is damn near perfect.”

Giving her a lopsided grin, he gave her masculine jerk of his chin, “You’re good for him. He was getting old before his time.”

“Everybody needs somebody. How about you? You got your heart set on someone?”

“Yes, but she only has eyes for your new son.”

Surprised, she glanced up at him as she clicked the last piece of her rifle in place. “You like Misty?”

“Don’t say anything. I don’t want her to feel obligated to service me or anything like that.”

“That is only something a biker would say.”

“Why’s that?”

“You’re the only ones women hanging around feel obligated to service.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of a biker thing.”

“You know Darkness has a soft spot for the woman he’s been tying to his bed, right?”

“I didn’t know that. I guess that explains why he dragged my Misty in there to shower with him and then tossed her out on her ear. He must have been trying to make the other jealous.”

“He said she gave him a blow job.”

“That’s funny. When she came out, she told Dix that threw her out of the shower when she kissed and licked his chest. She thought they were going into the bedroom to have sex, just like she always wanted. My little Misty seemed really disappointed that didn’t happen for her.”

“I sure don’t understand kids today.”

Snickering, Charlie deadpanned back, “You’re just a kid yourself.”

“Laugh it up. My next birthday we’re gonna need a special permit from the fire department because of the excess number of candles.”

“You’re real cute. Dark did well by snagging you.” His attitude sobered and he ducked his head below the railing. “Head’s up. We got visitors. Keep our guys safe.”

Looking through her scope, her eagle eye rolled gently over the group of assembled men. Most were hiding in the old gas station and surrounding area. She saw Donovan slip out of one of the Dragonfly armored vehicles and she zeroed in on his head. When he was in her crosshairs, she gently squeezed the trigger. Everyone froze for a moment, and then all hell broke loose. Donovan’s men began shooting. Johnny and Dark fell back, took cover, and returned fire.

Margaret kept shooting every single Dragonfly operative as they approached the pair. She vaguely thought that maybe the man she shot was another actor, but reminded herself almost immediately that Donovan didn’t have the luxury of time to plan that in the short time he’d been Stateside.

“Fucking hell, you don’t play around, do you?” Charlie’s strangled voice reminded her that she was killing folks. Her own detachment had kicked in when she squeezed off the first shot. Now, the only thing that mattered to her was getting Dark and his son out of there alive.

“Keep your eyes open. Dragonfly likes to attack from multiple sides.”

Just then a bullet whizzed by her, catching Charlie in the shoulder.

“Fuck.” Swinging her rifle in the direction the shot came from, she moved slightly to the left. Gently gliding her scope over the landscape, she caught sight of three snipers hiding in the tall grass. “Get back,” she hissed to Charlie.

As he fell back against the huge water tank, clutching his shoulder, she picked off the other snipers, immediately moving after each shot to make herself more difficult to catch in their sights. As soon as she nailed the last one, she swung back over to the gunfight. Donovan’s men were falling back.

She eased back on her trigger finger, letting them go. With no one giving orders, they’d have no vested interest in returning to this particular fight. The adrenaline coursing through her veins made her skin itch. It happened immediately after each the action died down on every single mission she’d ever been on.

She turned to Charlie, who was surveying the area suspiciously for possible threats. Since she’d given the place the once-over with her scope, she was certain they were safe. Laying down her rifle, she tore open the sleeve of his shirt of his button-up shirt.

“It’s just a flesh wound, but it burns like fuck.”

Cutting off a strip of his long sleeve, she tied it around the wound. “Lucky for you, it is a grazing injury. You’re probably going to need a few stitches.”

“We got a doc waiting at the hotel.”

“He’s the older man with white hair, right?”

Charlie nodded and shoved his gun back into his vest.

“I pegged him for your doctor when I first saw him because he was carrying medical supplies.”

Grinning, Charlie replied, “Yeah, he’s like a fucking boy scout. He carries everything he thinks he might need.”

Once Dark gave them the all clear signal, she helped Charlie down. His shoulder didn’t look that bad, but the climbing was hard with one good arm.

Looking down at Donovan while Darkness went through his pockets, she let out a heavy sigh. “I can’t believe that after everything we’ve been through with that man, we ended up getting him this easily.”

Charlie frowned, “You call this easy.”

“Looking around at all the dead bodies and injured brothers, she realized it had been a little more difficult than it looked at first glance. “I just squeezed off a clean head shot when he stepped out of the vehicle. I wasn’t referring to the poor decision his men made to have a shootout afterward.”

“This ain’t over until we dispose of the bodies and our geeks clear his phone and computer to make sure there isn’t another layer we missed to the Dragonfly organization. It’s like a damn squid. Every time we cut off a tentacle, another seems to grow in its place.” Johnny’s disgusted voice reflected Margaret’s feelings on the matter perfectly.

Holding her rifle in one hand, Margaret placed her other hand on her quivering stomach. “I don’t know why, but I think this is finally it.”

Dark wrapped a huge arm around her waist, drawing her close. A look of worry still marred his beautiful face. “I sincerely hope so. You and I are going home. We have that month planned, remember?”

“I remember. You mean we’re going back to the clubhouse?”

“No. I mean we’re going home, to the place we first spent time together. I want you safe until this whole thing blows over.”

Pulling him down for a brief kiss, she huddled close enough to smell the perspiration on his body. “I’d really love that, baby. Can Sarah and Johnny come as well?”

Swiveling his head around to look at the big gangster he spoke. “We converted the old east mountain tunnel into a supply depot and bunker. It’s not luxury living but it’s comfortable and we could spend time alone with our women.”

Margaret chimed in, “It’s real nice. They have a huge rec room, private bedrooms with Jacuzzis and even a kitchen.”

“Count me fuckin’ in on that deal. Text me directions and we’ll be there.”

Dark commented respectfully, “The girls ain’t seen much of each other. It’d be nice for them to get in a little visit.”

Gino murmured, “Get going. We’ll take care of this mess and let you know what the geeks find.”