I knew what it was like to love someone with all of my heart only to lose them. It had happened to me twice, first with my family, and then with Michele. It nearly broke me, and after everything I’d been through, I thought I was destined to be alone, that love just wasn’t in the cards for me. I accepted my fate without contention, but all that changed when I found Alex. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her, and I wasn’t going to let anyone, especially her piece of shit father, take her away from me—not this time. This time, I wasn’t taking any chances. My brothers and I would be ready for Navarro, and if he so much as made a move towards Alex, I’d put a fucking bullet in his head. As I took one last look around her apartment, I felt certain that we’d thought of everything. Riggs had set up several backup cameras that were battery operated that we could use to monitor Alex even if Navarro managed to kill the power. The brothers had hidden themselves in different locations throughout the area, including her apartment, the roof and neighboring buildings.

Once we were certain that we’d left no stone left unturned, Riggs came over to me and asked, “You ready to go get her?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Take a breath, brother. We got this. We won’t let anything happen to her,” he tried to assure me.

“I know, but I can’t shake the feeling that we’ve missed something.”

“Not a chance. We’ve gone over everything multiple times. And with the additional cameras, I’ll be able to track her every move.”

“It’s not her that I’m worried about.” I took another quick glance around her apartment before saying, “We better get going. I want to make sure we have plenty of time to go over everything with her before he gets here.”

Riggs nodded and followed me down the stairs to our SUV. Once we were both inside, I started the engine and headed towards the clubhouse. My mind was running a mile a minute as I drove out onto the main road. Since none of us had any idea how this would all play out, I tried to think about every possible scenario, making sure we were prepared for anything that might happen. I thought we were prepared for anything, but I was wrong—very wrong. As soon as we got to the clubhouse, I went to my room to find Alex, only she was no longer there. Thinking she might’ve gone to grab a cup of coffee, I rushed to the kitchen, and once again, there was no sign of her. The uneasy feeling I had at Alex’s apartment started growing stronger as Riggs and I searched the clubhouse for her. None of the brothers had seen her, including T-Bone who was just across the hall.

Since his door was propped opened, I was hoping that he’d know where I could find Alex. “Have you seen Alex?”

“She’s not in your room?” he asked sounding surprised.

“Come on, T-Bone. Think,” I growled.

“Fuck, man. I don’t know. I haven’t seen her, and I’ve been sitting right here since you left.”

I looked back over to Riggs and asked, “Where the hell could she be?”

“Let me see if I can find her using her phone.” He quickly turned, and I followed him down the hall. As soon as we got to his room, he rushed over to his computer and started typing. Seconds later, he looked over to me and said, “Looks like she got a call about an hour ago.”

“From who?”

“A guy named Jason Brazzle. Got any idea who that is?”

“He’s a friend of hers, but I don’t know much about him. How long has it been since he called.”

“It was just over an hour ago.” He went back to typing and seconds later, he announced, “I got her. It looks like she’s heading over to his place.”

“What the fuck? This doesn’t make any sense. She knows what’s about to go down, there’s no way she’d just leave without …” I ran my hand over my face as I tried to collect my thoughts, and then it hit me. “Goddammit!”

“You think her father is behind this?”

“He’s gotta be. There’s no way she’d just leave without talking to me first.”

“Then, we better get our asses over there before it’s too late.”

As we raced out the door, Riggs put a call in to Gus, letting him know what was going on. Having no way of knowing if it was just some kind of trap, Gus ordered T-Bone and Gauge to follow us over to Jason’s place. My heart hammered in my chest as I pressed my foot against the accelerator, racing towards the address Riggs had given me. I tried to gain control of my panic, but nothing was working. I knew it was just a matter of time before she was in her father’s grasp, and I wouldn’t be there to protect her. Guilt and anger consumed me as I parked across the street from Jason’s apartment. As we got out of the SUV, Riggs looked over to me and said, “It’s apartment 302, so I’m guessing we need to head up to the third floor.”

As we started towards the front door, I noticed T-Bone and Gauge waiting for us in the alley. I motioned for them both to follow, and with our weapons drawn, we headed inside. Trepidation swelled through me as we made our way up the stairs. I kept expecting to come across one of Navarro’s men, but there were none in sight, making me even more anxious as we approached Jason’s door. Riggs leaned towards the door, trying to see if he could hear anything on the other side, and after just a few seconds, he nodded. Navarro was there. I took a quick glance around, and when I saw that there was no other way for us to get inside, I gave T-Bone the signal to knock the door down. With one swift kick, the wood splintered into a thousand pieces, giving us access to the apartment. We charged inside, but immediately froze when we saw a tall, dark skinned man with his gun pressed against Navarro’s temple.

He seemed completely unphased by Navarro’s three men who had their guns pointed directly at him, and didn’t so much as acknowledge our presence as he snarled, “I’m not letting you do this … not after what you did to her mother.”

Navarro’s face filled with repulsion as he growled, “I always knew you were in love with her, Marcus. Hell, anyone could see it. So fucking pathetic.”

I quickly scanned the room and was overcome with relief when I spotted Alex huddled in the corner with her friend, Jason. He looked like hell as he leaned against her with his arm across her shoulder. His eyes were nearly swollen shut, and bruises and cuts covered his face. Someone had given him one hell of a beating, and from what I could tell, Alex was the only thing keeping him from falling on his face. When Alex’s tear soaked eyes locked on mine, it was all I could do to keep from rushing over to her. I knew she was distraught, but at the moment, there was little I could do to console her.

“She was too good for you. She deserved better, and you know it.”

“Maybe, but that doesn’t change anything. She’s still dead, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“But, I can keep you from doing the same thing to Alejandra.” He pressed the barrel of his gun into Navarro’s flesh as he replied, “I can still protect her.”

“You’re making a mistake, Marcus. If you pull that trigger, you’re as good as dead.”

I remembered Alex telling me about Marcus. He was the man who’d trained her how to fight, and as I stood there watching him put his life on the line for her, I quickly realized just how much he must’ve cared about her. She must’ve realized it, too, because she started to cry when she heard him say, “I don’t care. I’d rather die than let you hurt her.”

“Why must you be so fucking dramatic? We both know you don’t have the balls to pull that trigger.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

He didn’t bat an eye as he pressed his finger against the trigger, sending a bullet through Navarro’s head. It was like time stood still as we all watched his lifeless body slowly fall to the ground. It seemed inconceivable that such a powerful man could be taken down with a single bullet, but there he lay. He’d only been lying there a moment, when a second and then a third gunshot exploded through the room. Navarro’s men had shot Marcus, and once they felt certain he was dead, they turned their attention towards us. That turned out to be a mistake. They’d barely gotten a chance to aim their weapons when we fired our own, sending bullets soaring in their direction. When the last man fell to the ground, Alex rushed over to Marcus, and her sobbing continued as she knelt down beside him.

As she lowered her head to his chest, she whispered, “Thank you, Marcus. Thank you for everything.”

To all of our surprise, his hand reached for hers as he muttered, “I couldn’t let him take you back. I just couldn’t.”

Alex quickly lifted her head as she cried, “Marcus! You’re alive.”

“Not for long, sweetheart.”

“Don’t say that! We can get someone to help you.” She looked over to me as she pleaded, “Shadow! You have to help him.”

I knew by looking at him that Marcus was right. He didn’t have much time. Blood was pooling in his mouth, and he could barely breath. I crouched down beside her as I checked the position of his wounds, and when I saw that he’d been shot directly in the stomach, I knew his end was near. “There’s not much I can do.”

“But, you have to try something!”

Marcus gave her hand a squeeze and he wheezed, “Listen to me … Alejandra … I want you … to live … a good life … I want you to be … happy. You do … that for me, okay?”

“Yes, Marcus. I’ll do my best.”

“Your … mom would be … proud of you.” He coughed, and it took all his strength to take in one final breath. “You’re a fighter … never stop fighting.”

Tears started to stream down her face as she watched the life drain from his body. When she couldn’t stand it a moment longer, she reached for me, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck. “He’s gone.”

“I know, baby.”

I held her tightly against my chest for several minutes as she tried to collect herself. When the tears stopped falling and her breathing started to slow, I placed my mouth close to her ear as I whispered, “Let’s get you back to the clubhouse.”

She took a step back and asked, “What about Jason?”

“He’s coming with us.” I turned to T-Bone and said, “Hey, brother. Give me a hand.”

Once T-Bone helped me get Jason and Alex into the SUV, he walked over to me and said, “That apartment is on the third fucking floor. Cleaning this shit up ain’t gonna be easy.”

“No doubt. I’ll call Gus and have him send over some of the guys to give you a hand.”

“Tell ‘em to bring plenty of plastic, cause we’re gonna need it.”

When he started to walk back towards the front door, I reached for my phone and called Gus. I gave him a quick rundown of everything that had happened, and while he was surprised by how things played out, he was relieved to hear that Navarro would no longer be an issue. We were still talking when he stopped to tell several of the brothers to head over to the apartment so they could help with the cleanup. Before ending the call, he asked about Alex. Like me, he was concerned about how she was handling losing both Marcus and her father. Even though I knew how she felt about her father, it couldn’t have been easy to witness his death. Losing Marcus would only compound the hurt, but in time, she would see that it was his love for her that gave him the strength to do what needed to be done.

Once I got Alex and Jason back to the clubhouse, we took Jason down to the med-room so Mack could take a look at his injuries. After he got him bandaged up, Alex helped me get him set up in one of the empty rooms. Mack had given him some pretty powerful pain relievers, and he was barely able to keep his eyes open as Alex tucked him into bed. “I’m so sorry about all of this, Jason. I never meant for you to get involved in all this.”

“There’s no way you could’ve known he’d come after me.”

“No, but I should’ve told you about my father … I was wrong to keep that from you.”

“Yeah. You should have, and honestly, I don’t understand why you didn’t.”

“I guess I was just scared.”

“But you could’ve talked to me about it. I would’ve understood. It hurts that you couldn’t trust me enough to tell me the truth.” He closed his eyes, and I thought he’d passed out until he said, “But, I’ll find a way to forgive ya.”

“I was hoping you would say that.” She gave him a quick hug before saying, “Get some rest, and I’ll be back later to check on you.”

By the time she closed the door, he was already sound asleep. She followed me down the hall, and as soon as we stepped into my room, she wound her arms around my neck, clinging to me for several moments. When she finally looked up at me, I could see the exhaustion in her eyes and said, “Why don’t you lay down and get some rest?”

“Will you lay down with me?”

“Of course.”

She crawled into bed, and as soon as I settled in next to her, she curled up next to me and laid her head on my chest. We hadn’t been lying there long when she whispered, “Thank you for coming for me today. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t come.”

“Don’t you know … there’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do for you, Alex.” I looked down at her as I said, “I never dreamed I could love anyone like I love you. You have me heart and soul, and I’ll die giving you everything I have to give.”

She eased up on the bed and leaned towards me, pressing her lips against mine. “I love you, too, Mason … so very, very much.”

As she laid her head down on my chest, I told her, “You scared me today. I was afraid something would happen before I could get to you.”

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t think I had any other choice.”

“Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

She let out a deep breath before saying, “He saw me outside by the fence. That’s how he knew that we were trying to trap him.”

“Did he tell you that?”

“Yes. He mentioned it during the phone call.” She let out a deep breath before saying, “I still don’t know how my father found out about Jason.”

“He was a smart man. There’s no telling how he found out.”

With the tip of her finger, she trailed lines across my chest as she told me all about Jason’s phone call, and how her father threatened to kill him if she didn’t come to his apartment alone. She didn’t think she had a choice but to do what he’d asked, and her voice was strained as she described seeing Jason so badly beaten. She was even more surprised when she found out Marcus was there. Her voice grew soft as she told me how he wouldn’t even look at her, making her think that he was there to help her father. It wasn’t until he brought out his weapon that she realized he was there to protect her. With each word she spoke, her voice became more and more faint. Knowing she needed to rest, I whispered, “It’s over, baby. Just try to get some sleep.”

It was then that she whispered something that made my blood run cold. “I wish I could believe that.”

“Your father is gone. There’s nothing more he can do to you.”

“It’s not him that I’m worried about. It’s his brother, Josue. He’s even worse than my father.”

Before she could explain any further, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, leaving me wondering if there was more hell to come. I was tempted to wake her and ask what she’d meant, but decided to let her sleep. We both needed to put this night behind us, and I knew that as long as we had each other, we could face whatever came our way.