Chapter 6 - THE CARTEL'S INVITATIONThree weeks had passed since the night Brendan shattered the penthouse glass.
The small veterinary clinic in Brooklyn was long forgotten, replaced by a state-of-the-art private medical wing built specifically inside the penthouse for Willa. Ghost was no longer a skeleton wrapped in fur; he was a magnificent, one-hundred-and-fifty-pound beast of muscle and loyalty, following Willa from room to room like a silver-gray shadow.
And Willa had changed, too. The hunted, fearful look in her eyes was gone, replaced by a cold, sharp intelligence that commanded the respect of every hardened syndicate member who walked through Jared’s doors.
She wasn't a prisoner. She was a partner.
But peace in the underworld never lasted.
At midnight, Jared sat at a massive mahogany desk in his private study, studying a file stamped with a crimson seal. Willa stood beside him, her arms folded, looking at the satellite photographs spread across the desk.
"The Moretti family," Jared said, his voice flat and dangerous. "They think my focus has shifted because I spent a month worrying about a sick dog. They think I'm vulnerable."
"They're making a mistake," Willa said, her voice devoid of fear. "They see a domestic animal and think weakness. They don't realize that the animal is just the guard dog."
Jared looked up, a dark, pleased smirk touching his lips. "Precisely. And tonight, they want to test the waters. They’ve invited us to a summit at the harbor warehouse."
"An ambush," Willa stated.
"Without a doubt," Jared replied, standing up and buttoning his suit jacket. "Which is why you are staying right here, behind triple-reinforced steel."
Willa’s eyes flashed with defiance. "I didn't survive Brendan and the streets of Brooklyn to sit in a nursery while you go play war, Jared."
Before Jared could argue, the private security intercom beeped frantically.
May you like
A guard's voice broke through, breathless and panicked: "Mr. Kensington! The perimeter defenses at the ground floor have been breached! It’s not Moretti—it’s an internal leak. Someone on your council turned!"
Jared’s face went dead, terrifyingly blank. He reached for his holster, but before he could draw his weapon, the heavy oak doors of the study blew inward in a cloud of splinters.
