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"I’ll guard therim voice

Sam put his hand on Sean’s shoulder "I know you will, Sean I just worry about dragging Ethan into this fight when Rachel is still fragile"

"I don’t like it, but you’re right, we do need him," Garrett said

Sae breath "Okay, I’ll call Ethan and bring hi, and we’ll take out as soon as we have things in hand here"

He looked back over at Sean "I want Sophie to stay here with you and the other woht a blur of moveh the entire conversation, but now she leaped to her feet

"Are you insane?" she deht her hand and brought her next to hiotiation, Sophie I want you safe I’ you into the middle of a ith your uncle"

Her pale face crinkled with anger and outrage "You’re signing your o in there withoutup ain, he’ll kill your mother Oh, he won’t do it himself He doesn’t have the balls But he’ll have her killed Are you willing to risk that?"

"I won’t trade her for you"

She pulled her hand from his and faced him, her mouth set in a fierce line "I e for your ive hi? Are you prepared for the worst? Are you willing to pin everything on your ability to go in and flawlessly execute a rescue?"

"Sophie"

"Don’t askto do with trust and everything to do withto be responsible for your mother’s death How about you trust me? Trust me to know oing to get what he wants"

Sam closed his eyes Goddamn but he didn’t want to involve Sophie in any of this How could he?

"How close do you think you’ll be able to get withoutto take that chance, Sam? You want me to trust you Well, I do I trust you to keep o with you I trust you to co in for your ht You may not want to take me, but you know you have to You know it"

Her iathered around Sam They shifted restlessly, and he could see they battled the same dilemma he did None of them wanted her in harm’s way They didn’t want her anywhere near her uncle But they also all knew she had a very valid point

And it pissed him the fuck off

"Christ"

"I don’t like it," Donovan said "We can’t risk Sophie and her baby on the off chance we don’t get the job done"

"I don’t like it either," Garrett muttered "But do we have a choice? Do we really want to take that risk? We can protect her, Saoddao I don’t want her to go But do you really want to face Dad and tell hi Mom back to him?"

"That’s a lo," Sam said fiercely

Sophie’s s his attention back to her

"Don’t I get a say in this?" she asked softly "I brought this to your door, Saht it to your et a choice Let me do this Let me save your mother like I couldn’t save mine Do you think I could live with e astounded him It humbled him He felt wholly unworthy of her selflessness And as much as he wanted to deny her, as much as he wanted to tie her down if necessary to keep her safe, he knew in his gut she was right She was right and it made him so furious, so afraid for her that he wanted to break so

He stared into her eyes and then closed his His hands found hers and he hung on God forgive him, but as he supposed to do? How did youyour wo the death of your ainst him He opened his eyes just as she leaned up on tiptoe She kissed hi And support It was the first tiesture in front of the others

"I have faith in you," she whispered

Her fingers squeezed his, and she rocked back on her feet There was aze than he deserved He just prayed he didn’t betray it

Feeling eht hold on one of Sophie’s hands

"We rework the plan," Sao in with Sophie I want PJ and Cole on sniper duty As soon as the bastard shows himself to us, I want hio in This has to be precisely timed There’s no room for mistakes"

"We won’t fail," Steele said "We never have We won’t start now"

Sa in that moment to feel her warmth, to remind him of as at stake He slid his hand down her body to her belly, feeling for the reassuring kick of his daughter

His daughter

"This is your niece," he said to his brothers "Sophie’s having a girl"

He needed them to know Needed to make it personal, to make this as real to them as it was to him Then they’d knoas at risk

Donovan’s face split into a wide grin He moved forward, swept Sophie into his arms and spun her around Even Garrett smiled, and when Donovan set her down, Garrett reached for her hand

She hesitated only for a split second before she illingly into Garrett’s eed her close

She seeo, she teetered a little, her eyes glazed

"If she’s half as fierce as her ruff voice

A wry set the idea you actually like ave you the idea I disliked you," Garrett said, his eyes serious "And "

She stared at Garrett in stunned disbelief Saht to behold

Sam held out his hand for Sophie to return to hily, and he pulled her to his side

"This has to go right," he told thehim "I can’t lose her"