18. Layla

Ileaned against the wall of the treehouse and stretched my legs in front of me before pulling my laptop into my lap. I was trying for a change of scenery to hopefully get more work done since sitting in my office was making me mentally climb the walls. It was too quiet, too calm. I needed a little chaos around me to focus properly. I started running a background check on Henry Bosland. I needed to know everything there was to know about Kadence's captain if I was going to convince him to work with us.

Henry was forty-six years old and married to his wife Amber for twenty-three years. They had three children, ages nineteen, twelve, and seven. Their son was studying abroad, and their two daughters attended public school. On paper, Henry was a decorated officer who quickly shot through the ranks to land in the captain's office of the ACPD detective's unit. Nothing in his jacket would suggest that he was corrupt, but I knew things weren't always how they appeared.

"Permission to come aboard?" Tyler asked from the base of the ladder.

"Permission granted," I replied. I heard him climbing into the tree house and saw his laptop before his head popped through the hatch.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked.

"I needed a location change," I replied. "I'm looking into Henry to see if there is anything we can use on him to get him to open a case on Anton."

"Do you need any help?" he asked as he settled beside me and plugged into the extension cord I had brought with me.

"Sure," I replied. "So far, I've gone through Henry's personal and work histories. Nothing stands out to me, so I thought I would check the money next."

"Oh good, I didn't miss the fun part," Tyler replied. "Race you?"

"You're on," I replied. The sound of typing filled the treehouse as we started hacking into Henry's bank account. Tyler and I were alike in many ways, but while we learned to hack together, our styles had changed over the years. I went after Henry's computer while he tried worming his way into the bank's website. Even the most computer-savvy person quickly falls into a false sense of security regarding their personal computers. Unless you were someone like Tyler or me, the cute little firewall programs on the market do little to stop a targeted attack. And once someone enters your system, they will have access to everything. Having your computer remember your password is convenient but risky.

Once I got into his computer, I located his banking info. I used a mimicking program I created to copy Henry's IP address so that the bank website would think I was accessing it through Henry's recognized device. "In!" I announced after a few more clicks.

"You cheated," Tyler accused.

"Did not. Taking the easier route isn't cheating," I replied, sticking my tongue out at him.

I shifted closer to Tyler so that he could see my screen more easily as I combed through his finances. Henry and Amber were about five years from paying off their house mortgage. They had a modest savings account and the typical retirement funds. They played the stock market with a medium to high-risk investment strategy and saw moderate success on average.

"No large sum deposits," Tyler said. "No extravagant purchases."

I sighed. "Nothing that indicates Anton is paying Henry off."

"What about the kids?" Tyler asked.

"The girls have Education Savings Accounts. The same amounts are deposited every two weeks," I said, shaking my head.

"What about the son? The girls are in public school, but he's attending school in Europe. That can't be cheap," Tyler suggested. He started typing again but sighed in disappointment a few minutes later. "That's a bust. He got a couple of good scholarships and took out student loans for the rest of it."

"Maybe he didn't need to be paid off," I said, thinking out loud.

"If he isn't being compensated for his cooperation, why is he protecting Anton?" Tyler asked.

"Fear?" I suggested. "Maybe Anton simply threatened his family, and that was all it took to get him to fall in line. He's a cop, so he knows firsthand what Anton is capable of."

"Could it be that easy?"

"Never underestimate a well-placed threat," I replied, closing my laptop. "Set up a safe house. Colton and Sean will kill me, but we will need another team put together for a security detail. If I'm right, ensuring his family's safety is all we will need to get him to flip to our side and take Anton down."

"I'll get right on it, but I'll let you talk to them about manpower. They're already feeling the weight of the security we're providing," Tyler replied.

We went inside, and I talked to them while Tyler returned to his office to set up the safe house. Lucky for me, Sean was already in Colt's office when I knocked on the door. "Just the men I was looking for," I said as I took the empty seat beside Sean.

"No," Colton replied.

"I haven't even asked you for anything yet," I replied indignantly.

"I know that look, Hellcat. And the answer is no," he replied.

"I only need a small team to protect a mother and her two daughters," I said. "Surely we can spare a few men."

"Will they be staying in one place?" Sean asked.

"Not exactly. The girls would still need to attend school. The mother doesn't work, though, if that helps." I replied.

"Any amount of traveling will take more than a few people, Layla," Sean replied. "You know that."

"Of course she does," Colton replied. "We'll need men to keep the house secure, men to transport the children to and from school, and men in place to watch the school to ensure their safety while they are there."

"Is there any reason why the men transporting them can't also be the ones to guard the school?" I asked.

"It isn't ideal, but it might be our only option," Colton sighed. I grinned at him, knowing that I had already gotten my way.

"Who are we protecting now?" Sean asked.

"Henry Bosland's wife and children," I replied. "Tyler and I think that he threatened his family instead of paying Henry off."

"And by keeping them safe, you think he'll work with us," Sean replied.

"Precisely."

"When will you need them?" Colton asked.

"Tyler is setting up a safe house for them as we speak. Once that is done, I'd like to move quickly on this.. So you have a day or two.

Colton nodded. "Sean just selected our next group of recruits. We're meeting with them in twenty minutes. We can pull the security detail from that group and assign one of our seasoned men to lead them. They'll be green, but it's the best I can do."

"I'm sure they will be fine," I replied. "Thank you."

"Want to come meet the new recruits with us?" Sean asked.

"Yeah, that sounds fun," I replied. I hadn't yet attended a recruiting meeting—something I planned to change in the future. The men joining my ranks should know who they're swearing their loyalty to.

As it turned out, the garage was regularly used for staff and recruitment meetings. The garage was large, and if you went past the initial area, it sloped and went underground—not something you would know from the outside. The meetings were held in this underground area where we didn't park any cars. About ten people, being watched by a few of our trusted guards, were waiting for us when we arrived.

"Thank you for joining us today," Colton said as we stopped in front of the group. "Of the people handpicked to join our organization, you are the ones who successfully completed your initiation tasks. Congratulations."

"Initiation tasks?" I asked Sean quietly.

"A mix of infiltration, threat assessment, interrogation, and defense tasks designed to ascertain their ability to function effectively within this world without being a weak link," he replied.

I nodded. That sounded intriguing, and I would want to know more about it later.

"We're at war," Colton continued, "and you will be the first line of defense. If you can't handle this, now is the time to walk away." He paused to give the recruits a chance to leave. I studied the group, my interest peaking as my eyes landed on the sole woman. We didn't have many women working within the organization in this capacity. The old guard didn't allow it. Nobody budged; if anything, their resolve to be here seemed to harden as they stood like statues. "Good," Colton said as he nodded at Sean, who walked to a table and sat with a stack of papers I hadn't noticed him holding.

"When I call your name, step forward and sign your contract," Sean said. "By signing this contract, you are swearing your lives and loyalty to the Romano Syndicate and Layla Romano. You will be compensated for your services, as previously discussed. You may request to review your contract anytime, but copies will not be provided for obvious reasons. The contract does not expire; this is for life. Be sure you're willing to make that level of commitment before you sign."

Realistically, if someone wanted out, I'd let them. However, I didn't want people who viewed this as a short-term position. This wasn't just a job; this was a lifestyle. One by one, as Sean called their names, they came forward, signed their contract, and returned to their places to wait for further instruction.

"Jason Harris," Sean called.

My eyes searched the group for the man and widened as he stepped forward. The years hadn't been kind to him, and long gone were the boyish good looks and telltale signs of private school education. He had bulked up since I had last seen him at the tender age of sixteen, but there was also a hardness in his gaze that told the story of how differently his life had turned out than what had been planned. If I had to guess, drugs were likely involved, but sometimes, it isn't that simple. So many choices lead you from your path, and Jason made one too many bad ones.

"Jason?" I asked as I approached him.

He signed his contract and then turned toward me. "Hey, Layla. It's been a while." He leaned forward to hug me, and I automatically returned the awkward hug.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were on your way to Harvard Law," I said.

"I was," he replied. "I did, but I didn't stay long. My coke problem didn't make me a very good student. I found myself back home, disowned, and living a life I thought only existed in the movies. Got into some trouble, made more bad decisions, and got mixed up with the wrong people, and now I'm here. You're looking terrific, though. I'm glad I decided to take this job." He reached out and ran his hand from my shoulder to my elbow. I stepped back to remove the contact and bumped into Colton's hard body.

"Who gave you permission to touch her?" Colton growled. "Get the fuck back in line."

Jason's eyes moved past me to Colton, and I swear there was a brief moment when he sneered at Colton before smoothing his expression to an apologetic one. "Sorry, boss," he replied. "I didn't mean anything by it."

"She's the boss. I'm the asshole who will make your life fucking hell if you ever touch her again," Colton replied.

"Yes, sir," Jason replied. He didn't dare mock Colton by saluting him, but I could hear it in his tone. Jason returned to his place in line without looking back at us again. Sean continued to call names but was shooting questioning looks toward us.

"How do you know him?" Colton whispered as he pulled me away from the group to talk more privately.

"You know him, too," I replied. "That's Jason—the guy I went to the movies with that you scared off in the bathroom." I watched with amusement as recognition dawned on him, and he turned back to look at Jason.

"That's the same guy?" he asked incredulously. "I didn't recognize him."

"Neither did I until Sean called his name," I replied.

"I'm tearing up his contract," Colt growled. I grabbed his arm to hold him in place as he turned to stomp over to Sean.

"It's too late for that. He's in. Obviously, something in his file attracted you to him," I reminded him. "The fact that we went on one incomplete date in high school has no bearing now. Keep him. Having a history with him might mean we can trust him more than the others."

"I don't trust him as far as I can fucking throw him. I didn't then, and I don't now," Colton growled as he shot daggers at Jason with his eyes.

"Hey," I said, turning his head to look at me. "You already got the girl. He isn't a threat anymore."

"We'll see," he replied.

"Would it make you feel better to bend me over the hood of this car and claim me in front of him so that he knows I'm not available?" I laughed.

Colton turned slowly and caged me against the side of the car in question with his arms. He bent down so that he was at eye level with me. "Don't. Fucking. Tempt. Me. Hellcat."

Oh, but how I wanted to. I really, really wanted to. I felt myself getting wet as my body began to hum. "You won't," I whispered, unable to resist his challenge with one of my own. His jaw clicked as his teeth clenched, and his right eye twitched.

"One day, Hellcat," he replied more calmly than I expected. "One day, you're going to push me, and I won't give a fuck who is around. Unfortunately, I'd have to kill every man in here except Sean, and we don't have enough men to spare." He leaned forward and nipped my shoulder. "That doesn't mean I'll forget this later, though," he promised.

I hoped later would be as soon as we were done here.

Sadly, it wasn't. Once all the contracts were signed, Colton handed out their assignments and left.

"What was all of that about?" Sean asked as we went to my office. I explained our history with Jason to him. "So... he likes you," he replied.

"Liked me," I corrected. "That was nearly ten years ago. People change."

"Mo stoirín, there is no way that man isn't still attracted to you," he replied.

"So? I'm sure many find me attractive, just like women find you attractive no matter where we go. It doesn't mean anything," I pointed out.

"So if one of our ex-girlfriends popped up in our lives, you'd be fine with it?" he asked as we entered my office. Today was Molly's day off, and we were alone.

I stopped walking and turned to glare at him. "If one did, she wouldn't be here for long. Besides, I choose to believe that you don't have any ex-girlfriends. It's safer for them that way."

"That's what I thought," he chuckled. "You can't have it both ways."

"Sure I can," I smiled, "I'm the boss." Sean wrapped his hands around my waist and shoved the chairs out of the way to sit me on the conference table.

"That's the thing," he murmured against my neck, leaving a trail of scorching kisses. "If he looks at you the wrong way, says the wrong thing, or comes onto you in any way, it will stop being business and become personal. You may be the business boss, but that argument doesn't hold water when it comes to our relationship. We will happily kill him for daring to touch what is ours. And make no mistake, you are ours."

"I'm not interrupting, am I?" Tyler asked as he opened the door.

"Nope. Just reminding Layla that she belongs to us, and we'll kill anyone who makes a move on her," Sean replied, backing up so that I could get off the table.

"What happened?" Tyler asked, his expression darkening.

"Nothing happened," I replied, rolling my eyes and willing my pussy to stop imitating a fucking waterfall. I loved my men. I loved that they followed my orders mostly without question. But fuck me, when they got all possessive and growly, I was ready to fall to my knees at their feet. A more fitting analogy would be that it turned me into a cat in heat, and all I wanted to do was fall to the floor and show them what a good little kitty I could be. In an attempt to get control over my libido and put some space between me and my men, I went to my desk to check my email as Sean filled Tyler in on Jason.

"That's the Jason you went to the movies with?" Tyler asked. "How the fuck did I miss that in his background check?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Colton replied as he entered the office with Drew and Zach.

"That's my bad," Tyler replied. "I never made the connection that he might know Layla, let alone be the same person."

"Did you assign him to the house?" Zach asked as they took their seats.

"No, he'll be assigned to guard the captain's family. When that's over, I'll find something else for him to do away from the house," Colton replied.

"You guys are jumping to conclusions," I commented. "He's harmless and here to do a job. Don't make one failed date a bigger deal than it is. I do have a question, though," I said to try and change the subject. "Is this how we recruit everyone?"

"No," Colton replied. "You only saw a portion of the process for those recruited into the main crew. Kyle, Danny, and the others recruit into their crews differently. Those recruits will likely never step foot in this house and will follow their lead. They still all work for you, but not under our direct instruction. The ones we recruit report directly to us and work out of the house or elsewhere as assigned."

"We have a much stricter recruiting process for those who may have direct access to you," Sean added.

"Though maybe not strict enough," Drew said.

"Fuck off," Tyler said without any heat behind it. "I already apologized. If it's that big of an issue, we can reassign him to a different crew."

"Don't do that," Zach said. "I like the idea that I might have someone to play with."

I shook my head at him as he grinned at us. If I knew Zach, which I did, he was already planning Jason's visit to the basement.

"Ok, what's up?" I asked, shifting the conversation again. "Is there a reason we're all here?"

"I called them," Tyler replied. "I got a safe house set up for the captain's family, and since you said you wanted to move quickly on this, I thought we should get together and decide how this meeting will go."

"That was fast," I replied. "Good job."

"So, what's the deal with this guy?" Drew asked. Tyler and I explained what we had learned about Henry Bosland.

"Sounds like it will be a simple job," Zach said. "Go to his house, have a conversation, and whisk his family away to safety."

"It does sound simple," Sean replied, "too simple. Are we sure that Anton isn't paying him off in any way? Or that Bosland doesn't have a personal connection to the Kandicci's that would explain his support?"

"I'm sure," I replied. "There aren't any trails that lead back to Anton. Just a decent cop who seems afraid to do anything that might go against Anton. I say we go to his house before he gets off work and wait for him to get home. Have a nice little chat, and see what happens."

"I'm with Sean," Colton said. "This entire thing makes me feel uneasy."

"Do you have a better idea?" I asked. I was open to anything, and if they felt there was a larger danger than Tyler and I initially assessed, I was willing to hear it. We expected a dragon at every turn, but the laws of nature suggested that sometimes, it was just a lizard.

"I don't," he admitted.

"When do you want to do this, LG?" Zach asked.

I checked my watch. School would be letting out soon, and it would take us time to prepare. By the time we got there, Mrs. Bosland and her daughters should be back home. "How about now?"

"Today?" Drew asked.

"Yeah, why not. Today is as good a day as any. The sooner we handle this, the sooner the case against Anton is opened, and Kadence can take him down."

"I... I don't have a reason to wait," Sean said in surprise. "Why don't I have a reason to wait?"

"Because there isn't one," I laughed. "Compared to what we usually handle, this is relatively risk-free."

"Then let's go," Zach said excitedly. Too excitedly.

"Zach, you realize we aren't going there to torture him, right? No bloodshed," I warned.

"I know," he replied. "I'm just excited for a family outing."

"Some family outing," Tyler snickered.

"Hey, not every family looks the same," Sean replied. "Some families go on picnics in the park. We coerce cops. It's not the activity, but the quality time spent together."

"Well said," I laughed.

"Ryan, park around the corner out of sight and wait for our call," I instructed as we exited the car. We had arrived just as Mrs. Bosland had returned home. We waited a few minutes for them to settle before approaching the house to be dropped off.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied. Keith didn't look thrilled with the plan but didn't argue.

I walked up to the door with my men behind me and rang the doorbell. When Amber Bosland opened the door, her surprised look quickly turned to dismay.

"Are you trying to get us killed?" she hissed.

"Umm, no? Mrs. Bosland, I'm—"

"I know who you are," she replied, cutting me off. "What do you want?"

"To help," I said sincerely. "I just want to help."

"Can we come in?" Drew asked.

She was hesitant as she looked at the street around us and then at each of us, weighing the risk of leaving us out here to be seen or letting us into her home. Finally, she stepped to the side and allowed us to enter. If I hadn't been sure how Anton was getting Henry to look the other way before, I didn't doubt that my suspicions were correct now. This woman was scared, and rightfully so.

After closing and locking the front door, Amber led us into the living room. She glanced upstairs nervously, and I could hear her daughters playing happily upstairs. "Can I get you a drink?" she asked as she gestured for us to sit.

"No, we're fine," Colton replied.

"Tell us what's going on, Amber," I said.

"You're here, so you must know," she replied, sitting in an armchair.

"I know that your husband refuses to open an investigation into Anton, but he isn't being paid off. Is he threatening your family?" I asked.

Amber gave a shaky nod. "About three years ago, he contacted my husband and told him that if he didn't keep the heat off of him, he would kill us."

"Well, we're here to make sure that doesn't happen," Tyler told her.

"At what cost?" she asked. "We'd just be trading one devil for another. I know who you are and what you do. You're no angels."

"You're right," I replied, "we're not. But killing innocent people isn't my thing. We don't kill children, and that won't ever change. We want to protect you and your children so your husband can do his job without worrying about repercussions."

"And how will you do that?" she asked incredulously.

"We have a safe house set up and ready for you to go to today," Tyler replied.

"Additionally, we have a security team ready to protect you and escort the girls to and from school," Colton assured her.

"We're committed to keeping you all safe until Anton can be brought down," Sean told her.

She looked relieved but still unsure. "How will it be safe if the girls are still attending school?" she asked. "Wouldn't it be simple for them to be followed home from school?"

"Yes, but in the safe house, we will control every inch of the environment differently than we would be able to in your home," Tyler replied. "Obviously, it would be safer for them not to attend school, but that isn't an option."

"It could be," she replied. "Henry and I have been discussing the possibility of homeschooling them. I don't feel comfortable sending them to school, and lately, I don't like them out of my sight more than necessary."

"If you choose to pull them from school, that will make keeping you safe even easier," I replied.

"I'll have to talk to Henry about it first," she replied.

"Is there a way for you to get him to leave work early?" Zach asked. "That way, we can get this set up sooner rather than later?"

"I'll call him and tell him one of the girls is sick. He'll come home," Amber replied.

She left the room to make the call, and I looked at my guys. "This might be even easier than we thought. If the girls aren't going to school, we won't need as many assigned to them for security."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Colton cautioned. "We haven't talked to Henry yet. He might not go for it."

"Umm, I have a question," Zach said quietly so his voice didn't carry. "What happens if Henry doesn't want to work with us?"

I didn't respond right away. What were we going to do if he flat-out told us no? I already assured Amber that we weren't into hurting innocent people, which left out leaning on his family like Anton. "If he tells us no, we go above his head to force him to open an investigation. Hopefully, we won't have to worry about that."

"Ok," Amber said as she returned to the living room. "Henry is on his way home. Can I please get you all something to drink? I have homemade lemonade," she offered.

"Lemonade would be lovely," I replied. I could tell she needed something to do, and I love homemade lemonade.

"Who are you?" a small voice said behind us a few minutes later. We turned to see Henry and Amber's youngest daughter, April, looking at us curiously.

"Hi," I said, approaching her and kneeling so I was at eye level with her. "My name's Layla. I'm a friend of your mommy and daddy. What's your name?"

"April," she replied. "If you're friends with them, how come I've never seen you before?" April asked.

"You're a clever one, aren't you," I chuckled. "We're new friends. Who do you have there?" I asked, pointing to the unicorn stuffy she had in a headlock.

April's suspicions were forgotten as a beaming smile split her face, and she held the unicorn out for me to see better. "This is Corny. He's my Yoon-corn. Santa gave him to me for Christmas, and he's my best friend."

"Wow!" Sean said, kneeling beside me. "I wish I had a best friend that cool. The closest thing I have is Colton over there," he said, gesturing to Colton. He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "And he isn't very magical."

April giggled, peeking at Colton from under her lashes.

Our attention moved to the front door as we heard a key in the lock. Henry swung the door open, and his eyes widened in fear when he saw us with his daughter. This wasn't going to go well.

"Daddy!" April yelled, launching herself into his arms. He grabbed his baby and swung her around behind him as he pulled his gun and pointed it at us.

"Why the fuck are you in my house?" he asked.

Immediately, my guys pulled their weapons, and Sean shoved me behind him as we stood.

Ah, crap.