The walk to my office is an extremely long one without any conversation being had. When I'd gone to find Braxton I had not been expecting to find him with my daughter in the manner that he had been. It was clear that their time here without the three of us, especially Denver, had led them to become much more intimate than his pay grade called for.

The way Adriana had just looked at him left an uneasiness in me because I know my daughter. If he hurts her now, after whatever had just transpired between them, it will cut her to her core because Adriana doesn't let anyone in. My daughter is a lot like me, more than she'd care to admit.

Once we're in my office I let out a long sigh gesturing for him to enter. I close the door behind me but when I hear the sound of a gun cocking I whip around immediately, expecting to see an intruder. It's Braxton that is aiming his gun at me though, looking every bit like he wouldn't mind firing.

"I do not want to harm you for sleeping with my daughter, if that's what you think this is about." He lets out a wry laugh that tells me that this is not at all what this is about. "Braxton, I need you to listen to me. I am—"

"I don't have to listen to a fucking word that comes out of your mouth." The words are growled out at me angrily which does nothing but confuse me. "You killed my mother."

"What?" My brow furrows in confusion. "I did no such thing."

"Don't you dare fucking lie to me. She told me that you had my entire family killed. You, Lucas Warner, killed my family. You wanted every last Marling dead." Now I see what this is about. When I go to move around my desk he jerks the gun in a threatening manner. "Don't fucking move."

"May I?" I nod over to my desk but he doesn't look like he's going to let me. "I think you may be able to get in contact with someone that I am no longer able to." His head tilts to the side like he thinks every word coming out of my mouth is bullshit. "I am working with your brother Tristan."

"Bullshit." I'd thought he'd say as much.

"I lost contact with him after everything went down with Torey. He must've had to ditch the line. My assumption was that he was still here in New York but Brooks confirmed that he's in Albania. That he has been assigned to Daniela."

"It's common knowledge that he's been assigned to Daniela after the shit show your son created the other day." When my son lost his fucking mind because of Tristan— his brother. "You knowing that doesn't mean anything."

"Why is it that you think he gave Brooks his last name? Of all the things your brother could have given him for assurance your brother chose his last name. He chose to tell Brooks that he's a Marling." My words look like they're sinking in. "We are working together."

"Yeah, well that was before he knew you killed our mother. Tatyana told him what you had done to her."

"Your mother was killed in a hit and run accident. It was an accident, Braxton."

"Bull-fucking-shit!" He takes a step toward me. "You put a hit on her! You had her killed!"

"If I wanted all of the Marling family dead then explain to me why I hired your brother. Explain why I hired you." I put my arms down, placing my hands on my hips with, "I gave you both jobs so that I could make sure you didn't end up like your uncle. I saw your brother dabbling around in the lifestyle in New York and you doing the same here. So I reached out to Tristan because my son was entangled with the Albanian mafia and I knew it. I knew it even before my partners did. So I introduced myself to him and set up a job for him, one where he'd be working directly with my son. He kept tabs on him and gave me updates on him, got close to him." As close as my son would let anyone, at least. It's how I knew just how dark my son had to go. I had kept that from Malyssa and Denver until I couldn't anymore. Until everything happened with Dani getting pregnant and her wanting to give the baby away. "Call Tristan and ask him." I glance at the clock. "He should be able to have a phone conversation now."

"That's not how it works. My brother is the one who calls me when he can, not the other way around." That gun is still trained on me but I can tell his resolve is crumbling. Just as I'm about to tell him to put it down Torey busts open the door, Adriana and Brooks on his tail. Torey whips out a gun faster than what should be humanly possible. He gets those reflexes from his mother.

"Why the fuck do you have a gun on him?"

"Torey, it's okay." I try to reassure him but he doesn't even look at me.

"The fuck it is. This asshole has a gun on you." He takes a step toward him which has Braxton aiming the gun toward my son. That action has Brooks stepping out from the side and aiming his own weapon at Braxton.

"Stop!" Adriana cries out, looking frantically between her brother and Braxton. "Please, just stop."

"I don't fucking think so, Adri." To my complete surprise, Adriana goes to stand in front of Braxton. "You don't block much of the big bastard, sis. And how the fuck are you seriously going to side with this asshole against your own fucking family?" He makes a valid point which has me assessing my daughter. Her face is full of confusion.

"I have seen how psychotic you get, Tor. I don't want you anywhere near him."

She's protective of him...

"Then he needs to explain himself."

"Can everyone just put the guns down?" I ask, following it with a frustrated sigh.

"Them first."

"Torey, Brooks, put the guns down." Thankfully they listen which has Braxton lowering his. "If you could just call your brother then we could get this all sorted."

"Brother?" Torey looks over Braxton and the sudden recognition there has him looking infuriated. "Brother. You're his fucking brother!" Before Torey can launch himself at Braxton Brooks wraps his arms around his middle. The forceful action to his abdomen nearly has Torey doubling over in pain... nearly. "I'll kill you. I will fucking kill you and him. I will—"

"That's enough, Torey!" My voice boomed throughout the room causing everyone to stop and look at me. Adriana is crying as she looks up at Braxton now. He's not giving her much emotion, if any, and as a father I feel all of my patience run out because I know what it takes for my daughter to be vulnerable with someone. She'd clearly been too vulnerable with him and he'd lied to her. She probably thinks he used her, hell, maybe he had. "Adriana leave us." She looks at me, tears spilling down the side of her face before she walks out of the room. "Brooks, close the door and Torey calm the fuck down." When he doesn't look like he's going to comply I pierce him with, "they have your mother. Dedaj does not just have Daniela and Wolf. He now has your mother." That makes him stop completely.

"What?"

"You heard me. He has your mother."

"How the fuck did that happen?"

I grit my jaw thinking about how Mal had gone behind Denver and my back with the Germans. How she'd set up a a fake attack so that she could be captured. We'd talked about it several times over the past month while Brooks was a way. She wanted to change the strategy. She said one of us needed to be on the inside, needed to infiltrate. When neither Denver or I agreed she'd taken things into her own hands, in typical Malyssa fashion.

"You know how your mother is. She plays by her own rules." That's all I give him, not wanting to elaborate.

"They have Malyssa?" Brooks's tone is broken and I know it's because she had made him a promise. She had told him he wouldn't lose her. Since she's become a mother-like figure to him, it makes me even more furious with her, especially seeing the look of pure torment on his face. "Call your brother. Call him right fucking now." Brooks takes a few steps toward Braxton, looking absolutely murderous.

"Please call your brother, Braxton." I interject, knowing that my son and Brooks are seconds away from nearly exploding. Brooks keeps Torey grounded, and if he goes off, Torey will really go off.

"Do you promise you had absolutely nothing to do with my mother's death?"

"I promise." He eyes me like he still doesn't believe me. "I promise on the life of everyone I love that I did not play a hand in your mother's death. I swear it."

"What will you do to me after?" I quirk a brow in question. "After I have done what you've asked."

"I will let you deal with Adri. That should be punishment enough."

"I genuinely have feelings for your daughter."

"And I genuinely don't give a single fuck. Now call your twatwaffle of a brother right fucking now." Torey and Brooks still don't know of the recent development in Tristan and Dani's relationship— that they're engaged. I can't have them finding that out, especially now, when they're both right on the edge.

"I need the both of you to leave the room."

"Like fucking hell I'm going to leave the room."

"Torey, leave. I cannot have you messing up communication between Tristan and I. This isn't about your ego, it is about your mother, son, and Dani." Whatever Dani is to him. She would appear to be his detonator. He is extremely possessive of that woman which he gets from his biological father. The kid is the perfect mixture of the two people I love. It's infuriating sometimes.

"Come on, Tor." Brooks puts a hand on Torey's shoulder and I'm surprised when he doesn't shove it off. "Let's go back to the guest house." Go back... They're staying there together? Interesting.

"I will leave but I want an explanation as to why you'd let a Marling into this house." He'd spit Braxton's last name out like a curse before turning around and stalking out of the room. Brooks closes the door but not before giving me a face full of worry.

A/N:
Happy Friday!

Was able to get out a few chapters yesterday so I figured I'd drop this one for you all!

Thoughts about Luke working with Tristan? Some of you had guessed Luke couldn't be that oblivious to who Braxton is, you were right!

Thoughts about Mal being at the compound, going behind Luke and Denver's back?