KEIFER POV
I watched Jay disappear around the second-floor banister, the loud click of her bedroom door signaling she was safely locked away upstairs.
The moment she was out of earshot, the gentle, teasing warmth in my posture vanished.
My spine straightened, my jaw set into cold iron, and the ruthless Watson heir returned to the surface.
I looked at the three Mariano men standing around the dining table.
“What do you want to talk to me about?” I asked, cutting straight through the pleasantries.
“It is nine in the evening, and I don’t think you invited me in just to watch me eat dinner.”
“Hmm,” Aries muttered, his relaxed posture sharpening into that of a mafia general.
He gestured toward the private study adjoining the dining room.
Jasfher gave a single, somber nod and walked into the study first, taking his seat behind the heavy oak desk.
Percy, Aries, and I followed, and Percy shut the double mahogany doors, clicking the deadbolt into place before heading straight to the bar cart in the corner.
“The Lockharts are planning something big,” Percy said, his voice dropping all trace of his usual humor, dead serious as he clinked crystal glasses and uncorked a bottle of twenty-year-old scotch.
I gave a curt nod, accepting the glass Percy handed me.
The burning amber liquid hit my tongue, but it did nothing to soothe the sudden, dark irritation coiling in my gut.
“What is the problem with them now?” I spat, my mood completely ruined at the mere mention of their name.
“They are mostly pathetic cowards who only operate in the shadows, clinging to whatever scraps the older families leave behind.”
“They used to be,” Aries said, leaning against the edge of the desk, swirling the liquor in his glass with cold, calculating eyes.
“Not anymore. Over the past seventy-two hours, our men at the docks intercepted three unauthorized shipments tagged with the Lockhart crest. High-grade military munitions, suppressed rifles, and specialized armor-piercing rounds. That is not petty street territory gear, Keife”
“And two of my scouts went missing last night,” Percy added coldly, setting his glass down with a heavy clink.
“Their bodies washed up near the industrial canal this afternoon. Clean execution. Two shots to the back of the skull. Lockhart calling card carved into the forearms.”
Jasfher leaned forward, his hands clasped over the oak desk, his eyes dark with the kind of ancient, lethal authority that had kept the Mariano mafia family alive for decades.
“They know the wedding is in two days, Keifer,” Jasfher said, his voice a low, gravelly rumble.
“Our families uniting permanently seals all the territories under one unbroken iron throne. Once you and Jay say those vows, the Lockharts lose every scrap of leverage they have left in this city. They will be wiped out by default. Which means their only window to stop this alliance is between now and Sunday morning.”
A dark, venomous laugh slipped past my lips, my grip tightening on the heavy crystal glass until the facets dug deep into my palm.
“Let them try,” I said, my voice a, chilling whisper that made even Percy’s eyes narrow.
“If they think they can touch this wedding, they will be signing the death warrant of every single person carrying their bloodline.”
“We don’t just wait for them to crash the altar, Watson,” Aries countered, his eyes gleaming with bloodlust.
“I want their heads on spikes before the rehearsal tomorrow night. We know where Julian Lockhart is hiding his primary armory in the warehouse district. Twelve guards, automated perimeter sensors.”
“Twelve men?” I scoffed coldly, knocking back the rest of my scotch in one swallow and slamming the empty glass onto the desk.
“Give me David, five of my personal executioners, and two hours. I will walk into that warehouse, slit their throats, burn their munitions to ash, and leave Julian’s severed head on his father’s doorstep by sunrise.”
“No survivors,” Jasfher ordered, his voice dropping like a heavy executioner’s blade into the silence of the room.
“No prisoners, and no questions asked. Anyone wearing a Lockhart pin between now and the church steps is buried six feet under. Jay must never suspect a single thing.”
“Jay stays protected in this estate under twenty-four-hour armed guard,” I stated, my eyes flashing with unyielding, lethal possessiveness.
“If a single bullet comes within ten miles of her, I will personally flay every Lockhart alive. Tomorrow night, we paint the warehouse district red.”
A sudden, frantic knocking rattled against the heavy mahogany doors of the study.
Percy set his drink down and pulled the door open, his brow furrowed with irritation.
“What is it?”
“Sir, Ma’am Jay—” the maid stammered, pale and trembling as she pointed a shaking finger toward the grand staircase.
Cold dread gripped my chest like a vice.
Before she could even finish her sentence, I shoved past her and took the marble stairs three at a time, bolting down the second-floor hallway toward Jay’s bedroom.
“Jay-jay!” I shouted, pounding my fist hard against her locked wooden door.
“What happened?” Aries demanded, sprinting up behind me with Percy right on his heels.
“I don’t know, she won’t answer,” I said, panic completely overtaking me as I backed up and threw my shoulder into the heavy door with everything I had.
“The maid said she heard loud crashing sounds coming from Jay’s room,” Percy said, throwing his weight against the frame beside me, with Aries joining in.
“Owwww…” Jay’s muffled, tearful voice cried out from inside.
Hearing her in pain made my blood run ice-cold.
We slammed against the reinforced wood with brutal force, each hit vibrating down the hall.
Jasfher arrived seconds later, his powerful frame adding to the impact.
With one final, violent shove from all four of us, the brass lock sheared off with a deafening crack, and the door swung wide open.
“Papa…” Jay sobbed.
My eyes swept the room.
She was sitting crumpled on the hardwood floor between her bed and the nightstand, tears streaming down her pale face, clutching her side.
“What happened?” Percy asked, rushing past me and dropping to his knees beside her.
“I was on the phone talking to Sara… then I tripped over the rug and fell,” she whimpered from the ground, pressing a hand to her side.
“I think my ribs are completely done.”
Percy carefully slid his arms under her shoulders, helping her sit up against the base of the bed.
Jasfher knelt down, inspecting her side with gentle, worried hands.
“Why are you crying so hard over a little fall, Jay?” Percy asked softly, using the pad of his thumb to wipe away her tears.
“We can call the doctor right now.”
“I… I broke Mom’s vase,” she wept, her small chest heaving with uncontrollable hiccups as she pointed a trembling finger toward the carpet.
Across the room, the delicate porcelain vase her mother had left behind lay shattered into a dozen white and gold pieces.
Jay wrapped her arms tightly around Percy’s neck, burying her face into his shoulder as she broke down completely.
“I broke something Mom left behind for me,” she sobbed, her small frame trembling violently as her tears soaked right through Percy’s dress shirt.
“It was one of the last things she gave me before she died, and I ruined it because I’m so clumsy.”
Percy tightened his arms around her, rocking her gently from side to side while pressing a soft, reassuring kiss into the crown of her messy hair.
“It’s okay, sis. Shh, take a breath. Mistakes happen,” Percy murmured softly, stroking her back with all the patience in the world.
“Mom wouldn’t be mad at you for an accident. Not in a million years.”
Aries knelt beside them, resting a heavy, protective hand on Jay’s head to calm her ragged breathing, while Jasfher checked her side again to ensure none of the porcelain shards had grazed her skin.
Seeing her weep over that broken heirloom tore right through my chest.
I stepped past them, walking over to the shattered fragments scattered across the carpet.
I reached into her desk drawer, pulled out a couple of heavy-duty ziplock storage bags, and knelt down on the floor.
Piece by delicate piece, I gathered the white and gold porcelain shards with extreme care, making sure not to drop or grind a single splinter of the glaze.
I sealed the larger curves in one bag and gently collected the tiniest fragments into another, determined to have my top artisans restore the entire antique before the weekend was over.
I zipped the bags shut and walked over to where she was still sitting against the bed, sniffing softly into Percy’s shoulder.
I knelt down in front of her, holding up the two sealed bags of porcelain.
“I’m keeping these pieces, Jay,” I told her, keeping my voice remarkably gentle.
“Every single fragment is right here. Don’t worry about it anymore, all right?”
She looked at the bags through her red, swollen eyes, gave a small, wobbly sniff, and nodded quietly.
The four of us stayed by her side for the next twenty minutes, comforting her, fetching an ice pack for her bruised ribs, and making sure she drank a glass of warm water until her ragged hiccups finally stopped and the color returned to her cheeks.
Once she had calmed down and burrowed safely under her heavy blankets, Jasfher checked his gold wristwatch.
“You should be heading home now, Keifer,” Jasfher said, his low voice carrying a subtle reminder of the bloody business waiting for us tomorrow night.
I gave a curt nod.
“Goodnight, Mr. Mariano.”
I had serious work to finish before sunrise.
The moment I stepped out of the estate and slipped behind the steering wheel of my car, I tossed the bags of porcelain onto the passenger seat, connected my encrypted phone to the dashboard, and dialed Honey.
The line rang four times before picking up with an annoyed groan.
“I want you to find and secure the finest porcelain restoration artisan in the Philippines by tomorrow morning,” I ordered without greeting her.
“Spare no expense. Fly them into the city on my private jet if you have to.”
“Keifer, it is eleven at night! People sleep, you know! I need sleep!” Honey argued back, her voice groggy, irritated, and thick with exhaustion.
“I don’t give a damn what time it is, Honey. Get the artisan confirmed and ready at my penthouse by the time I walk through the door,” I commanded coldly, hanging up before she could curse at me.
Next, I dialed my lead intelligence hacker on a secure frequency.
“Where is that fucker Julian Lockhart hiding?” I demanded, the tires screeching as I pulled out onto the highway.
“Nothing solid yet, boss,” the hacker replied hesitantly over the static.
“The Lockharts are running a tight communications blackout. Julian’s primary cell signals vanished off the grid two hours ago, and his usual safe houses are completely dark.”
I slammed my fist against the steering wheel, my jaw clenching so hard a muscle twitched violently in my cheek.
“Keep digging,” I snarled into the receiver.
“Scan every burner frequency, every private airfield, and every warehouse in the district. I want his exact location before the sun comes up.”