I rose and paced the length of the futon, both hands pulling at my hair. “Your bastard father is gonna pay for all of this. We’ve gotta bring him down.” Perrone had ruined so many lives, including the lives of his children. But he’d fucked up by killing Nikki. He’d fucked up by bringing Alex into it.

He’d messed with the wrong motherfucker.

20. Legacies - Alex

20. LEGACIES - ALEX

As I pulled the rolls from the oven, I blatantly eavesdropped on the tense conversation coming from the living room. Rafe and Jax had turned the television on low, but their voices rose above the white noise of the news.

“This is seriously whacked,” Jax said. “It’s risky, might even get us killed…but it could work.”

“Assuming he hasn’t already cleared the tunnel.”

“Doubtful. He thinks he’s invincible.” Jax scowled. “He’s got so many guys in his pocket, I’m surprised he has room for anything else. But that does present a problem. We can’t call in the cops to catch those assholes when they leave the tunnel.”

Rafe jerked his hand out. “Give me your cell.”

“What?”

“Your cell,” he said. “I know you have one.”

Jax dug into his pocket. “Who’re you calling?”

“Lyle Fucking Lewis. You said Nik’s body is out there somewhere in the woods, right?”

“They’ve got a dumping spot, but I don’t know where it is.”

“Lyle was going to marry Nikki. I don’t trust him to spit right, but he’s always had a weak spot for her. Hopefully he’ll be good for something besides wasting space in the sheriff’s station.”

“You’re twisted, man, calling in your enemy as the cavalry.”

“I don’t see what choice we have. There’s no telling how many cops your father has on his payroll, but I doubt he’s got the sheriff of Dante’s Pass in his fucking pocket. And like I said, Lyle has a personal stake in this—he just doesn’t know it yet.”

Rafe dialed information before stepping outside to make the call.

Chili simmered on the stovetop. Cook dinner, he’d said. He had a monster to take down and slaves to free.

How was this our life?

My belly in knots, I knew I wouldn’t be able to stomach the food, so I dished up two bowls and carried them to the table. “Food’s ready.”

Jax scraped a chair across the floor and sat down. He grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and pulled out a pocketknife to slice it. My attention lingered on that knife, on the blade slicing through the proverbial forbidden fruit.

I envied that apple.

Rafe entered the room, startling me from my fixation on the knife, though the image stuck to my brain like crazy glue. He joined Jax at the table.

“You get him on the phone?”