He heard the water in the sink. Her scrubbing her teeth. She did that a lot. He moved then. Because if he didn’t move, he was going to be late, and they needed to be on the road. In truth, he should have left hours ago. They were headed to New Orleans. Jake had given them the use of his private jet. He needed to establish a new boss in what very soon was going to be open territory again. Joshua Tregre was going to be that boss.

Drake Donovan had married into a family of law enforcement. None of them could take that title with any believability. Elijah dressed slowly. He’d given a lot of thought to whom he could set up in that position and make it work. He had discussed it with Drake, Jake and Eli before approaching Joshua and laying it all out to him, laying it out that from the moment Joshua took over Cordeau’s territory, he’d live a shit life. It would change Joshua’s life. Forever. He would lead a double life, the same way Elijah was leading one. The same way he was going to ask Alonzo to lead one.

Joshua would have to do things he didn’t want to do, things that would cement his role and title in the underworld. Their network would grow—was already growing if they could just keep from being killed. Soon, Elijah knew he would have to sit down with Siena and have the conversation he’d been avoiding.

What did one say to the woman he loved? How did he ask her to do that kind of shit with him? To put her and his children through that? He kept it from her as long as he could, hoping he could find a way to make her so into him, so in love with him that there was no other choice but to stay. Now, because of his decision, Joshua would have to have a similar conversation if he found a woman. And Alonzo.

He pulled on his clothes, clothes he could remove fast when he needed to shift. Everything from his jeans and shirt to his boots had been specially made for that purpose. He could strip and shift on the run, and he was fast. He had to be. He didn’t want the others to be responsible for the things he knew he had to do. Robert Gaton had put out a hit on both him and Siena. He’d sent a sniper to his home. He was sending others. He was leopard, and he was a criminal.