figured it out no one else has either?” Her hands came to his face. “Is that a risk you’re willing to take?”
“What do I do, Love? If I bring her here she learns her whole life is a lie. She finds out what she came from and has to bear the weight of that knowledge.”
“How does she not know what happened?” Mona’s eyes were wide. “What in the world does she think happened?”
“She believes she lives with her grandmother. That her parents were killed in a car crash.” It was what he and Helen came up with. An easy explanation that was a twist on the truth.
Her parents were in fact dead, and Helen loved her more than either of her grandparents ever did.
Mona leaned her head back. “That’s fucked up, Pierce.”
“How is protecting someone fucked up?”
“She doesn’t even know who she is.” Mona’s hands squeezed his face, forcing his eyes to hers. “She deserves to know the truth.”
“Then what? How am I supposed to protect her then?” It was his greatest fear that one day Amelia would begin to question the story she’d been told and seek out the real story of her past.
“What was your ultimate plan? She inherits an amount of wealth most people can’t comprehend in under a year. How were you planning to handle that?”
Pierce pressed his lips together. It was an eventuality he always knew was coming. “I was going to ease her into it.”
Mona blinked at him. “I don’t even know what to say to you right now.”
“I didn’t want her to end up like the people we came from. I thought if I gave her a different start she would be able to handle what came after.” He’d been too young when this all started to really understand what he was doing. The choices he’d made at eighteen were very different from the ones he would make today.
“She may not have an after if you don’t do something drastic.” Mona straightened, sucking in a deep breath. “You have to at least tell Rogue, Intel, and Shadow.”
“No.” It was an automatic reaction to a lesson he’d learned young in life. The fewer people who knew the truth the more hidden it remained.
“You have to.” Mona sounded more sure of this than he was of anything. “And you have to do it now so we can decide what to do and get it done before Anthony finds her.”
“And trust that none of them will turn against me again?”
“First of all, no one turned against you in the first place.” Mona’s chin lifted. “What Zeke did was stupid, but it was not because he chose GHOST over Alaskan Security and you know that.” Mona held his gaze. “They are the reason I was willing to go out to lure Anthony from whatever hole he’s hidden in. I knew no matter what I would be safe.”
In his life he’d seen men twisted by money and all that came with it. Watched as it turned them to someone else. Something else. Believing there were men who would not succumb to the allure of a financial windfall was nearly impossible.
“He will offer anyone he thinks can gain him access more money than they can imagine.”
“And they will all turn him down.” Mona shook her head. “I can’t speak for Alpha or Beta, but I would bet my life on Rogue and Shadow.”
“If you are wrong—”
“I’m not wrong.” Mona’s jaw was set and her eyes were filled with a certainty he’d hoped to someday see.
He couldn’t take that from her now.
“Fine.” Pierce grabbed her hand in one of his as he dialed Dutch’s number on his phone. Dutch answered on the second ring as Pierce led Mona through the halls toward the offices. “Call a meeting with Intel, Shadow, and Rogue.”
“What time?”
“Now.” Pierce squeezed Mona’s hand a little tighter as the unwanted bite of fear twisted his gut. “It’s an emergency.”
“Got it.”
He slid his phone into his jacket pocket. “Do I bring her here?”
“Definitely.” Mona didn’t hesitate. “And Helen.”
“She is not going to be happy.”
“Helen or Amelia?”
He was not looking forward to explaining the full situation to Helen. “Both.”
“I’m sure she’ll be happy when Amelia comes out of this alive.” Mona stayed right as his side as he walked into the largest of the conference rooms. Intel was already there, lined up in their places at the front of the room. Brock, Dutch, Wade, and Shawn sat together, side by side in the row behind the women that loved