“She doesn’t listen,” Sage said as she walked into the ballroom with Talaya right behind her. “Tye called me to come out when she hopped out of the truck and threatened to grab one of the guns from one of the inside compartments so she could shoot her way into the building.” Sage rolled her eyes. “Guess that makes you two a good couple.”

Ridge ignored his lead guard’s scowl as he passed her to reach for Talaya. About twenty minutes had gone by before the men were allowed to leave the room they’d been left in to wonder about what the hell was going on. Eventually, Que had come down to get them, explaining that there’d been a situation with the local police and Interpol. They’d entered the ballroom to see a towncar in the middle of the floor about five minutes ago and now, here she was.

“I told you to stay in the truck,” Ridge said grabbing her arms to hold her still in front of him.

“By myself,” Talaya snapped. “You left me alone while you came in here to do who the hell knows what.”

“You weren’t alone. Tye and two other guards were at the truck with you. There are guards at every one of our vehicles out there so you were well surrounded,” he argued.

“But you were in here,” she countered, her gaze locked with his. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her lips set as fury mixed with a heavy dose of fear cloaked her.

Again, Ridge knew that feeling, was still harboring it in the center of his chest as he tried to make sense of how quickly their night had shifted. “I really don’t want you to see this,” he said. “I’d rather you stay in the truck and I tell you everything when we get home.”

“I won’t be without you,” she said, her voice cracking. “I’m not leaving.”

He slid a hand to the base of her neck and pulled her into him so he could kiss her forehead. “Okay,” he said softly. “Okay.”

When he eased back, he took her hand. “Stay right beside me,” he told her and turned to walk back toward the scene he’d just barely begun to digest.

Pierce and the woman dressed in a black pantsuit with a white silk shirt and black pumps with a silver spiked heel, stood near the driver’s side door of the car. That’s where they’d been when the Donovan men had been escorted into the ballroom surrounded by their guards. It’s where they still stood when Ridge had looked up to see a raging Sage and a determined Talaya coming into the space.

“So, you’re saying this is Cordell DuPont?” Roark asked from where he stood at the hood of the car with his hands thrust into the front pockets of his pants.

Standing beside Roark with similarly irritated looks on their faces were Dane and Adam. Uncle Bernard was on the passenger side of the car a few feet from Ridge and Talaya, his frown affixed as he peered into the backseat of the vehicle.

“His wallet was in his jacket pocket,” Agent Mona Charisse, the woman Pierce had introduced as his partner replied. “This burner phone was on the passenger seat.” She held it up in her gloved hand. “With one text message that was sent late yesterday evening. ‘Death becomes you’,” she said reading directly from the phone.

Talaya gasped and Ridge looked at her.

“That’s the same text message I was receiving,” Talaya said vocalizing his thoughts.

“Yeah.” Pierce nodded. “From the burner phones we couldn’t trace.”

“Did you get another message yesterday and didn’t tell me?” Ridge asked hoping like hell that wasn’t the case. He wasn’t going to be able to keep his ire with her at bay if it was.

“No,” she said shaking her head vehemently. “No.”

The purse she’d carried tonight was a white Chanel clutch with a gold chain. Ridge had no idea if she’d had it when they’d rushed out to the truck a little while ago, or not, but she had it crossed over her chest now and she flipped the flap open to dig inside. When she pulled out her phone and slid her finger over the screen to wake it, she turned it to face him. “See, nothing but the group text thread between me, Suri and Willow about our dresses, our next spa appointment and Pier…”

“Just our group texts,” Suri spoke up, interrupting Talaya’s next words.

She was another one who didn’t listen and hadn’t stayed in the SUV like she’d been told to do. Brock and two other guards escorted her in just moments before Talaya arrived. Now they were all standing around this car having a conversation like a dead man sitting in the driver’s seat was a normal occurrence.

“What’s your phone number?” Mona asked Talaya.

Talaya gave her the number while Mona stared down at the screen.

“The last digit is wrong,” Mona said bringing her gaze back up to them. “That’s why you didn’t get it.”

“But it was meant for her,” Ridge said, rage burning at the back of his throat.

“It makes sense,” Pierce said.

“The hell it does,” Roark replied before Ridge could get the words out. “How the hell does it make sense that this man turned up at Ridge’s office last year, talking some ridiculous shit about Ridge needing investors or whatever? Then the woman who was with this man, starts talkin’ shit about who Ridge is and what’s coming next for our company. And then, this dude here,” Roark said pointing into the driver’s seat, “causes an accident that could’ve been fatal for my brother, but just gets up and walks away without anyone seeing him. Now, you’re standing here telling us that it makes sense that this was also the creep who was sending cryptic ass, morbid ass text messages to Talaya?”

Ridge couldn’t have said it better himself. The fact that it was his stoic and always responsible brother going the hell off meant shit was really getting crazy for them.

“Where’s the connection?” Dane asked. “Either Ridge is the target or Talaya is. The two of them weren’t even together when this shit with the DuPonts started.”

“The company is the connection,” Suri said and Talaya nodded.

“You said that’s what Michelle DuPont told you in the meeting last year,” Talaya told Ridge.

When he’d released her hand so she could retrieve her phone, Ridge had folded his arms over his chest, listening to everything that was being said, but also thinking about all that had happened. “Yeah,” he replied. “She said our company was on its way to getting massacred in the press. She said we were about to experience a PR nightmare.”

“Because of the fire and the murder investigation,” Roark added.

“But all of the cases with the families have been settled,” Dane said. “And you were never really a viable suspect in that murder investigation. Plus, the murders were solved last year. So, what the hell is this about?”

“It’s about the MB Mafia,” Mona said. She dropped that burner phone into a plastic bag and sealed it. “The reason Pierce and I were able to come in here tonight and take over this crime scene is because of who this dude right here is linked to.”

As she pointed to the body in the driver’s seat again, Ridge’s gaze went to the man who didn’t look to be much older than him, who was dressed in dark jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black jacket. There was nothing about this man that stood out as someone who worked for the mafia, or someone who Ridge or Donovan Oilwell would have beef with. He was just a man with a bullet hole in the center of his head, who arrived uninvited to a party by miraculously driving himself through a fucking window!

“Spell that shit out,” Ridge said finally. “I’m sick of all of this roundabout talk. If you’ve got some facts for us, then just spill it so we can get on with finding these bastards and getting to the bottom of whatever the hell this is.”

Brock raised a brow at Ridge’s brisk tone, but he wisely remained silent. Adam rubbed his chin, probably recalling the times he’d seen Ridge explode with rage. Uncle Bernard didn’t even look at Ridge because he was likely feeling the same way. Bailey and Dev who had been silently surveying the car and the windows where the car had come into the ballroom, had stopped a few feet away and now stared at Mona expectantly.

“He’s right,” Dane said. “You need to just give it to us straight so we can handle this shit.”

Pierce held up a hand in what was probably an attempt to keep the peace, especially since Mona had arched a brow and propped one hand on her hip. She was probably about to spout off her credentials and tell them she didn’t work for them, but Ridge wasn’t trying to hear that shit. And from the way everyone else in his family had now zeroed in on the woman, they were taking the same position as him.

“Let me just clear a couple of things up first,” Pierce said. “Agent Charisse heads up the organized crime division. She’s got intel on all the major crime syndicates across the world. MB Mafia has ties to a bigger operation, that’s why my superiors brought her in to this investigation. And that’s why the local cops were pissed that we have jurisdiction.”

“I’m the supervising agent,” Mona said, her eyes cutting over to Pierce, before she returned her gaze to Ridge. “From this point on, all information regarding this case will go through me. Do I make myself clear?”

“Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?” Ridge asked and Talaya quickly grasped his arm. Sage was by his side in a blink.

“Let’s just take it down a notch,” Pierce said looking from Ridge to Mona and then back to Ridge. “We’re all on the same team here. And, Mona, I’m the direct contact for the family. You’re here tonight as a courtesy. I could’ve just reported all this to you on Monday, but I asked you to this event so you would get an idea of how solid this family is.”

“Solid doesn’t mean they’re above the law,” Mona snapped.

“And a badge doesn’t mean you can’t get slapped,” Suri added.

Mona’s head snapped in Suri’s direction. “Oh, but it does,” Mona said. “But you can jump if you feel bold. I’ve got cuffs in my car but I’ll wipe this floor with your ass before I arrest you.”

Suri took the step toward Mona that everybody in that room knew she would. But Jus was already there, snaking an arm around her waist to pull her back.

“Look!” Pierce yelled. “We’re not doing this. We all have one common goal and that’s to get to the bottom of whatever is going on.”

“Then you’d better hurry up and do that, son,” Uncle Bernard said. “And know that we’re not standing down. Not for her badge or for you trying to keep the peace. Tell us what you know or we’ll handle this shit on our own.”

And they would. Ridge knew that without a doubt, whatever the hell this was, whatever Pierce had to say to them, in the end, the Donovans would be the ones to handle this.

Pierce frowned and dragged a hand over his beard. “We tracked some deposits going into Cordell’s main checking account in the States. They came from an older account linked to Brighton Ewing and a bar she owned in Houston. That bar, one in Alexandria, Virginia and one in Washington, D.C., were raided six months ago. Thirty-seven arrests, and a combined total of one hundred and eighty pounds of marijuana and cocaine confiscated. All of the accounts were supposed to be flagged for any out of the ordinary activity, but the payments to Cordell were relatively small. Three thousand here, five thousand there, then nine thousand, and just a couple of weeks ago, twenty-seven thousand. That’s the one that caught the FBI analyst’s attention because it was such a big jump. She just reported it to Cade yesterday and he called me as soon as he got the info.”

“So, he’s on the mafia’s payroll. How the hell does that relate to us?” Dane asked.

“We don’t know that just yet,” Pierce said. “But it would’ve given us a reason to bring Cordell in for questioning. I planned to get a warrant and hunt his ass down, then I was going to report what I learned to you. I’d hoped to let you guys have this day of celebration without bringing you anymore bad news. Now, obviously, things have changed.”

“I want to know how the hell he got in here if he’s dead,” Adam said. “Dead men can’t drive.”

It was something they’d all been thinking no doubt. Something that had probably stumped the police and everyone else who’d been in the ballroom having a good time before this happened. This was some shit you’d see on television, in a big budget action movie or something like that. It wasn’t something that happened at a charity fundraiser. Then again, they were standing there talking about the mafia like Ridge or any of the rest of them had ever imagined they’d have any dealings with an entity like that.

“The car was in neutral,” Dev said, stepping closer to the vehicle and pointing through the passenger side door that was open. “Somebody would’ve had to drive the car here and into the parking lot. They would’ve lined it up right where they wanted it to go, then positioned the body in the driver’s seat. There’s blood in the trunk so that’s most likely how they got him here. Then they gave it a good push providing just enough momentum for it to coast right through the window. That bar in the center of the room was what finally stopped it.”

“Shit!” Uncle Bernard cursed and ran a hand down his face. He and Aunt Mary Lee had most likely gotten out of the way just in time before the car collided with the bar.

“Why?” Brock asked.

The question seemed so simple and so heavy at the same time.

“To send a message,” Bailey said.

Pierce nodded. “They’re finished with Cordell. Whatever part he’d had to play in this was over so they had no further use for him.”

“But it’s not over,” Mona said. “This was a direct message to you.” She looked pointedly at Ridge. “All of you since it was here tonight and not just at your house or your office building. They want you and everyone connected to you to know they’re not done.”

“Fuck!” Ridge dropped his arms, fists balled at his side.

Talaya held tight to his arm, moving in so she was even closer to him now. The feel of her so near provided comfort he hadn’t felt before when he was enraged. He had no idea if that was a good or bad thing. Right now, it just was.

“So, what now?” Suri asked.

“I find out who did this,” Pierce replied staring directly at Suri. “My team and I, Cade and his team included, will keep digging until we find the answers and then we’ll bring them down. Make no mistake, we will end this and you…all of you will be safe.”

“Oh, they’ll definitely be safe,” Sage added with a nod toward Que and Jus, who returned her fierce scowl with determined nods of their own.

“And Lord help them when we find out what all of this about,” Roark said.

“No doubt,” Adam replied.

“But for now,” Uncle Bernard spoke up. “We all go home. The Team will do their part to protect the family. These law enforcement officials will get out there and do their jobs. And we,” he said, looking from his son, to each one of his nephews. “Will do what we do best. We’ll get through this, like we have before.”

“No fear. No pause. No end,” Ridge murmured.

Adam, Brock, Roark and Dane repeated, “No fear. No pause. No end.”