Finch was still convinced Dan had the person.


    He red at Dan, but before he could say a word, Derek cut him off.


    "I''ve already checked everyone you''ve got. She''s not with any of you."


    That "already checked" dropped into the tense room like a brick tossed into a pond.


    Dan didn''t even blink.


    After all, Derek hadn''t trusted him in years-always keeping tabs, always watching. nting spies around him was nothing new.


    But Finch was another story. He stared at Derek, disbelief written all over his face.


    "Dad, you—"


    "Enough! Both of you, knock it off! The only thing that matters now is finding out who took Susanna and getting her back, understood?"


    Finch started, "But this whole thing—"


    "—has nothing to do with us, sure. But they''reing to us for answers, so what choice do we have?"


    Just talking about it made Derek''s blood pressure spike. He''d moved fast, checking all his kids'' people, tearing through their crews in record time.


    And what did he find? Susanna wasn''t anywhere near ck Gate.


    But ck Gate was still taking the heat, losing people, losing ground-over something that wasn''t even their fault. Who was he supposed toin to about that? It was enough to make him want to put his fist through the wall.


    Finch''s mood soured further. He never thought his own father would suspect him actually dig into his business.


    Had the secret stuff he was running on the side been discovered, too? The thought made him scowl even harder.


    Derek took a few deep breaths, steadying himself. "You two, get moving. Go find her."


    "Yes, sir." Finch ground out, shooting Dan onest dirty look.


    Dan, as always, looked bored, which only pissed Finch off more.


    Once the two of them were gone, Derek was left alone. He lit up a cigar and took a long, angry drag.


    Caden slipped into the room. "Sir."<fn5514> ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???????s, ????s? ??s?? find?novel</fn5514>


    "Keep an eye on them," Derek muttered, rubbing his temples.


    They were all his sons, but


    somewhere along the line, they''d et


    stopped listening to him stopped being his Even the stuff he''d set up himself, he couldn''t trust anymore.  s


    His own sons, and yet he couldn''t count on them. Couldn''t even trust them.


    What a joke.


    Caden nodded. "There''s something else."


    "What?"


    "Mr. Miguel seems to have another woman around."


    Derek''s brow furrowed. "What''s that supposed to mean?"


    Caden shrugged. "I''m starting to think our girl doesn''t mean that much to him."


    Derek''s face darkened. "She''s not that important? Then why go to war with ck Gate over her?"


    But as he thought about it, a chill


    crept over him. "You think they just used Susanna as an excuse toe akterus?"  s


    Caden nodded. "It''s possible. Maybe this was all just a pretext to hit ck Gate."


    The room went dead quiet, except for the soft hiss of Derek''s cigar and the sound of his breathing.


    Derek''s eyes glinted cold. "Just an excuse, huh?"


    "That''s what I''m afraid of," Caden said quietly.


    If Susanna was just an excuse, then their whole operation was in real trouble. ck Gate might not stand a chance.


    Derek''s voice was low, almost a growl. "Who''s the other woman?"


    He''d rather they actually wanted


    Susanna back-anything but this et


    Anything but being just a pawnin someone else''s game.  s


    Caden said nothing.