Mag-log inThe attorney arrived at the penthouse at nine sharp, already looking like she’d been awake since four. She spread the asset freeze paperwork across the kitchen island without waiting for an invitation, then glanced once at the portable crib Roman had somehow produced in under forty minutes. The baby was asleep inside it, one tiny fist curled against his cheek like the world hadn’t just tried to steal him twice in the same week.“The freeze was filed in the third district,” she said, sitting down. “Law firm connected to Marchetti through two layers of shell companies. They had the application ready before the birth. Filed it the second they confirmed delivery.”Archer leaned against the counter. “How the hell did they move that fast?”“Because they were waiting for this exact moment,” she answered. “The freeze is tied to a simultaneous custody petition. They’re claiming the child was born under a surrogacy arrangement they initiated.”“The contract with Dara,” Lennon said. His voice ca
The facility sat on the west side in a building that didn’t advertise what it actually was. Roman had peeled back the shell company in under four minutes while Damien drove like the road owed him something.“Front entrance has two on the door and one inside at reception,” Roman said, eyes on his tablet. “All contracted. Low-level. They’ll fold if real authority shows up, but they’ll fight if we push them directly.”Lennon didn’t take his eyes off the building as they passed it. “So we don’t push.”“South side has a staff entrance,” Roman continued. “Single door, no documented security rotation on the permit. They never expected anyone to know it existed.”“Because they thought they were untouchable,” Archer muttered from the back seat.Roman was already dialing. “Dr. Reyes. I need a legitimate medical authority at St. Christopher’s who can call this facility right now citing patient welfare and questionable consent documentation on a surrogate in early labor.”Dr. Reyes didn’t waste t
Roman had the full profile on Dara Solís by seven a.m.He spread the pages across the kitchen island in that deliberate, almost ritualistic way he arranged information when he needed everyone to absorb it before anyone opened their mouth. Lennon stood on one side of the counter, Damien on the other, both of them too wired to sit.“Twenty-nine,” Roman said. “Trained medical technician. Walked away from her last clinic eight months ago after they tried to short her on hazard pay during a funding fight. She’s got a six-year-old daughter with medical bills that would make most people sell plasma twice a week.”Archer leaned against the fridge, arms crossed. “That’s why she took the listing.”“Yes.” Roman tapped one page. “The payment was four times standard agency rates. She asked enough questions to convince herself it wasn’t trafficking. She didn’t ask the ones that would’ve led her to the Marchetti name.”“She’s protecting her kid,” Lennon said quietly.Roman nodded. “Which means she’l
“Ride it,” Damien said, voice low and rough against Lennon’s ear.Lennon sank down slowly, taking every thick inch until he was seated fully. Damien’s hands gripped his ass hard, controlling the pace from the start. He slammed him down again and again, forcing Lennon to take him deep with every bounce. The wet sound of skin meeting skin filled the quiet penthouse. Lennon moaned openly, head tipping back as Damien’s cock hit that spot inside him over and over.Damien leaned in and sucked hard at the side of Lennon’s neck, leaving dark marks, then bit down at the curve of his collarbone. Without warning, he lifted Lennon off his cock, turned him around, and pulled him back down in reverse. Lennon braced his hands on Damien’s thighs and rode him hard, ass bouncing with every thrust. Damien reached around and stroked his cock in quick, tight pulls while fucking up into him.He pushed two fingers into Lennon’s mouth. Lennon sucked them greedily, moaning around them, tongue working between
Roman moved first.He took the northeast service corridor with two contacts at his back while Damien came in through the south entry. Archer stayed with the vehicle, the live feed still open on his phone. The lower level smelled of salt water and rust, that cold industrial damp that clung to buildings sitting too close to the waterline. Roman kept to the wall, silent. Marcus held up two fingers at the far end. Two personnel. Roman nodded once.It took forty seconds. No gunfire. Both men were down before they could react. Roman moved straight to the storage unit and opened the panel.One container. Not two.He looked at Marcus.“One’s gone,” Marcus said quietly. “Seal’s still cold. Recent.”Roman secured the remaining container and headed for the internal staircase. Upstairs, the situation was louder.Damien had come through the south side and met resistance at the second door. The sounds of it carried down before Roman reached the top. He took the stairs in eight steps.Four rooms on
Damien waited four minutes.He told himself it was because Lennon had asked for two. The extra two minutes were an exercise in restraint—the version of himself that didn’t count every second Lennon was out of sight. At the four-minute mark he looked at Roman.Roman was already staring at his phone.“His location stopped moving three blocks north,” Roman said.Damien stood. “How long ago?”“Seven minutes.”“Seven.” Damien’s eyes went to the restaurant exit. “He left seven minutes ago.”“He told you two,” Archer said quietly.“Yes. He told me two.” Damien was already moving toward the door. “Someone sent him something. He didn’t show it to me.”“How do you know?” Roman asked, falling in behind him.“Because he checked his phone at the table. He looked at it differently than he usually does. Then he looked away from me.”They moved north fast.The building on the third block had a ground-floor unit with the door closed. Damien reached it first and tested the handle. Locked.Roman produce
The ambulance arrived in four minutes.Archer rode with Roman.Nobody stopped him. Nobody asked if he had the right to be in the vehicle because the specific quality of his presence beside Roman on that floor had answered the question before it could be asked.Lennon and Damien followed in the car.
Lennon walked out of the lawyer's office and called Roman."I need a statement drafted," he said. "Tonight.""About the will.""You already know.""The lawyer's assistant called me twenty minutes ago," Roman said. "I have been waiting for your call." A pause. "What do you want it to say.""Everythin
At eight AM a knock on the bedroom door.Lennon opened his eyes."Come in," he said.The door opened. One of Damien's medical contacts, bot the surgeon, a different doctor, one Roman had called in for a second look three days ago at Lennon's demand even before last night stood in the doorway.He loo
Lennon did not speak for a long time.The courtyard held them. The cold, the overhead light. The single bench neither of them was sitting on.He looked at Damien.Damien looked back."Say it again," Lennon said."Lennon…""Say it again. I need to hear it again.""The bullet caused internal damage t







