A statement rather than a question.
“There’s no wanting involved, beautiful. You already gave up control of your life to me for one night of dominance. What you do with your brother, Gage, and the crew is up to you. I won’t speak for you, nor will I make the decision for you.”
It’s on her to decide who she gives the power over her life to. Personally, the power belongs to one person—her.
“How’d you get so wise?”
From a father figure. “Dom Costello, my business partner. He’s also my emergency contact.”
Why did I tell her that?
“In case something happened to you when you were in the marines?”
“In case anything happened to me, period.”
“But I thought you were close with Blaise and the Lexingtons?”
“Dom is more family than my blood relatives, Ever.” I check the GPS on my screen. We’re almost to José’s place. I pull into a grocery store parking lot and park.
“Ever, there’s something I have to tell you. I want you to hear it from me first before shit hits the fan.” I shut off the engine, unbuckle, and turn to her. “Those times when I went to Alexandria for business that required me to be there in person . . .” I blow out a breath. “I was at the police precinct, speaking with the detectives who worked Carlos’s murder case.”
“What would you have to say to them? Unless . . .” Her hand goes to her throat. Her other shakes. I take the coffee cup from her and set it back in the cupholder.
“Unless I was there,” I finish for her.
“The rumors are true. You led him to the kill shot point. You killed him.” Anger twists her face. Her eyes shine with tears. I’ve never seen Ever more beautiful.
I reach for her. She recoils from me. Before she can unlock her door and run out into the parking lot, I unbuckle her and, scooting to the middle of the seat, pull her into my lap, grip her jaw in my hand, and force her to look at me. “I was there, but not for that reason. The hit was for me. I was supposed to die that night.”
Her eyes widen with terror. “No. No.” She shakes her head. Her fingers grip the front of my shirt. “Why?” she asks in a strangled whisper.
“Someone wanted me dead. Carlos must’ve seen the red dot over my heart. He pushed me out of the way and took the shot.”
Her grip tight on my shirt, she yanks me to her until we’re a hair’s breadth from one another. “That’s impossible. There are experiments proving a person can’t dodge a sniper’s bullet.”
This girl is smart.
“I’m not smart.” She’s reading my mind now. Or I’m becoming an open book like her. “Riley knows random shit a normal human doesn’t.”
I smile. She smiles back. I press my mouth to hers, wanting to fuck her right here and now for how she makes me feel. Happy. Grateful. Wanted. “I don’t understand it either, but he did what he did and saved my life.”
“You’re right.” She scrunches her face, looking downright adorable. “There have been stories of people with superhuman strength, lifting cars off their loved ones.”
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” I offer.
“Yes.” She relaxes her grip on my shirt. “He cared for you.”
I shake my head. “It’s who he was. He acted without thinking.”
She nods. Tears form in her eyes. “Did the detectives have anything new on the case?”
“They do.”
“And they told you? They believed you?”
I wondered the same.
When I stepped inside the precinct, I was certain I’d be led out in handcuffs and taken straight to an interrogation room. But that didn’t happen. The lead detective led me to his office, and we spoke like we were old friends catching up.
