“No, it’s fine,” she interrupted. “I’m going to clean up first.”
His expression seemed to soften. “Yeah, you do that. There are clean towels and soap in there.”
“Thanks.” She hurried to the bathroom and closed herself in, then just stood there. As the reality of what they’d just experienced finally hit her, her eyes burned, and she started to shake.
She ignored her inner tough girl and let herself cry in silence, turning on the sink to hide her fear from Deacon.I’m entitled.
When she’d finished taking care of herself and had hidden her tears, she rejoined him in the bedroom. “Wow. That’s a big bed.”
He chuckled. “I think Noel has aspirations to become a harem master. This thing seems even bigger than a king.” He nodded to her bag on the floor. “Let’s leave our stuff ready to go in case we need to move fast. I’m going to sleep on that side, between you and the door. We’re all locked up, but I’ll be on guard.”
“You need to rest too.”
He crossed the room to her, tilted her chin up to meet her gaze, then lowered his head and kissed her. Thoroughly. But the tender kiss comforted and tugged at her emotions. Deacon had a way of making her feel like the center of his world.
“I will, Blondie. I call it mission-sleep. I put myself at rest, but I’m alert at the same time, if that makes sense. I’ll get more rest tomorrow. I’m pretty awake right now.”
“Okay.” She hugged herself and wanted to lower her gaze, afraid he’d see how much she needed him to make her feel safe. Solene, a woman used to taking care of herself, wanted reassurance from a man.
“Aw, honey.” Deacon didn’t ask. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her, his chin pressed against her cheek. “I’ll keep you safe. I promise. Shh. You’re good. It’s all good.”
He rocked her as she shivered, until she’d finally eased herself into a state of calm.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, embarrassed, and wiped hated tears from her cheeks.
“No, I’m sorry. You should have been protected in your own house. We’ll figure out what happened.” He stepped back, watching her with concern. “Go on and get in bed. I’m going to do one more sweep before I join you.”
She nodded and slid between the covers, still wearing her fuzzy pajamas. She slipped out of her bra before he returned. Just because they’d been shot at didn’t mean she couldn’t sleep in comfort. But she hid it in her bag just in case Deacon thought she’d taken it off for some other reason.
She couldn’t relax until he returned. When he did, he reassured her that he’d locked up. Then he settled next to her.
The warmth of his body and the thick comforter lulled her into closing her eyes.
Deacon’s heavy sigh preceded him dragging her against him as he spooned her from behind. “I got you, Blondie. Go to sleep.”
He hugged her close, and she fell into a dreamless sleep, protected. Safe. Happy.
He couldn’t believehow badly Brent Morgan—Agent Nine—had failed. A spectacular clusterfuck he hadn’t seen coming. Then to learn Annette had been killed by Ice’s girlfriend? Truly surprising.
The skirmish at Solene Hansen’s had gone as expected. Shadow must surely be aggravated now. Good. The bastard thought he knew everything. Toying with the playboy made everything better. Sweeter.
He sat in his mansion and laughed, part of him glad to know they wouldn’t go down easily. Ice, Shadow, and Destroyer. The trinity of accomplishment. Big Joe’s pride and joy.
The anger he thought he’d overcome returned, and he had to work to relax. To realize he held all the cards in their game of life and death. Had he wanted, he could have killed them at any time.
Letting them have a taste of happiness before ripping it away would be much more satisfying than ending them with one heavy blow. Sure, a well-placed explosion could do the trick. But he found no satisfaction in the quick kill. Not anymore.
There was an art to vengeance. A skill to tormenting one’s enemies and making the point that no one could stand in his way without being torn down, piece by piece. Once he finished, he’d make their executions well-known. Then no one would think to oppose him again.
Ice and Adeline Rose could keep. So could that little brat making Ice’s life miserable, he thought with a grin. He loved knowing Ice had been indiscreet, stupid. A perfect end to his stellar career with the Business, stuck tending to a whining baby. A hell in itself.
Now it was Shadow’s time to shine, to see if his mettle would stand against a beating. Whereas Ice moved with deliberation, Shadow glided through life clinging to the gray spaces. A difficult man to pin down, but Shadow had one glaring weakness—he loved the ladies, and they loved him.
This new woman needed exploring. He could use a woman like her in his stable. A beautiful blond supermodel who could still be owning the runways if she wanted. Yes, he had a place for her on his team.
He’d sweep Shadow away, steal Solene Hansen, then worry about Destroyer.
With a secret weapon on his side, he couldn’t possibly lose.
