CHAPTER FOURTEEN
–MACSEN –
Guiding her to my room, I let the door fall shut behind us.
Only then do I tell her, “None of this was my decision.You were under my protection; they kept this part from me and...”
She raises her hand, palm out, and slightly shakes her hand.“Could we not do this now?I’d like the hot bath you promised and to have a mental time-out.First my father and his trusted men, leaving me in the cold by myself, then you and the rest of the bunch.Shit, I sound like a broken record.I’m so damn tired of everyone thinking this world is theirs.Well, fuck them, and fuck you, ’cause it’s my world too.Yet, here I am, still a captive of someone else.”A sigh rips from her and it sounds as if it’s ripped from deep within her tired bones.“Like I said...could we not do this right now?”
“It was a test,” I blurt.
I might as well come clean and tell her everything.Her face shows the fatigue I’m guessing she’s feeling.
Blinking a few times she fully faces me and asks warily, “A test?What test?”
I rub the back of my neck and give her a sheepish grin.“New club rule.When a member claims an old lady, her loyalty needs to be tested.”
We stare at one another for a few heartbeats.I can practically see the wheels turning inside her head when her eyes suddenly widen in realization.
“Old lady?”her voice squeaks, any trace of the earlier fatigue is completely gone.
Time to man up and give it to her straight.She could have reacted so damn differently.From the point she was strapped and bound in the vehicle to the fact she was questioned by Jocko.
“Watching helplessly as you were dragged away from me felt as if they ripped my chest right open and took something I wasn’t ready or willing to surrender without fighting for everything I got.When they confronted me with the video of you killing Gideon, my own damn words were thrown in my face.You see, I wanted to protect you and make sure they couldn’t pin a murder on you.It’s why I said you had no other choice but to kill Gideon.”
“Self-defense,” Lu murmurs.“Jocko threw the question in my face.”
I incline my head.“To see if you’d give me up, which you didn’t.”
She shrugs.“I knew they were baiting me, and I didn’t want to cause issues.You were there for me when it wasn’t even my plan to turn to you for help.”
“I claimed you as mine which led to you being tested.”
It’s as if she doesn’t hear me when she suddenly blurts, “They have a video of me killing Gideon?How is that possible when I used a jammer?”
“Lenz mentioned something about a high-end built in security, preventing the signal to be jammed.Anyway, they have you on video, and even if you’re wearing a mask, the way you move and your eyes?I recognized you.If they are aware you’re Holland’s assassin?It’s not hard to make the link and the reason why they put out a hit on you.Why else would they put a hit out on you?”
She shakes her head.“Impossible.Seriously, no one knows I’m an assassin.When I go into a mission it’s one where I kill everyone and don’t leave survivors.The only reason my father mentioned anything to you is because he didn’t have a choice.He wanted to keep Livi’s link to him a secret.The night we met he needed backup and it’s why I was there.”
The reminder of the night Lu kidnapped Livi and Kenz also makes me realize something.“That night might have been why Jocko volunteered to be the one to question you.”
Lu snorts.“Because I easily knocked him out with a tranquilizer so I could take Kenz and Livi?”
The corner of my mouth twitches.“Yeah.”
We fall silent and stare at one another.Fuck.She’s gorgeous.I still need to remind her of the fact that I claimed her.We might have spent time together, but I have no clue how she’s going to react.
“You claimed me as your old lady,” she states and steps closer.“You didn’t ask me or my father, and did you forget I’m already engaged to be married?”
“Fuck them,” I roar, anger getting the better of me.“There was no choice unless you consider jail an option.”
She narrows her eyes and lashes out the words, “So, the only reason you claimed me was to keep me out of prison?No, it makes no sense.No sense at all.You’re the VP, you wouldn’t take the risk.Not for anything.Wait.This is another test, isn’t it?Trying to see if I roll over due to your kindness and then give up my father.You’re trying to use me.”
“Fuck no,” I grunt.“I’d do a lot for my club, and with the contract binding us to the government we do have some restrictions.No one fucking dictates who I claim as an old lady, though.They couldn’t pay me, bribe me, or torture me in any way to give a woman my claim if I don’t want her as my property.”
