“Like a fundraiser conducted like a circus?” Valentin leaned forward with wide eyes. “You think they're using them to transfer funds without the authorities noticing?”
Amorette nodded. “Doug stole from Cavitto, an ungodly amount.” She whispered what her ex had stolen, and Valentin almost choked on his own spit at the number.
“Holy shit, and you were going to try to pay that yourself?”
“I didn’t want them to shoot me.” Her voice turned brittle, and he was on his feet in seconds. Her tears erupted as he pulled her against his chest, her fingers clutching his shirt as she sobbed.
“Let it out.” He brushed her hair comfortingly, her shaking form so small and precious clinging to his mass. “You’ve endured more than anyone should.”
“I didn’t want to die, and Doug just sat there, willing to let Cavitto shoot me.” Amorette looked up at him through damp eyelashes, and Valentin swore he would protect this woman at all costs. “I was terrified, but now? Now, I’m angry.” She wiped the tears from her eyes, and a feral rage replaced her sorrow. “I can feel it, Valentin. Cavitto’s in there, and I need to do this. I need to not be the girl kneeling on the dirty carpet, begging for my life.”
“That will never happen to you again.”
“Promise?”
“I swear it.” He said it as if he was swearing fealty to a monarch, vowing eternity to his bride.
“Then let’s finish this.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the gate.
“People will die if we go in there,” Valentin warned. “Because if it comes down to you or them, it will always be you. I’ll put an arrow through the heart of anyone who tries to harm you.”
“I know,” Amorette said. “But without proof, we can’t call the police, and I won’t let you leave me behind. We finish this together.”
Valentin stood in the shadows, one with the darkness, as he surveyed the wall surrounding the estate. He disappeared in the night, a thief in the blackness, vengeance come to collect. Despite the heavy security, not one camera registered his size nor the beauty his glamour shielded. Standing before the impressive walls guarding the mansion, he smiled at how intuitive Amorette was. No one suspected Otis Gaynes. No one ever came close enough to his defenses to witness the veritable fortress his home was, but she had figured it out. The gate was impenetrable. The wall was too tall for mortals to scale. Surveillance cameras peppered the property, leaving no inch of land unattended, and Valentin’s heightened senses detected dogs on the grounds. They were the least of hisproblems, though. Dogs, even the trained guard animals, adored him. It was his Fae power influencing their trust. A fact he was thankful for as he stared at Amorette. Instinct warned him that while she was every inch the vigilante he was, she drew the line at harming pets.
Valentin wordlessly reached behind him, captured Amorette, and pulled her onto his back. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist as her arms circled his shoulders, and when she was securely in place, Valentin raced for the wall. His powerful thighs launched them up the barrier, and he scaled its height in a matter of seconds. He smirked at Amorette’s grip as he dropped to the other side, her body barely moving as she cemented herself to him. He’d said nothing. Hadn’t warned her of his plans or instructed her to hold on, yet she knew exactly what he wanted. What would it be like if this was always his life? What would it be like to love someone who understood him without words, who answered without speech?
Enjoying the feel of her wrapped around him, Valentin strode across the grass, holding the backs of her knees to keep her steady. He didn’t bother hiding within the shadows. They wouldn’t see him coming, and even if they did, it didn’t matter. An angel of war descended upon them, for they had laid their hands on his Amorette. Justice had come, and it would be swift and bloody.
Valentin swung her off his back as they closed in on the front door and handed her an arrow. She clutched the gold in her fists as if she was a weapon’s expert, and his cock grew hard, straining painfully against his pants at the sight. He would love to train her in combat, hand to hand and skin to skin as they grappled. He pictured her in the tight workout clothes, and his mind lingered on how he would peel them off and carry her into the shower when they were done.
“Look.” Amorette nudged him, gesturing to the shadows by the house. Two Dobermans stood eyeing their approach. Valentin waited for her to recoil in fear, but she only moved out of his shadow to smile at them. “They’re so cute,” she whispered. “I like their ears.”
Valentin stifled a laugh; thankful his presence soothed the dogs. Just as his spirit threatened the men in the basement, it delivered peace to the animals, and deciding the intruders weren’t a threat, they lay down in the grass. He had been right. His beautiful girl was a brave and ferocious woman, but she would never forgive him if he hurt a pup.
He slid his fingers through her hair and pulled her close, kissing her head before releasing her. Everything about her was precious, from her love of chocolate to her infectious smile and the way her lips fit against his. To her adoration of the Dobermans’ ears, to her determination to guard his back. He would protect her at all costs, no matter the price.
“Can you feel that?” She asked, moving closer to him as they lost sight of the dogs. “The oppression in the air? This place feels wrong.”
“He’s here.” Valentin nocked an arrow and raised the bow.
“You won’t let anything happen to me, right?” Her voice was steady, her words more a statement than a question.
“Never, Amor. Never.”
“Good, because I want him to know I’m coming for him. That I’ll be his downfall.” She gripped the arrow tighter, and Valentin looked away before he took her right there in the grass. She was unspeakably gorgeous with revenge tensing her muscles, and he wondered if she knew just how sexy bravery was on her.
“Watch my back,” he said instead.
“Always.”
Always. Always. Always.Heavens, he fucking wanted that.
“Cupid?” she asked, and he glanced down at her, loving that she called him that. “Can you do me a favor and only shoot to kill if it’s necessary? Leave them alive for the cops?”
“Of course, Amor.” And with a deep inhale, he kicked down Gaynes’ heavy front door.
Two guards jerked in surprise as the ornately carved door flew across the foyer and slammed into the opposite wall. The whistle of wind was the only warning Cupid gave them as his bow shot two arrows at once. True to his word, the wounds weren’t fatal, and the guards collapsed in bloody heaps. They wouldn’t be getting up without the aid of an EMT, though, and Valentin strode into the foyer on silent steps as four men thundered into the entranceway. With brutal ease, he loosed four arrows in rapid succession, knocking them to their backs before they could even raise their guns. He then aimed for the top of the grand staircase and shot two more attackers. They toppled over the railing, but just as their bodies slapped the expensive tile, movement registered in the corner of his eye. Amorette heaved a breath, but before he could throw his mass protectively before her, she lifted the golden arrow like a baseball bat and swung.
