DEREK
“Are you sleeping with my daughter?”
I leaned an elbow against the vacant nurses’ station and regarded Franco’s wild eyes and flared nostrils. He knew the answer to that question long before it was asked.
“I won’t violate Evangelina’s privacy. It’s quite disrespectful, don’t you think?”
Franco lifted both hands toward me, as though he were about to grasp at the collar of my shirt but curled them into a fist at the last second.
Smart man.
“You son of a bitch. You take advantage of your position. Of her vulnerability!”
“Might I remind you that Eva is a grown woman, free to do as she pleases… andwhoshe pleases.”
“If you lay one finger—”
“I assure you I’ve done more than that, and she enjoyed every second of it. But it’s frankly none of your goddamn business.”
The enraged man’s fist came down on the wooden desk with so much force, I was surprised when it didn’t splinter.
“Does Ronan know?”
I scoffed. “What you or Ronan think of my relationship with Evangelina is irrelevant.”
He shook his head and ran a hand down his beard. “Why wait until James’s death to show your face? I know damn well you knew where he lived before his murder. Yet you wait until after he’s gone to show up. To get close to my daughter.”
“Something you wanna get off your chest, old man?”
I raised a brow, daring him to make the accusation dancing on his tongue. But he stepped back, clenching a fist on the counter.
With softened features, he said, “She’s the only family I have left. Please, just let her be.”
It wasn’t the first time I’d heard a man grovel on Evangelina’s behalf.
“I didn’t ask you out here to pick a fight. But I do need a favor.”
It was his turn to chuckle incredulously. “What makes you think I’d pay you any favors?”
“Because it’s not for me. It’s for a common interest. This is about her safety.”
I started explaining my plan until a discrepancy near the hospital room grabbed my attention.
Something was off.
I charged at the fucker from earlier, resisting the urge to pin him against the wall by his neck. “Where’s your partner?” His eyes widened, his mouth opening and closing like a damn goldfish. “Where did she go?”
“She headed toward the east stairwell. She had to take a phone call. Said she’d be right back.”
My fingers itched to bash his head against the wall for his incompetence. “Your orders were clear,” I seethed, slamming my fist on the hard surface instead.
Franco was already behind me when I turned around. “Watch her. Lock the door, and don’t let her out of your sight.”
“What’s happening?”
“I don’t know, but neither of those guards is to leave their post. One has gone missing, and you’re the only one I trust right now with her life. There’s a Glock and ammo taped to the bottom of her partner’s bed. You empty your mag at anything that tries to come through this door.”
“And what if it’s you?” His words held the undertone of a threat.
