“I’ll meet you outside.” My lips brushed over her hairline as I leaned in. “I’m going to keep you safe. I promise.”
Watching her walk into that parking lot without me felt wrong, that vulnerable feeling hitting me again in full force.
The lot was dimly lit, but the flashing red and blue lights flickering around the corner eased my worries. Helena looked back, her eyes narrowed and questioning, attempting to decipher Evangelina and me.
She and I had crossed few words over the years beyond business. We’d been on partnered assignments less than a handful of times. Never speaking more than necessary. She was skilled, beautiful, and deadly. Her beauty had struck Kai, and the two had engaged in a very short fling, remaining close friends once it was over.
“Let’s go,” Kai said, clapping my back.
I cast one last glance at the corner where Eva had gone out of sight.
* * *
Nearly two hours had elapsed since finding Evangelina. Kai and I stayed behind the police barricade, playing the part of concerned citizens as we waited for the endless questioning and statements to come to an end. Helena was the first to be released. Again, her curious gaze swept over me. Motioning with her chin, she walked beyond us to a more private location.
I leaned against the brick of a storefront, waiting on the barrage of questions I knew were coming. She lowered the ice pack from the wound on her right eye, a steely glare piercing me where I stood.
“What are you doing with Franco’s daughter?”
“None of your business.”
“Do you understand the implications this could bring down on all of us? Tell me, does Franco know you’re fucking around with Eva?”
I exhaled a harsh breath and pushed off the wall. “What makes you think I give a damn one way or the other?”
“That’s exactly it. You don’t give a shit about anyone but yourself. Evangelina, she doesn’t deserve your cruelty. She’s too good for you.”
“I know.”
“Stay away from her before she gets caught up in your shit, Derek.”
I enclosed on Helena, a move that didn’t rattle her in the least. Not that I was surprised. She had only one weakness, and it was on full show. In our line of work, there was no room for feelings. They fucked with instinct and reaction time. But Helena was different. It was as if she had a switch she could turn off and on at will. I’d seen her mow down a room full of men with a swing in her hip and a grin. Some had nicknamed her Harley for that very reason. Only her weapon of choice had been an AK instead of a wooden bat. Within the hour of that massacre, she volunteered at her hospital’s fundraiser.
“I hate to disappoint you—actually, I don’t care.”
Her laugh was as cold and humorless as the daggers in her eyes. “You’re a real son of a bitch,” she snapped, rising to her full height.
At 5’6”, while taller than Eva, I stood over her, an arch in my brow. “I’m glad you’re aware.”
“That’s enough.” Kai had broken his silence. With a hand on my chest, he shoved me back. “Come on, brother. If it wasn’t for Leni, neither of us would know shit. Show some damn gratitude. She helped your girl.”
Helena scoffed from behind us.
“His girl, huh? Andwehelped each other.” A cunning grin crawled across her face. “Cain, you go ahead. But just know, if you fuck with her, she’s the kind of woman who will not hesitate to put her foot up your ass. And something tells me you’d let her.” She shook her head and chuckled with a twisted sort of amusement. “Never thought I’d see the day Derek Cain would be pussy-whipped.”
I opened my mouth to sear her with a response, but a low whistle from Kai had my attention elsewhere. Evangelina’s presence triggered a series of visceral reactions. The blood in my veins flowed a little faster, settling in my cock. The edges of my lips tilted into an irrepressible smile. And one word echoed in my mind like a mantra:Mine.
The joy at the sight of her was short-lived. Two steps behind was a taller, older man. His thick eyebrows were pulled together, eyes blazing. His gaze moved to each of our faces, ultimately settling on Helena’s and softening into a smile. After pulling her into a tight hug, Franco waited for our cover story for his daughter’s sake.
This should be interesting.
Eva put her arms around me, resting her head against my chest. I didn’t need to look up to know Franco was watching. I felt his scathing glare and heard the heavy breaths when I returned Eva’s embrace.
“I’m not quite done, but I had to see you, make sure you were okay,” she whispered into my shirt. “Give me about thirty more minutes.”
Every instinct pulled me to follow her across the dark lot, but I knew Franco and I had some business to settle. Always on the same wavelength, Kai nodded and followed the two women.
“I don’t know what sick game you’re playing here, but stay the hell away from my daughter.” Franco stepped forward, hands on his hips. “Why are you pretending to be James’s son?”
