With a sigh, he cupped my face in his big, warm hands. “You are not broken. But you have triggers in your psyche that you have not yet disarmed. Even if you didn’t, I couldn’t focus on killing Zhang if you were there. My every thought would be for you.”
“So, you’re saying I’d be a distraction,” I say bitterly, putting my hands on his wide chest.
“I’m saying that you are the reason I am doing this,” he corrects gently.
Staring up at him, eyes wide, I realize that while Alastair may not be capable of uttering the “L” word, this shows how he cares. Risking his life, and the lives of his men to wipe out a danger to me, and far more importantly, to save all the women and children that evil bastard would continue to steal and sell.
“If you’re here, under heavy guard, I can focus,” he says, holding my hands up and kissing each one. “My tech crew is coming over here to work. You can see the action in real-time.”
“I dinna know if I can take seein’ you and my brothers in peril,” I sigh, “but I’ll stay here.”
He’s still gripping my hands, just a wee bit too hard. “Give me your word, wife.”
Dropping my forehead against his chest, I feel the comforting weight of his bulletproof vest. “Aye, you have it.”
Cradling my head, my husband gives me a searing kiss, the kind I imagine Roman soldiers gave their wives before they marched off into battle. His mouth is firm and warm, and when his tongue slides through my lips, I suck on it like a popsicle.
“I can’t walk out like this,” he groans, and when I feel his stonner against my stomach, hot and hard, I shove down my laugh. Picturing him talking to his men with a raging erection is too funny, but I don’t think he would be amused. While we wait for his cock to behave, I ask, “What’s your first step?”
He’s expressionless as he says, “I go to Alec and tell him the plan.”
Straightening one of the straps over his chest, I try to hide my anxiety. “He hates me. He hates my family. What if he sabotages-”
“Stop.” His voice is cold and uncompromising. “Alec is family to me. He has very good reasons for despising your clan, but this is not the time to discuss it.”
“I’m sorry. I know how important he is to you.”
But you are going to tell me. Soon,I think.
“My parents were killed while I was at the Ares Academy. Alec dropped everything to help me put my family’s Mafia back together. He is uncompromisingly loyal. Simply speaking to your brothers without him feels…” Alastair hesitates andit’s clear he’s hating the idea of having feelings, much less expressing them.
“I’m so sorry about your parents,” I say. It’s the first time he’s ever spoken of them. I’ve seen a few family photos of Alastair and his parents; he has them framed in his office and the master bedroom. His mother looks a great deal like him, but his height and solid build come from his father. I examined one of the photos when he was in the shower last night. They looked happy, the three of them. His father’s hand was on his shoulder, the other arm around his wife. “Was it an accident, or…”
“Of all the dangers my father faced, this one never occurred to me,” he says, “it was just a drunk driver. An icy night. They hit a tree.”
“How old were you?”
“Twenty-one. I left the Academy and came home. There was an entire organization that depended on me,” he says, running his hands up and down my arms.
“That must have felt overwhelming. Just you, taking over your family’s mafia.”
“I had help,” he shrugs, “Alec was there. Both of us, growing our empires. We became allies. Together, we make a formidable pair. No one has been suicidal enough to challenge us.”
“Until now,” I say, feeling a headache growing behind my eyes.
“Darling, look at me.”
I can’t. Zhang is an evil bastard, but he wouldn’t be going after Alastair if it weren’t for me. He could lose his life tonight. His men could die. And it will be my fault.
His big, warm hands cup my cheeks, lifting my gaze to his. “I should have killed Zhang a long time ago,” he says, “even if hisactions didn’t affect me directly, I should have ended him as a pestilence. And now, he dares to threaten you.” A flame leaps up in his eyes, a fury that’s barely controlled. “Your brothers will finish off the man who hurt you when you were a child, and I will demolish every trace of Zhang and his Triad for attempting to hurt you now.”
“Zhang has so many men,” I whisper, “you’ve already been shot once, protecting me from him. What if-”
“Don’t do this,” he says sternly, picking me up and setting me on the counter next to an AK-47. “Do not allow yourself to spiral. This is what your brothers have done all your life. It is what I do.” He leans close, giving me a rakish smile. “And I am still standing. Your job tonight…” He places a slow, sucking kiss on my throat, “is to be my good girl. You will not panic. You will be the strong female head of the Taylor Mafia, yes? Make me proud.”
Sucking in a deep breath, I nod and smile. “You’re right. I will not distract you tonight when your attention has to be completely on that human trafficking piece of shite.”
“There’s my brave girl,” he chuckles, kissing me deeply. “You’ll stay with your security and Lucy and Terrence. They’re brilliant. They’ve already tracked down Zhang and his uncle. I do not charge blindly in, darling. There is always a plan.”
