I shot to my feet and shook his hand, trying not to pump it from how happy I was. “Yes. Yes, si—”
“God. Just Spence, please.”
“Yes, Spence. Mr. Spence—Calloway. Thank you for this.”
His face went dark. “One slipup from Lane and you’re out of here.”
My throat swelled up, and I swallowed, thickly. “Understood.”
“Then welcome to Octavia.”
Chapter Twelve
Creighton
She went to Octavia today. She got the job.
She was sleeping now, but she didn’t come to me for a job. She went to a foster center too. That was perfect for her. I didn’t know if she would love working there. She was always torn about her experience being a foster kid, but I knew Blake. Her heart wouldn’t let her not work there. The second she saw one foster kid who needed help, she wouldn’t be going anywhere else. It would be cemented for her. Whether she accepted it or not, it’s where she’s supposed to be.
She’d be running it within three to five years.
I stood over her. She rolled to her side, presenting the side of her face, her smooth skin. I couldn’t help but graze the back of my hand over her cheek.
She didn’t think I knew about her feelings for me, but of course I knew. She considered it a crush growing up. Maybe it had morphed into something deeper? Maybe it was time to give it oxygen? See if the fire built.
I knew I’d been holding mine back, and it was damn near combustible by now. I was tired of holding myself back from her. I was tired of pretending these feelings weren’t here. Yes, there was my obsession, but I wanted her.
I was tired of not having her.
Her head moved, her nose twitched. I lifted my hand away, not wanting to wake her. But I couldn’t bring myself to leave either. Why would I?
Settling down in her chair, I sat back to watch her sleep.
Tonight she slept contentedly. I wished she always slept like this, but I knew she didn’t. There was darkness lurking in the back of her mind, and sometimes it slipped out, infecting her dreams, turning them into nightmares. I’m sure some of it was because of the things I’d done in the past to protect her, but it was always to protect her.
Things would change.
I glanced to her desk and saw her note about her new work schedule. She was making her own moves. Octavia. The foster center.
She was finding her way, so I would find my way with her. I would move alongside her.
I had missed her.
My phone lit up from my hand, and I turned it over to see who texted.
Lassiter: Someone’s reached out for a meet. Can you come?
Lassiter would never text unless it was someone I needed to see.
Me: On the way.
Chapter Thirteen
Creighton
Lassiter’s directions brought me to the alley beside Cole Mauricio’s nightclub.
The man who called for this meeting stood just outside Octavia’s side door. Lassiter, Levi, and a few of my other men stood between me and him. They stepped aside so I could better view him. Some of his staff also lingered in the alley. I noted their guns and knew these weren’t just Octavia’s staff. They were Cole Mauricio’s men.
