CHAPTER 4
GRIM
I've been avoiding the main room all morning. Avoiding her.
After last night—after I kissed her like a man possessed and then walked away like a coward—I don't trust myself to be in the same room. Don't trust myself not to finish what I started.
I can still taste her. Still feel the softness of her mouth, the way she gasped against my lips, the heat of her body pressed against mine. I've been replaying it on a loop for hours. Torturing myself with it.
I didn't sleep at all. Just stared at the ceiling and thought about what would have happened if I hadn't pulled away.
My phone buzzes just after noon. Fix's name on the screen. I asked him yesterday to dig into Fleur's fiancé—find out who Dominic really is.
"Yeah."
"Got something on your guy." Fix's voice is flat. All business. "Dominic Valente. He's connected, Grim. Seriously connected."
"How connected?"
"Throws the Marchetti name around." A pause. "Connected enough that we can't just make him disappear without asking questions first."
I close my eyes. Think about Fleur in her ruined wedding dress, running through the desert in heels that shredded her feet. Think about what she overheard.She'll learn her place. Easy to manage.
"What else?"
"He's got a reputation. Likes control. Likes ownership." Fix's voice hardens. "The women he's been with before—none of them ended well. One disappeared. Two others won't talk about him at all. Whatever she heard, whatever made her run? She was right to run."
"Thanks, Fix."
"Grim." He stops me before I can hang up. "This is above our pay grade. You want to move on this guy, you need permission. Saint needs to know."
"I'll handle it."
I hang up. Stare at the wall. Think about Dominic Valente and what I want to do to him.
Think about what he'll do to her if he gets her back.
The threat comes two hours later.
Knox finds me in the hallway, his face set in that blank expression he wears when something's wrong.
"Message just came through. Dominic's people." He hands me his phone. "They know she's here."
I read it. Short. Direct.We know where she is. Send her back.
"What do you want to do?" Knox asks.
"What do you think?"
Knox studies me for a moment. Whatever he sees in my face makes him nod.
"Saint know about this?"
"He will."
Knox leaves. I stand in the hallway, phone in hand, feeling something dark and cold settle into my bones.
The smart thing would be to hand her back. Protect the club. Protect my brothers. Not risk everything for a woman I've known less than two days.
