“These guys told me there’s no strife between the two factions… are they bullshitting me?Because I need to know what I have to do to keep El safe.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Adam answered for Ryan.“Now she’s Pride, her security will be handled internally.”
Before Shawn could utter a word, totally rejecting everything about that statement, Ryan held up a hand.“You speak out of turn, Adam.”He shot the PA a look that had Adam gnawing at the inside of his cheek.“Normally, that is the case, but as El is very close to you, I think it would do more harm than good to exclude you from her security detail.”
“I’m glad we see eye to eye on that,” he gritted out.“You know that even if you’d said otherwise, I wouldn’t have moved a fucking inch from this place.She’s mine to protect.”
His declaration had Santiago, Erickson, and Adam all shuffling about on their feet while he and Ryan got down into a staring contest.Without blinking, without looking away, Ryan commanded, “Adam, help Santiago and Erickson.I want the SUV removed from the drive before El wakes up and is reminded by what almost happened to her tonight.Do you understand?”
“Yes, of course, sir,” all three men answered, speaking over one another as they did.
They dispersed, leaving Ryan and Shawn alone for the moment.At their backs, the small crowd began gossiping again, and Ryan, sensing it, grimaced.
“There’s never any fucking privacy around here.”He lifted a hand, held it out.“I think we should shake hands, Shawn.It’s about time we got to know one another.”
Chapter 5
The minute he was in the limo on the way back to the compound, Marcus felt like he could take his first real breath of the evening.
He wanted the hour journey over with.Now.
Fatigue tried and failed to diminish his excitement, but as the journey progressed, he’d admit to lagging a little.Learning of their mate’s existence was… eye opening.Inspiring.Motivating.
He’d googled her name the instant he’d had a minute to himself when he was on the private jet back to LAX, and guessed it made sense there were relatively few pictures of her online.
Her parents, on the other hand, were a different matter.
Her father stayed out of politics, but he was a known cabal.He had his fingers in many pies, and it was well known that whoever he tipped for President often found their way into the White House.That was the kind of power the SOB hefted.
Her mother was a society queen.She sat on more charity boards than she had rings on her fingers, and Marc had counted.Eliza Forsythe-Drew wore over twenty.
It had surprised him because, by all accounts, Eliza was known for her class and elegance, and yet her fingers reminded him of a Roma gypsy.
Her parents were plastered all over the news, and her brothers as well, if to a lesser extent.They were entering the political sphere so even their families and children were fodder for the press, but Maryellen, not so much.
He’d wonder why, but if Maryellen held no interest in politics or in even being in the spotlight—unlike her mother—then it would make sense for her to lead a quieter life.A fact that would suit them down to a tee.
Having a society princess as their mate wasn’t exactly ideal, but if she lived her life quietly, then there would be little to no press on who she was dating.
And considering she was going to be seen to be dating three men, that could cause a hell of a lot of press.
In fact, he knew, point blank, her choices were going to cause a major stink with her family.Considering the pull they had, that would cause issues down the line, and though he didn’t like it himself, and knew Trip would argue until he was blue in the face over it… Marc knew that the best option was to present a single son-in-law to Maryellen’s family.
It would hurt, but at least they had her.And, truth was, he wanted whatever caused her the least amount of pain.
Humans rarely understood the Triad brotherhood, and a lot of women were left banished from their homes as a result.Marcus had always thought that if it came down to that when he met his mate, he’d make sure she never had to endure something of that nature.
What she got up to in the privacy of her home was none of her family’s business, after all.
Of course, to the Pride, it would be entirely different, and that was really all that mattered to him, Trip, and Ryan.
Letting loose a yawn as they made it onto the subdivision, he sat forward in his seat as excitement wormed its way through him.By the time they made it to the compound, he felt like someone had dusted itching powder all over his damn pants.The way he was fidgeting was beyond ridiculous.
As the gates opened, he didn’t even wait for the car to come to a complete standstill before he was off and out.
There was a small gathering outside Pride House, but that wasn’t altogether unusual.And Adam was talking to two of their detectives, which was unusual, but Marc didn’t have it in him to care.He waved at their PA, saw he had the cops’ attention and nodded at them, then loped off toward the lodge.
Desperation filled him with every step he took.
