“I’m taking out an ad to find you a wife so you’ll have less free time and get the fuck out of my business.” Jeremy cackles, and Kalen even lets out a small laugh.
I type out a new message to my songbird.
What are you doing tonight?
On the camera feed, Livy seems to be setting up her desk with a cup of what I think is hot tea. She should really be going to bed soon, but I know she struggles to sleep, so I don’t bring that up. I can see her laptop is set up, and it’s bookmarked at the library archives page. She desperately wants to know who killed her parents, and I’m going to make it my mission to help her do that.
When she reads my message, her lips curve into a small smile.
The sight hits me straight in the chest in a way I’m not prepared for.
I’ve been in lots of fights and even had broken bones. I’ve taken hits that would drop most men, and none of that has ever felt as intense as this conversation with Livingston.
My phone buzzes again.
I have a really wild night of sorting through the library archives and sipping sleepy time tea. I might throw in some tall fuzzy socks for a little razzle dazzle.
I chuckle under my breath because I didn’t expect her to be funny. I’m not sure why, but I’m fucking grinning becauseI know this means she trusts me at least a little bit. I quickly switch my phone camera on and snap a quick selfie. My hood is pulled up, and the green glowing mask covers my face.
I send it before I think it through. I watch on the camera feed as Livy freezes. For a second I wonder if she’s afraid, and I fucked up by not warning her that we wear these masks when we ride around at night.
She doesn’t know me the way I know her. To her I’m just the slightly unhinged rugby player who kissed her in her bathtub and now texts her like I have some claim over her. But much to my surprise, I zoom the camera in on her face.
Her lips part and I see her suck in a small but sharp breath.
Understanding slides through me slowly.
Oh.
Shelikesthe mask.
The thought sends a pulse of heat through my body that I immediately try to ignore. The last thing I need right now is to start imagining crawling on top of her in our bed and pinning her beneath me while she looks up at me with those wide green eyes. It’s going to happen, I just don’t know how soon I can convince her to move in with me.
I shift slightly on the bike, forcing my brain somewhere else before I embarrass myself again by cumming in my pants.
On the screen, Livy types and sends me a message just as headlights cut through the darkness.
No helmet?
That’s all she sends, but she can’t recover from what I saw. There was curiosity and desire written all over her face.
I’ll ride safe
A black car rolls slowly toward us, so I have to pause my conversation with my girl. My hand instinctively moves to the handgun tucked into my waistband, but Kalen is already stepping forward before I have to do anything.
The driver lowers the window.
Kalen hands him the envelope without a word.
The man glances inside briefly before nodding and reading off a code that will send money back to Caiden.
That rich bastard.
People in Castlebrook Falls always joke that Caiden Grey thinks he owns the damn mountain the town sits on.
The funny thing is that it isn’t really a joke.
He owns everyone and everything connected to that mountain, and some things surrounding it.
