“That means nothing when the one man I wanted dead is still breathing.”
Hours later,the cleanup crew is still at work, disposing of bodies and hacking into the security system to erase all footage when Jace approaches me with a grave expression.
“What?” I shut the doors to the van and knock on it twice to let the driver know it’s ready to go.
He holds out his phone. “I intercepted a call from Sean. But I have a feeling he wanted it to be heard.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Just listen.”
I take the phone and press play on the audio file.
“Tell Kieran Sullivan I’ll put his whore in the ground. Tell him Riley’s next.”
My blood runs ice cold.
If he thinks he can drag Riley into this, then he’s mistaken. If anything, he’s just stamped a High Priority sign on his already signed death warrant.
I hand Jace back his phone. “You’re officially reassigned to Riley. Immediately.”
“No problem.”
“You know the rules.”
“She goes nowhere without me, no exceptions.”
“If she so much as sneezes, I want to know about it.”
“Rest assured, boss. She’s in safe hands.”
“You better hope so; otherwise you’ll end up just like them.” I nod in the direction of the van that has just left with a dozen body bags.
Jace doesn’t even pale. He knows what I expect from him, and he’s willing to put his own life on the line to make sure that the people I care about don’t get harmed. It’s what makes him invaluable, and the very reason I’m assigning him to Riley.
She won’t like it, of course. But I would rather her be mad at me than dead, so she’ll just have to deal with it.
Until Sean’s blood is on my hands, I’m not taking any chances when it comes to her safety.
It’spast midnight by the time I arrive home. I’m running on nothing but fumes, and I’m in desperate need of a shower, but I head straight for Riley anyway.
Hearing her name on Sean’s lips ignited something primal inside me.
I need to have her, to hold her, to know that no matter what, she belongs to me.
The door creaks softly as I push it open, and as I step inside, I catch the faint scent of her perfume.
The room is cast in darkness, but as I open the door wider, the light from the hallway casts over the bed, and there she is, all curled up with the sheet tangled around her naked body and her auburn curls spilling across the pillow.
Christ, even when she’s asleep, she wrecks me.
The sheet has slipped low enough that her bare back is exposed, and the curve of her hip is just visible beneath the thin fabric.
My exhaustion is instantly forgotten as my cock thickens.
I strip off my jacket, my shirt, boots thudding softly against the floor. Then I slip under the covers, the heat of her skin searing against mine.
“Kieran?” she murmurs, half-asleep, when I press my mouth to her neck.
