Against my better judgment, I cross the room and remove the cloth.
She’s mid-rant already. “—know what the hell you’re doing, but you’re a fucking psycho!” She jerks, scraping the chair across the floor. “You crazy kidnapping bastard! Who do you think you are?”
At the wordbastard, my teeth grind together. She has no idea she just struck a nerve. Or that despite the years I’ve spent trying to earn Declan’s love and respect, I know I’ll never be the favored son. I’ll never share his blood.
I fix her with my coldest stare. “Calm the hell down.”
“Or what?” She fumes, those bright green eyes flashing with simmering Chihuahua-like rage. “You’re going to kill me?”
She’s got a mouth on her.
Definitely a Gallagher. Despite not sharing blood, evenIsomehow inherited that particular family trait.
Although, as I stare at those pretty lips, I have to admit that I find her mouth a lot more appealing than my own.
“Listen to me.” I bend down so we’re eye level. “One of those men downstairs wants to have their way with you. I don’t like to see pretty things broken, but if you keep this up, I might just make an exception. If you get a little dirtied before I hand you over, well, that’s just a risk of the job.”
Her mouth snaps shut. Then she sucks in a few horrified breaths and narrows her eyes. “Whoever you are,you’re going to regret this.”
“Am I?” While I’m maintaining the facade, Trinity’s defiance lights up some dark, unknown place inside me.
Who knew I was so into challenges? Definitely not me. Not until now, anyway.
“If you know who I am and you still did this, even God can’t help you.”
I can’t stop the smirk that rises to my face as I straighten up and cross my arms. “You think big brother is coming to save you, princess? You think I’m scared of him?” I almost chuckle.
“You should be.” She scowls. “His reputation isn’t exaggerated.”
I’ve heard the rumors. “An enforcer who can tear a man in two with his bare hands. I’m shaking in my boots.”
“Keep laughing.” An ugly little smile settles on her angelic face. “You don’t even have reliable men to help, and you think you can defeat my brother?”
“Sowing doubt and mistrust? Good one, psych student. Too bad I’m not falling for that.” Why am I getting a kick out of her stubbornness? So far, kidnapping her has proven far more entertaining than surveillance.
She scoffs while rubbing her wrists to relieve some tension on her skin. “Don’t tell me you actually trust those idiots. Their idea of tailing someone is standing right in front of their target’s face. I clocked the other one when I was leaving graduation.”
I frown. “What other one? There are only the three of us, and I’m the only person who followed you out.”
Jed hovered on the perimeter of the college campus while waiting for my order, and Marko stayed in the car.
Her forehead furrows. “There was another guy. The one I noticed?—”
Gunfire erupts, cutting off the rest of her sentence.
Chapter 5
Trinity
In the empty construction site below, all hell breaks loose. As bullets whiz through the air, I rush toward the big panel windows for a better view of what’s happening. Before I can reach them, a solid body slams into my side, tackling me to the ground.
Seconds later, the foreman’s window shatters and glass rains into the room while my kidnapper anchors me to the floor beneath his weight.
Adrenaline courses through my limbs, fizzing under my skin like caffeine. As reality sinks in, my pulse pounds in my throat.
My captor just used his body to shield me. Sure, he protected me from immediate danger earlier, but there’s a huge difference between threatening his own man and putting his life on the line by placing his body between mine and a hailstorm of gunfire.
I struggle to regulate my breathing as his rugged musk crawls up my nose and the insane heat of his body radiates against my skin.
