She gives him a quick once over, thinking of what she can wear to match. “Give me a few minutes to get ready. I need to try and draw attention away from my fucked-up face,” she says, glaring daggers at Riley. His lips shift under his mask, smiling mischievously, he winks, making her mad enough to walk away. If she didn’t love the man so much, she would ring his neck.
The last thing she sees before ducking into her room is a chair kicked out in the way only Riley has mastered—a silent order for Matt to sit.
“How’s it feel to finally get what you’ve been after?” Riley asks, trying to stop himself from looking at the door Liz is tucked behind, dolling herself up for another man.
“Incredible. Thank you, sir, for stepping back and convincing her to give me a chance,” Matt says, following Riley’s eyes to the door.
“Just know, if you hurt her, if you offendher, if you do anything, and I meananythingthat makes her even the slightest bit unhappy, wewillkill you. Well, the other three will. I will take my good, sweet time, savoring every second of ruining you. I can break you in ways you can’t even begin to imagine,” he says coldly, smiling to himself under his mask. He watches Matt with the same intensity as any other enemy he has faced before.
Their heads snap up as Liz comes strutting out of the other room. The moment Riley lays eyes on her, regret hits him like a punch to the gut. She is stunning. A white and blue floral milkmaid dress hugs her waist while still hanging loosely around her legs, the bodice cinched just right. A set of white, chunky heels with thick straps wrap around her ankles and up her lower calf before tying neatly into a bow.
He catches Matt staring, both their eyes drifting to her exposed thigh where she is slightly bent at the waist, tightening the strap on the gun holster Riley had gifted her, his heart swelling at the sight. Her long, black hair is half pulled back into a clip, holding it away from her face and cascading over her shoulder before she stands back upright. The sway of her hips with each step has both men scrambling to their feet, rushing to her side.
“Fuck,” Riley mumbles, barely loud enough for them to hear. Matt’s head snaps to him, jaw clenched, fists balled at his side.
“Hey, beautiful,” Matt says proudly. The only acknowledgement he gets is a tight smile, watching her step over to Riley instead of him.
“Are you sure you don’t need me?” she asks, meeting his eyes, silently pleading with him to ask her to stay.
“God knows I do,” his tone is a low, a sultry promise of what will be waiting for her when she returns. He leans in, just close enough so only she can hear, “But if you don’t leave now, I will remind both of you exactly who you belong to.”
“Okay,” she says, trying to ignore the flash of heat growing between her legs. “I will see you later, I guess.”
CHAPTER 23
The short car ride to the restaurant borders on painful, neither of them knowing what to say, so they choose to silently listen to the radio instead.
Liz can see the light at the end of the tunnel when Matt turns into the parking lot. At least inside there will be wine, enough to make the night tolerable.
He picks up her hand after opening her door, leading her inside. After giving his name to the portly man behind the podium, they only have to wait a few minutes before being led back to their table: small and round, tucked into a dark corner, and too far away from the others for her liking. She slides into her chair, ready to get this night over with, making uncomfortable small talk until their meals arrive.
“I have to ask, what did Reaper whisper to you before we left?” Matt asks, emptying his third glass of wine.
“That I’m better off with you,” she says, sipping from her own glass, giving herself chills as she replays what he actually said in her mind.
“Damn. I did not expect that. He is so weird when itcomes to you. I can’t get a read on the guy. He fucks you, but won’t date you, but threatens anyone whodoeswant to date you. He encouraged you to move on but was staring at you like he wanted to take you right there in front of me,” Matt begins, signaling for another refill. “I feel bad for you, being stuck around someone like that all the time.”
“It’s not that bad, especially when I have Mikey. But let’s not talk about them tonight. Tell me about you,” she says, batting her lashes.
He is the kind of guy who will boast about himself for hours, and she plans to take full advantage of that to get out of putting any real effort into the night. A few well placedOh wowsandthat’s so interesting, tell me morehas him talking the entire meal. She waits until he switches from wine to whiskey to finally speak, hoping he is buzzed enough to loosen his lips.
“I owe you another apology, Matt. I have been so awful to you, and you don’t deserve that. It has just been hard for me, seeing how close you are with Scott. That man has been nothing but horrible to me. Saying I work with Dmitri, calling me a whore, trying to send me back. I assumed that because you are close, you would be just like him,” she says resting her crossed arms on the table, watching as his eyes drop right to her chest on full display. “The guys were the ones who saved me. They have been by my side, teaching me, and helping me heal since day one. It’s a struggle to let anyone else in.”
He looks at her with his brows knit, looking utterly lost.
“It sounds more like you have Stockholm Syndrome. You know what that is, right?” he asks, looking at her while she nods her head in agreement.
“It’s pretty much when people hurt you, but you like it. Reaper has hit you, and they all keep you locked away, but they are nice sometimes, so now you love them. I think they convinced youto stay around to hold it over Scott’s head. He tried to send you home, but they keep lying to you and saying he won’t let you go,” he rants, stumbling over words from all the alcohol coursing through his veins.
Liz waits until he spins around, flagging down the waiter to top him off, so she can pull her phone out to record the drunken confession.
“What do you mean?” she asks, trying her best to look hurt and confused, though with how drunk Matt seems to be, she could probably just demand he tell her everything.
“All your guard dogs. They are out to get him. Scott. They are keeping you hostage because he wants you to be safe.” He leans in, dropping his voice slightly to what he must think is a whisper.
“They want to kill you. That’s why I’m here. My job is to watch them and figure out what they are planning to do to Scott,” he says, looking around. “Can you keep a secret?” he asks, beginning again before she has the chance to agree or not. “Scott is going to get rid of them. That Reaper guy was never supposed to come back, he was making sure of it, but now that you don’t hate me, I can keep you safe. You can help me find out what they are doing, and we can stop it… together.”
Unable to put up with any more of his booze-fueled nonsense, Liz picks up his hand, squeezing it slightly. “Thank you. You’re a good friend, sweetie. But we should probably get back before they come looking for us,” she says, trying to remember how to gentle parent.
