“It’s definitely the kind of procedure I’d handle for the Hounds if we needed to make someone vanish,” Flint confirmed. “But Cage, we’d never do a hack job like this. Whoever workedon her was unskilled—someone you’d find working out of a back room with no license and paid under the table.”
“Fuck.” Illegal surgery wasn’t just risky; it could be deadly. “She’s from money. Political family, wealthy, high profile. Parents obsessed with their public image. Any chance they’d go under the radar to erase something they didn’t like?”
Flint exhaled, his tone cautious. “Possible. Wouldn’t be the first rich family to carve off something they found embarrassing or detrimental to their image. But brother, with their kind of money, they wouldn’t need to settle for some butcher with no skill.”
That’s exactly what had been bothering me all along. “Yeah, my gut says it’s something else.”
“What’s your instinct tell you?”
“That she’s in trouble. Maybe someone was hiding something about her. It’s bad enough to raise the hairs on my neck.” My voice dipped lower, anger simmering beneath the surface. “And the thought of someone hurting her makes me want to rip them apart.”
Flint chuckled softly in understanding. “You got it bad, Cage.”
I didn’t bother to deny it. “Do some digging. Ask around, see if anyone in your circles recognizes the handiwork. Maybe one of your colleagues has seen something like this before.”
“Will do,” Flint assured me. “I’ll get back to you as soon as I hear something.”
We hung up, and I set the phone down, leaning back in my chair and letting my head tip back for a moment while I blew out a long breath. The fury coursing through my veins wasn’t cooling off. Instead, it only intensified the burning, possessive instinct that had taken root the second I saw her blood on my fingers. She was mine now, every beautiful, stubborn inch of her, and no one would touch her ever again.
Pushing myself up, I moved back down the hall quietly, stepping into the shadowed doorway of my bedroom. Hadley was still asleep, but she’d shifted slightly, rolling onto her side and hugging my pillow. Something fierce and tender surged through me at the sight of her tucked so perfectly in my bed, vulnerable in a way that tugged at me.
I moved closer, watching her even breathing and the way her hair spilled across my pillow, catching the dim light. My cock hardened instantly at the sight of her, hunger building in my gut.
Damn, she was fucking gorgeous. Her lips were parted slightly, relaxed in sleep, tempting me to kiss her awake. My shirt was still loose around her, exposing the smooth skin of her thighs, inviting me to run my hands up under the hem and claim every inch.
I forced myself to exhale slowly, wrestling down the urge to slide into bed beside her and pull her against me. This wasn’t about what I wanted—not yet. She needed rest. Safety. Still, I moved to the opposite side of the bed and lowered myself slowly onto the mattress, careful not to wake her.
At first, I kept some distance between us, lying on my back and staring at the ceiling. But I could feel the warmth of her presence beside me, hear the soft, steady rhythm of her breathing. It had me instinctively wanting her closer, yearning for her touch even if it was accidental.
Eventually, Hadley made the decision for me. She rolled toward me, a soft sigh escaping her lips. Without thinking, my arm lifted, settling naturally around her. She shifted closer, cuddling against me with a gentle trust that shattered every wall I’d ever built. My hand splayed possessively across her back.
My heart hammered in my chest, emotion and heat mingling into something I couldn’t define but wasn’t about to fight. A sense of rightness filled me, fierce and consuming. This waswhere she belonged. With me. Protected, safe, and fucking cherished without conditions.
I tightened my hold, dropping a soft kiss to the top of her head, my lips lingering in the silk of her hair. My eyes closed, finally feeling a calmness I’d never expected. One thought echoed through my mind, possessive and undeniable.
Mine.
6
HADLEY
Iwoke slowly, the kind of lazy drift that happened when your body felt completely safe even before your mind caught up. I noticed the warmth surrounding me first and burrowed closer.
Then reality trickled in.
The pillow under my head smelled like Thayer because I wasn’t in my bed. And I wasn’t alone, either.
He was wrapped around me, his big body spooning mine like we’d slept together for years instead of just last night. His arm was locked around my waist, one hand splayed over my stomach, his fingers under the hem of the soft T-shirt he’d given me to sleep in. His other arm was tucked beneath my head, and my legs had tangled with his somewhere in the night.
The hard line of his thigh pressed between mine, and the unmistakable ridge of his morning erection nestled firmly against the curve of my butt.
Heat flooded my face and spread down my chest. An ache bloomed between my thighs as my body reacted before my brain could catch up.
I knew I should move, but I didn’t. I stayed perfectly still, barely breathing while I let myself feel every inch of him. No one had ever held me like this.
My heart hammered against my ribs, loud enough that I was sure he could feel it. I had to bite my lip to keep from shifting back against him just to see what would happen.
I closed my eyes for a moment, savoring the dangerous luxury of being this close to him while he slept. The wild side I’d kept buried for years whispered that this was exactly where I was supposed to be.
