Page 46 of Meet Cute the Virgin

The first one is still conscious, reaching for the gun with his good hand. Lily beats him to it. She brings the lumber down on his fingers, then his head. Once. Twice. He stops moving.

The silence falls over all of us heavily. I straighten up, scanning the alley.

Lily drops the lumber. Her hands are shaking, but her voice is steady when she looks at me. “You followed us.” Already ready to give me a hard time.

“I tracked you,” I say, holding up my phone. “I like to know where my girl is at all times. She has a knack for getting herself in situations.”

She laughs; it’s slightly hysterical. “Situations. Right.” She points down at the unconscious men. “Who the hell are they?”

“I don’t know.” I crouch, checking the first man’s pockets. No wallet, no ID. That means only one thing. They’re professionals. But I’ll find out who they are. “Killian?”

He’s already searching the second guy’s pockets. “Clean. Military bearing. Not locals.”

“We should probably get going,” Teddy whispers like it might wake the men up on the ground, but she’s not wrong. “I’ll call Roland; I’m sure he can clean this up.” I’m sure he can. He’s a man of many talents.

“I’ll call him. This is a two-man job,” Killian says.

“I’ll take them back and see to removing any footage on cameras.” Killian nods in agreement, already on the phone, voice low.

Lily’s watching me, arms wrapped around herself. Her adrenaline’s crashing, leaving her pale and any bravado gone. I hate how vulnerable she appears this way.

“We’re going back,” I say. “Both of you.”

Lily doesn’t argue for once in her life. Doesn’t make some wise remark about being a prisoner. She just nods. Teddy is standing beside her, shockingly silent for once.

Killian hangs up. “Roland’s ten minutes out. I’ll stay and make sure it’s clean.” He throws me his keys.

I catch them. “The house. Two hours.”

“Got it,” Killian says before pulling Teddy into his arms for a kiss. He leans down, whispering something in her ear, and she gives a tentative nod.

“Come on, girls.” I keep my hand on Lily’s back as we make our way down the alley toward the SUV.

Lily slides into the back with Teddy. In the rearview, I can see that she’s staring at her hands. The drive back is quiet, which isn’t normal for the two of them. They’re shaken. Seeing them that way only pisses me off more, knowing it’s partly on me and Killian for not protecting them. My only solace is that those two motherfuckers that attacked them are going to pay.

I pull up to the house and kill the engine. In the mirror, I watch Lily meet my eyes for one second before she looks away.

I get out and open her door. “Go inside,” I say. “Both of you. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

I can tell they are sorry. It’s all over them, but right now I’m still pissed and don’t trust myself. Lily was almost abducted or worse, and all I can think about is pinning her down and fucking the hell out of her so I know she’s still here with me. All of it is building up inside of me. I need to release it.

She nods, and she and Teddy enter the house. Once the door is closed, I can finally take a full breath. I know where I’ll betaking out that frustration. Killian and I are going to do a little gardening.

Chapter Twenty-Two

LILY

Well, that plan blew up in our faces. I wrap my arms around myself. Tristan is big mad at me. Not in the usual way, either. This is different. I could see a rage simmering underneath that he was trying to control.

Teddy jerks on my elbow, making me drop my folded arms. She grabs my hand. “Come on. We’re going to the vault.”

“Right now?” I’ve heard of the vault before, and there have been jokes; honestly, I didn’t know if it was a joke or if there really was one. With Teddy you never know.

“Yeppers. It’s my happy place.” She pulls me through the house, past the kitchen, down a hallway I haven’t explored. “You can even pet Reginald.”

“Who the hell is Reginald?” Does she have someone locked in her vault? Again, not fully shocked by this.

She doesn’t answer me. Instead, she punches a code into a wall panel, says, “Open sesame seed,” and the heavy door clicks open.