Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
I hadn’t been prepared for the way she lurched away from Vega to throw herself into my arms instead, squeezing me so tight that it was hard to pull in a proper breath as she buried her face in my neck and cried.
“It’s okay. It’s going to be okay,” I told her, my hands moving up and down her back, offering what small bit of comfort I could while she worked through her emotions. “Come on, baby,” I said, slowly getting to my feet while I held her to me, lifting her up and into my arms. “Let’s get out of here,” I said, aware of Gav’s vigilant gaze around.
That was three men.
There were at least four or five more that we needed to worry about.
We needed to get the hell out of there. Then, when shit cooled down and the girls were safe, we would take care of the rest of them.
As we walked back to the car, Mere’s cries quieted, but her hold on me never loosened.
Not even as I ducked us into the backseat of Vega’s car.
“Follow us,” I told Gav, who gave me a nod, and got into his car.
We were almost halfway home, Vega’s worried gaze glancing at us in the backseat at least a dozen times, before Mere finally spoke.
“I knew you would come,” she said. “Both of you,” she added.
“It’s all thanks to your cousin,” I told her. “She tracked me down, convinced me something was wrong since the shop was closed. Then we went in and saw the blood.”
“I should have told someone,” she murmured into my neck. “About him. But he threatened Vega. And you.”
Fuck.
She was trying to protect me?
If that wasn’t the fucking sweetest, but most absurd thing.
“I didn’t know who you were,” she added, her finger tracing one of my tattoos. “Not until the warehouse.”
“I should have told you.”
I mean, it wasn’t like anyone in the Family ever just casually blurted out over dinner conversation, “Oh, yeah, and by the way, I’m in organized crime.”
I figured, if things kept progressing, it would be a topic of conversation. Shit had just hit the fan before I got that chance.
“I should have told you,” Vega said.
“You knew?” Mere asked, pulling back for the first time to look toward the front of the car, giving me a good look at the bruise on her cheek, her split lip.
Suddenly, I wished we could go back to the warehouse, so that I could resurrect Dennis and drag the torture out for a few hours.
“Yeah. I mean… of course I looked him up,” Vega said, shrugging.
“You didn’t think that maybe the fact that I was involved with someone in the mafia was something I should have known?”
“I thought you might overreact to it,” Vega told her cousin honestly.
Mere’s mouth opened, then shut, seeming to accept that Vega was right about that.
My stomach tensed, though, at the idea of her brushing me aside still. Those fears lessened, though, as she relaxed back into me.
“Thank you for saving me,” she said, raising her hand, and inspecting her palm.
It looked rough.
It hadn’t gotten cleaned out, and it really probably needed stitches.
“Any chance you got a tetanus shot the last time you cut yourself?” I asked.
“How did…” she started, then glanced toward Vega. “Yeah.”
“I can clean that up back at your place. Might not heal super pretty, but we can avoid urgent care if you want to just relax.”
“Relaxing sounds good,” she said, letting out a deep breath. “It’s been a rough few weeks.”
“Next time anything at all feels shady, you have to tell me,” I told her, giving her body a little squeeze.
Her head tilted up, her gaze holding mine, watching me for a long moment, before she gave me a nod.
“Okay.”
And I knew right then that there would be no more confusion, no more games, no more fighting what was growing between us.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Mere
“You’re going,” Vega declared, standing in the doorway to my bedroom the next morning in a sports bra and a pair of men’s boxers, holding a steaming cup of coffee.
“What?” I asked, slow blinking at her through the harsh morning light.
How late was it?
It seemed too bright to be my usual waking time.
My heart leaped into my throat when my gaze landed on the clock to the side of Vega, clearly displaying that it was after ten in the morning.
Ten?
I’d never slept until ten a day in my life.
I shot up in bed, tossing off the covers.
“Relax,” Vega said, holding up her hand. “The shop is taken care of.”
“What? How?”
“That yummy man of yours has been up since the crack of dawn, moving and shaking, handling shit. Gotta admit, it was kind of hot. I mean, is there anything sexier than someone who is just… capable?” she asked, fanning herself with her hand.
“Wait… what? What was he handling?” I asked, feeling like my brain wasn’t quite working right.