Page 47 of Keeping Astrid

“But you had a moment of doubt.”

Why the fuck was Ox persisting with this? Why was he being such an ass about it?

“What are you trying to achieve here? Yes, I had a moment of doubt, but then I checked myself. I know Astrid. She’s the most genuine person I’ve met—regardless of her fame.”

A slow smile crossed Ox’s face as if he’d struck gold after searching for years. Now what did that mean?

“You know this is not a unique situation. Although it is here.”

Growler tempered his need to shout at his boss to get to the fucking point. “Right.”

This time Ox full on laughed. “It’s all good, Growler. Your job is safe. Is that what you were worried about?”

With those words, Growler’s anger and the tension that had been riding his shoulders since he’d walked into the building eased. “Have to admit it crossed my mind.”

“Can’t say I’m thrilled about it.” Ox held up his hand when Growler went to interrupt him. “Not sure I want this type of thing to happen with everyone, but you’re the first of my employees this has happened to. Also, you can’t help who you fall in love with. Or the timing when it happens. Besides, Storm and Ash fell for the women they were protecting, so me sacking you because of that would be a little contradictory. Both of them know that the unexpected can occur.”

“Happy to hear you feel that way, thanks. Yeah, this wasn’t what I expected when I took the job on. In fact, I never thought I’d feel like this about a woman,” Growler commented.

“So what’s next?” Ox questioned.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m assuming you don’t want Angel or Irish taking over Astrid’s protection.”

“No, but if you feel that’s what’s best in this situation, then I’ll suck it up and do it. Although I will say that I brought this up when I talked to Astrid about it this morning, and she wasn’t happy with the idea.”

Ox’s eyes widened. “You told Astrid you were coming in here to tell me about the two of you?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I? It concerns her as much as it concerns me.”

“That decides it then. You’re staying assigned to Astrid.” Ox stood, and Growler did as well. “Thanks for being honest with me, Growler. You could’ve kept it quiet.”

“Not the way I operate. You’ve given me an opportunity, and I’m a straight shooter. I couldn’t keep this from you.”

“I’m happy to have you on the team, trust me. Now, I know you’re eager to get back to your woman, so go.”

Growler smiled. “Thanks.”

“How about we get down to the other reason why you’re here—the information Cass has found out about the origins of the tattoo?”

Immediately Growler put thoughts of his feelings about Astrid into a box and turned his attention back to the job he’d been employed for. “What about it? What gang does it belong to?”

“It’s not a gang tattoo, which was why it wasn’t in the database. It’s a cartel one.”

Cartel?

What the fuck?

A cartel going after Astrid wasn’t good. It just increased the danger stakes.

“Which cartel?” Growler suspected he wasn’t going to like what Ox was about to say next. In fact, his instincts were screaming he knew the answer to it. “It’s the Ramirez Cartel, isn’t it?

“Yep.”

“Fuck.”

“You know them?” Ox’s eyebrow quirked in interest.

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