Page 37 of Filthy Secret

Grasping Adam’s hand, I squeeze it as I hold him back slightly because I know him. He’s going to rush that glass case without a care of who is standing around him when those treats come into his view.

“Thank you,” Shawn calls out to the woman as she turns and walks out of the store.

Only when I hear the bell ring with her exit do I release my grip on Adam’s hand. He does exactly what I knew he would. He runs straight for the part of the display that holds the cupcakes.

Happily oohing and aahing as he stares at all the gorgeously decorated cupcakes in soft, muted tones and colors. They look too good to eat, and yet, I want them all because I know this woman knows how to bake a mean cupcake.

“Ryan,” she calls out, her eyes flicking behind me as if she’s looking for someone to be there.

“Shawn. We were out driving around and came across your shop,” I say, only halfway lying.

Her brows furrow as she flicks her gaze from me to Adam, then back to me before she speaks.

“I thought you were under guard,” she murmurs.

Shrugging a shoulder, I clear my throat. “I guess I’m supposed to be? I don’t know. Grover left for the store and told me he would send someone over, but we left.”

The expression of concern deepens as she continues to watch me for a long, silent moment. I can tell she’s thinking. She’s not sure she should even say anything, but she decides to stick her nose in anyway. I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same. My lips twitch into a small smile as she leans forward over her counter a bit.

“Ryan, don’t you think you should maybe have waited for your guard to watch you? I’m nervous about you being alone anywhere right now.”

She’s not wrong. It’s scary as hell. Shrugging a shoulder, I try to act like I don’t give a shit. I do, but I pretend.

“Honestly?” I rasp. “I was looking for work.”

She shifts her gaze over to Adam, then back to meet mine. “Work?”

Dipping my chin in a single nod, I give her half a smile. It’s all that I can muster. “I had an okay job as a school secretary, but I can’t do anything that would require me to work aboveboard anymore. I was actually looking for King’s parents’ bar because I knew they were shady enough to let me work under the table for cash.”

Shawn’s eyes widen, and her tongue peeks out before it slides across her bottom lip. “I’ve been dying here by myself,” she says. “I have grown but haven’t hired any help, and I need it. I can’t pay a ton, and you’d be washing dishes and cleaning. It’s early in the morning, sometimes late at night. It’s not much, but you’d be here with me.”

I could tell her no. I would probably make more in tips at a bar or something, but this is a hell of a lot safer. Even if it would mean that I would have to work decades to pay Grover back. But it’s honest, it’s safer, and it smells heavenly.

“I’m in,” I say with a single nod.

Shawn’s lips curve up into a grin. “Yay,” she cries.

ATOMIC

I’ve never been jealous. Not of my blood brother, not of my brothers, not of anyone—ever. Except when I walked into that bedroom and saw my woman with Brew. I wanted to kill him right then and there even though I knew he wasn’t and never would do anything with her. It didn’t matter. It was the goddamn principle of the matter.

Walking toward my bike, I watch as two of the men climb into the truck. It’s Gnaw and Piston. Obviously, we are all done fucking around with this dick. I hear King’s bike roar up behind me. Turning my head, I jerk my chin toward him.

“Ready?” I call out.

“Never more.”

The truck moves forward with a lurch, and I follow behind, King to my side. Together, we follow the truck until we arrive at the warehouses. The pallets are ready for us to pick up. I smile at the sight of them, but I’m alert and waiting for this motherfucker to appear.

King surveys one side of the truck and building while I take the other. I look hard, almost hoping to see someone make their way toward me.

I am ready to end this fucker.

He touched Ryan, he marked her body, and had I known he’d done what he did, I would have killed his ass right then and there outside of the hospital, security cameras be damned. Ryan isn’t someone who should have ever been on his radar. Ellen also needs to be taken care of in a way that is fucking permanent.

“I don’t see shit,” King grunts.

I open my mouth to say the exact same thing, except I do see someone. It’s not who I expect to see, though. It’s not Ellen or Golden, whatever the fuck his pimp name is. It’s Nash fucking Stanley.

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