Page 28 of King of the Dawn

Not today. Not with the most precious crystal by my side.

“I’ll be home soon,” I promised.

“It’s not him,” one of the men shouted as I shoved Evie into the car. I caught a glance of him yanking up the suspect, a man in his thirties wearing a peacoat and a top hat. Who the fuck wore top hats anymore?

I locked Evie into the car and once she was secure, it sped away, her driver hastily peeling out.

I approached the man in question, hands stuffed in my pockets as I pretended I was anything but the raging man I was. Why had my soldiers thought this man was a threat? “What’s your name?” I asked as he was released.

He brushed off the dirt from his trip to the asphalt, and let out a huff. “Excuse me, you fuck? Who the fuck are you?” He demanded, thick New York accent in tow. He turned to the men now behind him, shooting them both middle fingers. “I’m gonna sue you fuckers.”

I peered over the angry little fella. “Why did you stop him?”

“He fit the description, pakhan. He reached into his back pocket.” The guard explained. “He wasn’t armed, it was just a cell phone.” He had the wits about him to appear sheepish, blush creeping up at his hasty mistake.

I wouldn’t fault him for being extra cautious. I’d rather he react and an innocent man have been searched, than to have my wife harmed because they hadn’t noticed a man with a weapon.

I dipped my chin in acknowledgment as Yuliya snickered behind me. When I tossed a look over my shoulder to her, amusement flashed in her baby blue eyes as she shot me a smirk. “You’re too high strung, isoveli. Is your witch not leaving you satisfied?”

Quite the opposite. She was begging me while I pulled away. I was the one leaving her begging for me. “Lets go,” I grumbled, ignoring her comment as I followed her to her car, since she would now be taking me home.

When we settled into the vehicle and were finally alone she let out a soft sigh, glancing at the ring on my right index finger. The obsidian jewel that Evie had given me the night I’d questioned her about Eoghan’s wife.

I grinned and my cock twitched at the memory of my interrogation methods that evening. The way Evie squirmed beneath my hold, the way she refused to give me her secrets. I had loved every moment of her torture, every soft desperate moan that had left her strawberry lips.

“Put some pressure on Sean.” I finally broke the silence. “Have him do his hacker shit and get a location on Brock already. I cannot fucking take this anymore.”

Normally Rose would be my hacker, but I didn’t want to put any additional pressure on her than she already had. Alastair had connections with Caledonia security, but Sean Murphy was the best bet, and not because I refused to run to Alastair with my tail tucked between my legs. Sean was Evie’s nephew. He could fucking show up for his aunt. He should have already been doing it.

Yuliya grunted her approval. “He’s been working on it for a bit. I’ll check in on him.”

“You went to him behind my back?” I said, not hiding the disapproval in my tone for her working a lead without coming to me first.

She gripped the steering wheel and shot me a death glare. “I will be the next pakhan, Jericho. When you get your head from your ass, and you leave with Evie. It will be me in charge. The Murphy Clan are close with Corbin. They are our allies as are the Greens. Not to mention they’re now your family. You need to start trusting others to help.”

“Well what’s taking him so fucking long, Yuliya?” I deflected, not wanting to acknowledge that she was right.

“He’s running his face through AI, but you do know that Brock would have to show his face first? It takes time.”

I scrubbed a hand down my face, not wanting to accept that she was right. I was ready to move on with my next step in the plan and take Evie home. The longer Brock was out there, the longer I was suffering. She was a temptress and I knew that it would take everything inside of me not to break, not to keep her as mine when I knew she belonged to another.

Chapter Eleven

Aoibheann

My tyrant didn’t come to bed that evening. I’d drifted off even though I tried to stay up for him. I’d fallen asleep with my book tucked safely in my arms, and when I woke, Jericho had moved it to the nightstand and covered me with the blankets.

I let out a yawn as I squinted, trying to check the alarm clock on his side of the bed.

“What time is it?” I asked in a sleepy voice, when I couldn’t open them long enough to see the numbers.

“Late.” The warmth of his breath tickled my neck.

My lips tipped up as I stretched and snuggled into him. “Where have you been?”

He hadn’t come home after the incident at the bookstore. I’d spent the rest of the afternoon with the help of Rose, taking photos to post on my new online candle shop. She had helped me get a website up and running, and then we–her, Alastair and me–had eaten dinner without Jericho. Even Yuliya, whom I was growing used to seeing around the house, never popped up.

“I’ve been with Yuliya. Sean is working on a location for Brock.”

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