Page 209 of Deceit

“I know the way.”

“And packing your shit up.”

“No thanks,” she retorts, then tightens her hold a tad. “I’m a big girl. I can do it myself when I’m ready.”

I meet her eyes in the rearview mirror when we get to a stoplight, and thank fuck, the windows are slightly tinted.

“Yeah, baby, you’re a big girl that can take a big cock in your mouth, but you also made a massive mistake that no one on B723 is going to forgive and forget right now. You’re not leaving our sight until Alexander is in the ground. And, then…you can do whatever you want.”

She stares at me, realization exposed on her features that she’s not in this alone. Everyone knows now.

“I want to be alone,” she mutters, and I swear I hear the hopelessness in her words.

“Can’t.” The light turns green and we’re back on our way to her temporary place.

I want her to stay with me, but I don’t want the heat on her back to come to my family.

I already did that myself.

I’m sending them to Disney World to not spook Scarlett and Hardy agreed that it’d be a good idea.

After a few more minutes, I hit another light and that’s when the overhang light turns on in the SUV.

Then the back door slams shut.

Looking to my left, Emmy is sprinting across the street, making this a hunt now because this woman just can’t make anything simple for me.

Blowing the light, I turn left and almost plow into an oncoming vehicle. It doesn’t take long to catch up to Emmy pounding the pavement as she focuses straight ahead. I half-ass park the car and bolt from the front seat.

My stride and height work to her disadvantage yet again, and there aren’t any people around to call the cops at my throwing her over my shoulder and back to her Jeep.

Emmy’s fists mercilessly hit my spine. Her legs kick and flair in no particular direction before I get her into the backseat and crawl in next to her.

“Emmy Lou fucking Rhodes,” I growl in her general direction. “You’ve gone and pushed the wrong button this time.”

Everything is a fucking mess, and I have no one to blame but myself. Ledger is beside himself with relief and pointed out that I was practically Judas to the whole team.

Judas, in the sense that I’m a scheming liar who only thought of myself and how I was going to handle Alexander when I had an entire squad that I still slightly believe would get in my way.

And to make matters worse, Bishop has hired himself to be my fucking babysitter.

Or he thinks he did.

“Emmy Lou fucking Rhodes,” he snarls through heavy panting of my making him run through the streets. “You’ve gone and pushed the wrong button this time.

“Yeah—“ I release a shaky exhale. “—I don’t fucking care.”

His arm wraps around my middle then, and I’m straddling his wide lap in the next second. “You’re getting too impulsive for my liking,” he grounds out. “And we need to get your fucking hearing checked.”

“We’ll go together.”

His hand on the base of my spine pulls me forward so that my chest is pressed against his. “I would’ve helped.”

My brows knit because I know what he means, but that was the whole point ofnotasking him to help.

I’m aware that I wouldn’t have had to ask twice, and I’m tired of explaining the why’s and how’s of my previous plan.

Were they stupid, obviously, but I can’t change them now.

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