Page 45 of Vengeful Guard

“What’s wrong?” He looks over my shoulder to Declan and Gray, ignoring me completely.

He leaves his room, closing the door behind him, and heads over to my brothers, who have come into the living room, sitting our food down on the coffee table.

“I ordered breakfast,” I mumble, and Kael grunts something in response.

Gray sits down, arms on his elbows as he leans forward. “We need to talk.”

Kael’s sandy-colored brows nearly knit together.

“What’s going on?”

“Paige, why don’t you go upstairs?” Declan smiles.

I frown at him, crossing my arms over my chest. “Whatever you have to say to Kael, you can say to me. I assume it concerns me?”

“Paige…” Declan shakes his head, but I huff out a breath, about to give him a piece of my mind.

It turns out, I don’t have to, surprisingly.

Kael’s looking at Declan and Gray. “She should stay. This is her life."

Declan’s eyes widen, and Gray frowns, but Declan sits down too.

I perch on the edge of the couch where they’re sitting, and Kael takes the loveseat.

Kael just looks at them, leaning forward slightly, and I try not to look at how his biceps bulge in the T-shirt.

Declan looks at me before turning to Kael. “We got some intel from Diamond.”

Kael’s eyes widen slightly. "You've been working with Diamond?"

I frown. “Who's Diamond?”

“A stripper,” Gray says. “One of Murphy's."

My frown deepens.

Of course, Kael knows her. He probably knows every stripper in the state. But that shouldn’t bother me.

And yet, it does. A little.

It’s not like I want him for myself. I just want to feel the way I did yesterday again. Badly. I want to know what else there is. I want him to teach me, show me what sex is.

I try to focus on the current conversation and not to imagine how impossibly hot Diamond probably is and how she’s probably gotten a lot more orgasms out of Kael than I have.

Declan’s voice pulls me out of my head. “Murphy’s off his rocker. He’s violent, throwing punches, drinking too much—the other day, he threatened her just for smarting off to him.”

I frown. “None of this is a surprise. Why wouldn’t you want me listening?”

Declan sighs. “It's not just that. It’s that he's been bragging about some plan he has.”

“We’re worried that he’s still trying to target you.” Gray looks at me with stormy green eyes, a shade darker than mine. “And so, it’s important, now more than ever, that Kael keeps an eye on you.”

Kael nods. “Murphy’s always been off his rocker. He’s always been targeting the Burkes. What has changed?”

Declan shakes his head. “It’s not that something changed, it’s that we need you to understand that the job might be a bit longer term than anticipated. I’ll pay you weekly, of course.”

Kael waves his hand. “I’m not worried about that, Declan. I want to see this through. I’ll protect her.”

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