Page 86 of Forbidden Bond

“No! He’s my brother—”

“Your brother, exactly. Family means a lot here. Do you need anything from upstairs?”

“No,” she mumbled as he got her purse from behind the desk to hand it over. “Where are we sleeping tonight?”

“Where do you want to sleep?”

“Don’t you want to have breakfast with your cousins at the mansion? Is Score coming at all?” Maybe that was a reason to avoid the family home. “He has a toddler.” She smiled. “Not sure I can see you tolerating a little person, without manners, running around.”

“McDade children are taught manners,” he said, slipping off his jacket to put it around her.

“Taught manners?” She blanched. “You don’t mean…?”

He tucked her hair from her face. “Have I ever raised my hands to you?”

“No.”

“And I won’t to our children either. I lived that upbringing, and we do things my way now. Respect comes long before discipline.”

Why, in that moment, did it feel like she had so much to learn from him?

“Is Strat still in the building?”

“Yes. He’s staying with his son, with your permission.”

She nodded. “As long as someone’s keeping an eye on him. Is Ford in trouble?”

“Ford is ideally suited to his role here.”

“Because…?”

“His relationship with Vex has tenure, adds an extra layer of torment. And allows Ford something like payback.”

“As jailor?”

“He’s in the position of power now, leveraging his own retribution.”

That was impressive. Such a simple choice would make so much difference in damaging Evander’s spirit.

“Can you make sure Strat isn’t going out by himself for a while?”

“If you think he’s at risk, that puts you at further risk—”

“He’s not at risk for being him, he’s at risk for what he means to me. That’s why Vex went after him, isn’t it? I told you, people around me are in danger. It seems like every way I turn—”

“You’re a McDade.” He caught her chin on a finger to lift it up. “Aye, we have targets on our backs. The intensity of the threat level will increase the more our power grows.” And it didn’t concern him one iota. “Now, where do you want to sleep tonight?”

“The loft.”

The flash in his eyes may have been surprise, but she saw caution too. Their space, where they’d shared time and bonding, meant a lot to her. But they hadn’t been back there, not together, not since the night they’d gone to her grandfather’s only to be ripped apart.

“Are you sure?”

“If you don’t want to, we don’t have to. I understand if you want to spend time with Razer and Play.”

“I don’t care about time with them. You were given the choice, and this is the one you made.”

He linked their fingers to guide her downstairs. A car waited for them on the curb, and they were quickly on their way to her selected destination.

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