Page 37 of Protecting Charity

"I was just telling your dad the interesting conversation I had with a lady named Kandy Weir, and I thought to myself, I need to meet the girl she spoke about," Owen said.

I placed my hands in my lap to hide the tick that threatened to give me away. That's it. I'm going to cut this finger off and learn to shoot better with my other hand. I'll tie Kandy to a tree and use her for target practice.

"Is that right?"

"She had some fascinating things to say about you."

"Somehow, I doubt that," I said through clenched teeth.

I held to my Sunday dinner routine, scooped the mashed potatoes and gravy to my plate, and then grabbed a roll. It was practically muscle memory now, I could do this and tune my mother out, and now I could use it tonight on Owen.

"Let's say grace," I told Dad.

He nodded, and everyone bowed their heads except me. I glared holes into Owen and prayed he would spontaneously combust. I had an immediate dislike for the worn man.

"Amen," everyone said.

I shoved half a roll in my mouth and chewed, waiting for him to finish telling me all about the things Kandy had to say about me. I swear to Christ, this woman would end up in an incinerator before the year was out.

"So, she came into the precinct and started asking about Allie. Then, we got to talking about Morgan, and somehow, the topic turned to you. You could say it surprised me to learn that Detective Gibbons here was your father."

"I don't know who these people are that you're talking about," I told him.

I took in a deep breath and dipped my roll in the gravy, then fed it into my mouth.

My mother piped in, and God bless her soul this one time. "We don't talk about police work at the dinner table. We leave it at the door or in the study."

I smirked when I looked to Dad to find him pale as a ghost. Leave it to my mother to not give a fuck what your title was; she'd still put you in your place at her table. Maybe I took after some of her after all.

Owen cleared his throat and shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with being reprimanded. I swallowed my roll and beamed with delight.

Chapter 15

Luca

“Iwant her followed. Everywhere she goes, no exceptions. I want to know how many times she wakes in the night, scratches her cat’s head, combs her hair. Nothing goes unnoticed and undocumented.”

“She’s gonna slice your nuts off for that.”

“I don’t care, Max. Someone tried to kill her… again. Do I need to remind you of the last time someone got close to her? We almost lost her for good.” I held up my forefinger and thumb. “She was this close from catching a bullet today.” I put my fingers in his face so he would catch the gravity of what I was saying. “This. Fucking. Close,” I ground out each word, hoping that, if I said it with enough conviction, it would make it more real.

“Listen, I get it, but putting a tail on her—knowing full well she is going to notice—is going to drive a wedge between you two. You guys are already on shaky ground.”

“She knows how I feel. I’d rather her hate me than for her to end up with a bullet between the eyes.”

“Maybe you should think about that the next time you put a gun to her head.”

I took a sip of my Pinto Noir and savored the flavor. I never enjoyed wine until my father insisted I drink it at most meals. It was something that eventually grew on me and was now a staple.

“I didn’t even have one in the chamber. If you think pointing a gun at her head scares her from me, you are mistaken. She’d have me fuck her on her hands and knees with my gun to her head just to get off, then say thank you when she came.”

Max smirked. Probably from the exquisite visual I just gave him. “That’s for fun, Luca. Everyone has their flavor of crazy in the bedroom. This was real, and when you were angry. That says something.”

“She infuriates me, but I would never hurt her. In fact, I tried protecting her today, and she shoved me off of her. Then she had the audacity to get pissed at me because I even tried.” I threw my hands in the air and let them fall to the table, causing the silverware to rattle and my wine glass to shake. “I can’t fucking win with her.”

He chuckled. “That sounds like her.”

“Then she provoked the man who tried to shoot her. Yelled at him for being a goddamn coward. I think she may have a death wish.” I pointed my finger at him. “And don’t even get me started on her interaction with Elias and Adriano. Adriano was ready to slice her throat with a machete.”

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