Page 133 of All Your Hate

He stands there in silence. Shock on his face. “Wynter.” He cups my cheek and I see the fire reignite in his eyes. Looking athis father he says, “We’re going through with this tonight, with or without your help.”

“Nothing I say will stop you will it?”

Noah shakes his head and resignation settles on Gregory’s face. “Tell me what I need to do.”

“We need the East side of the building blocked off,” I tell him. He doesn’t need to know any of the gory details.

“The area’s under renovation anyway so it’s already been marked off limits, but I’ll have a word with security and make sure none of the guests go that way.”

That’s exactly why we chose the place as part of our plan.

Gregory puts his hand on Noah’s shoulder and says, “I still don’t want you doing this.”

I can see Noah fighting with his emotions. An inner battle over whether to accept his father's apology or to keep pushing him away.

“Dad. I’m not the same kid you think I am. Dmitri won’t be the first man I’ve killed or the last. You may not approve, but it’s who I am. It’s in my nature now.”

“I understand,” Gregory says and I believe him. The way he’s looking at Noah tells me he’s proud of his boy.

Noah’s phone buzzes and after he reads the text he nods at me. Dmitri’s here. He actually came. Who would have thought a party invite would be the way to get the big bad criminal out in the open?

“This might be our only shot. We have to go now,” I say, eager to put my dagger to use. It's strapped to my thigh and barely hidden under the thin material of my dress, but I refused to come here without it.

Gregory nods again. Tears start to well in his eyes as he looks at his son. He brings him in for a hug and Noah stiffens. I step out of the way to give them space and Noah looks at me over his father's shoulder, his brows rising as he silently begs me forhelp. Smiling at him, I mouth, "Hughim." It takes a moment, but eventually Noah hugs him back.

When they break away, Gregory clears his throat and wipes his knuckles over his damp cheek. I wonder how long it's been since the pair of them have been this close?

Gregory looks between us as he says, “Do what you need to do, but promise me you’ll be safe.”

“I’ll look after him,” I assure him as I take hold of Noah's hand.

I can see the depths of pain in Gregory’s eyes, but also hope that his son will be okay.

Noah lets out a heavy sigh after Gregory leaves the room. “Well, that was fucking weird. I don’t remember the last time he hugged me.”

“He loves you a lot.”

Noah looks at me like I’m talking nonsense and I roll my eyes. “Come on. Let’s get this started.”

As we head out, Noah calls Dean to get Dmitri’s whereabouts. He's in the main hall watching Daniella give a speech.

“I think we should change the plan. I’ll go talk to him instead,” Noah suddenly says as we hover outside the door.

“Baby, I have my dagger. You’ve seen me kill men before. I’ll be fine.”

He gets that little scrunch between his eyes and his lip twitches. “Did you just call mebaby?”

Heat rushes to my face. “I think I did.”

Giving me a dark smile, Noah corners me against the doorframe. “I like it,” he says, running his tongue over his bottom lip. “You should say it again.”

Now is not the time to be wanting him like this. But he’s turned my insides to lava and I can’t think straight.

The ear-splitting sound of microphone feedback distracts me, breaking the spell between us. “Later,” I tell him, placing myhand over his erection. God, it’s going to feel so good fucking after we’ve just killed Dmitri.

Noah lets out a low growl. “Fine. You know what to do if you need me. I’ll be with you in an instant.” Taking hold of my hand he kisses my knuckles before tearing himself away. For the plan to work we can’t be together.

Noah let me decide on a lot of the details for tonight. I'm to get Dmitri alone in a secluded part of the hotel, from there we'll knock him out and take him with us. All the real fun begins once we have him back home.

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