Page 74 of Illicit Temptation

Ten minutes later, this fucker opens his eyes to find out he’s tied up.

“What’s going on?” he stutters and then notices mewatching him,

“Good evening,” I say with my gun pointed right at his head. “Can I fucking help you?”

His eyes squint, trying to connect the savage who attacked him and the cordial fucker I turned into once I had him under my complete control. “Where am I?”

“You have questions for me? I asked you a question, and I got knifed.” I show him my arm.

“I have to get out of here.”

“You’re not going anywhere, mate,” I chuckle. “Is this your first gig?”

“Fuck you. Let me out of here. I’m a guard like you. There’s a code.” He did his homework, I’ll give him that.

“I agree. Except when you knifed me. Except when you broke into my w... Into my client’s yard. Now you get treated like every other scum.” I don’t care for this fucking chit-chat, so I get up and press the gun to his temple. “Why are you here? I know you work for Scava.”

His eyes close, and he mutters a curse under his breath. “I was told to get surveillance on Ms. O’Rourke. Mr. Scava wants to know who he’s marrying.Andwho she’s fucking. We know about Archer Crest. My instructions were to kill him if he was here.”

Scava is serious about taking Shea as his wife. That would be a fun war to watch. Blood Diamond Crest and Las Vegas Don Scava.Pay-per-viewcould sell tickets.

“Crest is history.Imade sure of it.” But for me, not Nico Scava.

Delano looks me up and down, something finally clicking. I’m walking around shirtless, probably smelling like sex, and even some dried blood on my lips from eating her.

After a glance around the obviously unoccupied cottage, he says, “Youfucking her? I don’t blame you.” His voice gets low. “Guard to guard. Fucking the lonely MILFis hot as fuck, no?”

“Watch your fucking mouth.” I don’t even give this guy a chance to bond with me.

I scroll through my phone some more. “How about we make a deal, friend? I see you have outstanding warrants here in New York. All I have to do is bash you in the head again and drop you off at any police station.”

He gasps. “What? No.”

“Even if you’re not afraid of a few nights in Rikers, I’m guessing a guy with a record working for Scava makes you expendable.”

“What do you want then?”

“Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to go check into this motel.” I show him one on the North Fork, I found while he was passed out. “You’re going to hang out there. I don’t want you anywhere near Shea O’Rourke. But I don’t want you going back to Vegas too soon because Scava won’t believe you and he’ll send someone else. After a week or two, you tell Scava there are no signs of Archer Crest. No signs ofanyother man.”

I’m dying to claim her publicly, but that has too many unknown consequences at the moment. All of them ending with my head on a stick. Either from Scava or Kieran O’Rourke. Add in Lachlan when he’s done, and I’ll be demolished to dust.

“Mr. Scava was told Ms. O’Rourke would be in Las Vegas by June 30th,” Delano says, getting his balls back. “It’s April. I don’t see any sign she’s ready to pack up and move to Las Vegas.”

Did Lachlan know of this specific delivery date? We’ll be going to Dunbar well before that and my marriage to Shea will be blessed.

“What the fuck would I know about her marriage deal?” I snap. “I’m just her bodyguard.”

Delano’s face twists, debating to call me out on the factthat I look like much more than a bodyguard. “Mr. Scava has several guards ready to protect Ms. O’Rourke. She’ll be safe.”

Several guards. She’ll justlovethat. “And does Scava have a mistress?”

He considers if we’re still BFFs: Bodyguard Edition. “A few. That’s no secret. A few kids, too. But with whores and strippers.”

Fuck me. Do the O’Rourkes know this? It hits me. Kieran didn’t tell Balor. Theyknowhe’ll look into Scava, deeper than that clusterfuck with Eoghan two months ago. Balor will stand up to his brothers for his sister. He isn’t the tallest, the strongest, or the craziest. As far as I know, he’s never taken a life. But with his drones and his hooks into every cyber system possible, he’s the deadliest. His brothers fear him the most. They don’t want to cross him.

But once Shea is handed over, he’ll have little leverage to stop it. And Balor’s head is up his arse at the moment with a sweet girl who he fucked then wound up working for him. Plus, she has a piece-of-shit ex who abused her. Balor’s mind is occupied.

He and his drones are flying with us to Dunbar, but he’s waging a war on several fronts with an elusive cyber enemy.

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