Page 124 of Riordan's Revenge

Riordan broke his stare with the door. “Fuck.”

Struan clued in our brothers. “Cassie hugged Ty last time he was at ours. I had to disarm him or Arran would be down a crew member.”

Jamieson clapped his hands to his cheeks. “Scandal. I’d throw down for that. Tyler should’ve known better.”

I scowled in annoyance. “I can hug who I like. Mind your interfering beaks, ye bunch of cavemen.”

They all laughed, including Riordan who buried his face in my hair and whispered, “Is it caveman if I wanted to grab his throat with the hand that had been inside you?”

I groaned. “That image is hot as fuck. Try to resist as I just remembered something I need to talk to him about.”

I jumped up from my seat and crossed the dark floor, then paused and looked back.

From his seat, Riordan watched me. His expression had shifted to wary. Serious. Like my leaving him there was hurting him.

It did something to my heart.

His pain hurt me, too. He’d been left behind by his mother dying. By two fathers who didn’t care. I hadn’t realised how strong that reliance on me had become.

Hiding the shake in my fingers, I held my hand out.

Come with me. Please.

He pushed off his seat and joined me, sweeping me under his arm with a kiss to my curls like the little gesture had meant more than he could say.

And my heart ached, and ached, and ached.

At Arran’s office, the door was open, only Tyler inside.

We entered, and I kept Riordan’s arm tight around me.

“That contact ye gave me came up good. She gave me information on my mother’s family. Cassandra Archer’s father ran the Spring Hill gang, though most of the members are nowserving or maybe dead. She seemed to think I still had uncles around.”

Tyler scrubbed his dark-blond hair into whirls then grabbed his phone. “I know the gang by name only, and as a historical relic. They aren’t on my radar as an active force. What is it you want to find out?”

I heaved in a breath. “The contact didn’t know my mother was dead so couldn’t tell me anything more about her life or how it ended. Maybe her family can.”

“I’ll see if I can scare up details for one of these uncles.”

I thanked him and made for the lift.

In the apartment, we showered. Climbed into bed. Riordan hauled me to his chest, and we kissed until we slept.

It was so perfect. So sweet and loving.

A couple of hours later, at nine-thirty in the morning, my phone buzzed under my pillow, enough to wake me but not Riordan.

I left him in our bed and went to do what needed to be done.

Chapter 37

Cassie

The countdown of minutes until my therapist called was a ticking clock of nausea in my belly. Exiting the apartment, I summoned the lift. Couldn’t hang out anywhere up here. If Riordan woke, he might overhear what I had to say. I needed to be completely unfiltered to get through the shite in my head.

On the cam girls’ floor, I paused outside the room I’d previously used as a bedroom, but noises came from inside. Sexy ones which told me it was back in use.

I travelled down to the ground floor.

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