Page 151 of Riordan's Revenge

“Would she have told anyone?” I wiped dirt from her cheek with damp kitchen roll. It came away grey with smoke stains.

“Surely not.” Cassie took a rushed inhale. “I made the call in Arran’s office. If that isn’t secure, he’s a fucking idiot.” She closed her eyes and dropped her forehead to my chest. “Or I am. I’m so sorry. Someone tried to break us up, and I gave them the ammo to do it.”

“Who?” I wondered.

Her gaze shot back up, and her eyes filled with malice. “Your ex-ghoulfriend, Moniqua. Wait until the others get here and I’ll explain what I know.”

I couldn’t make sense of anything. I’d lost her. Twice. Once to love and once to fire. Now I had her back, I had whiplash from the change.

Cassie’s free hand cupped my cheek. With gentle pressure, she brought my face down to meet hers. Kissed my cheek softly. “I did a whole lot of soul-searching over ye because I didn’t want to lose ye. My therapist told me that specific triggers were what killed my infatuations in the past, and I knew that ye saying three little words could be the end of us this time.” Her gaze beseeched me. “Say it again.”

“I don’t want to in case it does something bad.”

“Please?”

I forced the words out. “I love you. I’m so fucking in love with you it’s killing me.”

Cassie smiled. “I love ye, too. All that’s happened is the obsession gave way to true love.”

My chest ached. I asked what I had when she first told me, when I’d basked in the feeling of being adored. “Describe it.”

“You’re the centre of my world. As important to me as my family or maybe even more because it’s different. It’s like ye shifted up to their level then shot past into someplace new. I didn’t know this was possible. I had no idea this feeling could be real, and I spent the day wallowing in trying to make sense of it.”

My heart hurt. I notched my forehead to hers. “Don’t say it if it can’t be true.”

“It is. I’m in love with ye, Rio. I’m never letting ye go.”

I gave a strangled laugh. Shook the handcuffs.

Cassie laughed, too, then kissed me.

She tasted of ash and happiness, destruction and devotion. My world stopped and started again with that kiss. The broken pieces of my heart mended, stronger and better, fixed by my wild girl’s love.

Finally, my mind accepted the change, and I cupped her ass to bring her tight against me, the act securing her wrist behind her back. I liked her in this position. I needed to tear off her clothes and see how pretty she looked chained to me.

Someone knocked at the door.

“Can I send them away?” I asked.

She sighed. “I wish, but there’s too much to discuss. We’re at war, and I intend to win.”

Chapter 48

Cassie

My brothers filed into the apartment, Shade and Everly with them. Everly hugged me carefully. Genevieve followed, and I whispered something in her ear. She nodded and disappeared with Arran.

“What did you ask for?”

I peeked up at Riordan. With my genius impulse to tie him to me, literally, we now couldn’t be more than two feet apart. “I want my Skeleton Girls Detective Agency papers. We’re hunting a killer again.”

He frowned but circled the couch with me. We gave it up to Everly and Shade, and I sat on Riordan’s lap on the floor, my brothers slumming it with us.

I patted Rio’s knee, whispering among the chatter, “Good little armchair.”

He put his lips next to my ear. “Stop wriggling or I’m going to be in trouble.”

I ground lightly into him.

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