Page 113 of Consume Me

I wrap my arms around his neck and press my lips to his. He holds onto me like he would never let me go. I hope he never does.

Mia lies cuddled to my side, her hand placed on my chest. She hasn’t removed it, as if making sure she can feel my heartbeat. I can’t take my eyes off her—not just because her beauty enraptures me, but because I want to embed in my soul this image of her safely tucked in my arms, where nothing could take her from me.

The mission could have ended in a damn tragedy, but it also fills me with vicious determination to keep her safe. I won’t lose her. I refuse to.

Caleb and Felix might have won this battle, but the war is not over. I am going to eradicate them.

“I need you to promise me something,” she says, looking at me with those bewitching eyes of hers.

“What do you want, Silver?”

“You, Blake… and you would have died to protect me.”

“Don’t make me break a promise, then. You’re mine. I would gladly die for you.”

“But could you imagine living with me?”

I bring her fingers to my lips and kiss each tip before placing her palm back on my chest. “This organ beats for you. I’ll live as long as you live.”

She kisses me softly and says, “I want this over with. I finally have you, and it feels so frail, like at any moment, you could be taken from me.”

“I can promise you one thing. I will always try to find a way back to you.”

She nods, and her lashes flutter before they rest on her cheek. Her breathing turns deep with sleep.

I take my time contemplating the wonder of my life. So much time lost, but I’ll be damned if I don’t make a life with her possible.

Sliding out of bed, I tiptoe out of the room.

Kaden is in the kitchen looking outside the window, his body tense. I gulp down a glass of water and then approach him.

“They want us dead,” he says.

“We went behind their backs, captured, imprisoned and tortured them, and our worth has always been in obeying them.”

“We have to find out who the men working for them are.”

“I am waiting for Cato to give me some information.”

“And what does he want in exchange? How much power do those fuckers need? The Syndicate already rules the underworld.”

“He never said, but I think they want an in with the Family. Isn’t more power what they’re most interested in?”

“Let’s hope that’s it, and they don’t want you. He won’t get you. I’ll start another war with the Syndicate and the Boston mafia for you.”

“Do you think I fucking want that? Especially not now, but if that’s the price to find those assholes and eliminate them, then so be it. The Family has ruled from the shadows for centuries. Let’s not start a beef with the fucking Syndicate.”

“I have your back. Will make them an offer they can’t refuse, and if they do, we’ll go to war with the damn underground if we need to.”

“Getting emotional?” I ask, trying to diffuse the tension, but I love the fact he would do that for me. “Mia doesn’t know. I don’t want to worry her on top of everything. Plus, if we find them before the Syndicate, it would be a moot point.”

He jerks his chin in acknowledgment, and Hunter steps inside. “Holding a meeting without me?”

The asshole is so dramatic.

“How’s my sister?” he asks.

“Asleep…”

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