Page 56 of Feint

He shook his head a little and chuckled. “No, you aren’t, but why don’t you come back from whatever has you frowning andgive me a smile? Let’s talk about something fun, like how hot you looked in your outfit at the drag night becausemmm! I felt like we had gone back in time, watching you walk around in that getup.”

I giggled and brushed the hair out of his eyes. Kayden still looked like he could be in his late twenties; I swore he never aged. He didn’t even have any gray hairs yet. My husband was exceptionally handsome. His thick brows framed his pretty golden brown eyes. Those eyes, which had first caught my attention on the subway when I first came to LA, had taken a choke hold on my very soul. And every time I stared into them, I felt peace. My mind would quiet. In those eyes I saw a future I hadn’t known was possible for someone like me with my past and in the world I had been in. But Kayden had slowly wound through every fiber of my being and pulled me into his world.

Bravery came in many forms, but the bravest person I had ever met was a twenty-two-year-old street racer named Kayden Wells as he stood up for me against one of the deadliest Mafia leaders the city had ever seen—twice.

“Something on my face, baby?” He spoke softly as he gripped my thigh lightly. I shook my head.

“No… just still hard to believe where we are now after all the things we have been through. That you still treat me like we just started dating. You always make me feel like the only woman in the world when I’m around you—do you know that?” I smiled at him, my body relaxing from his touch.

“That’s because, to me, Rose, you are.” He leaned over the center console and kissed me. Kiss after kiss, grounding me in the moment, allowing me to soak in his light that made the entire world a better place.

I pulled back and laughed under my breath. “Kayden… careful now because you are starting something I won’t want tostop, and I don’t feel like getting arrested for doing something people half our age do. Our kids would never let us live it down.”

Kayden laughed. “All right, all right. But for the record, I’d get arrested over you any day, baby. You would be one hundred percent worth it.”

He winked at me. I shook my head and rolled my eyes playfully.

“What am I going to do with you, Wells?” I brushed my hair behind my left ear, my cheeks rosy from his words. “We really should be heading back home soon. It’s getting late, and I know you have a busy day tomorrow.”

I tapped the digital dash, where the time was showing, and Kayden leaned back in his seat, pressing the start button.

“I know, but can you blame me for wanting to steal every minute I can with my sexy wife? Going out has been in short supply lately, so I was greedy for a little extra time alone with you.” He started to back out of our spot and pull down the road.

“Kayden, we are alone every day at home.” I swore he acted like we still had kids running around the house every day.

“You know that’s not the same, baby. I want to take you out more. Say you’ll take time off in the evenings for me? I hate seeing you overworking like you have been lately.” Kayden patted my leg, then reached for my hand, winding his fingers between mine. He brought it to his lips and kissed the back of it.

He had a point. Running a realty business while also owning and managing the day-to-day operations of the city’s most popular strip club had started to wear me a little thin lately.

“I will, babe. I’m going to find someone to help take on more responsibilities at Club Afterglow. Taking a client or two less each month might be helpful for a few months as well. Just give me a little grace if it takes a month or two to get it right, please?”

Kayden rubbed my hand with his thumb. “Rose, I’d give you a million years if you asked me.”

There he went again saying something totally unromantic to most people, but to me? It made my entire soul melt into his very hand. We drove in relative silence the rest of the way back to the custom shop to pick up my car, just existing softly next to each other. But when we pulled up, I noticed Rosalie’s car was still there.

“Did she lose track of time working again?” I asked, exasperated. It wouldn’t be the first time Rosalie had ended up here close to midnight.

“I’ll go tell her to go home. One second.” Kayden hopped out of the car and jogged over to the door. Grabbing the handle, he twisted and then walked right into it. “Ouch!”

He rubbed his nose and jiggled the handle again, looking confused. Then, he slid his key into the lock and opened the door. It was dark inside, except for the small light up by the office doors. Something wasn’t right.

I got out of the car.

“Rosalie?” Kayden called into the shop.

Silence was his answer.

He looked around but then walked back out, shaking his head. “She’s not in there.”

Did her boyfriend come and pick her up?

I pulled out my phone and gave her a call. Then, I heard it. Her ringtone echoing in the alley by her car.

Please, God, no.

Kayden and I exchanged a look of fear and took off toward her car.

Please don’t let us find our little girl dead on the ground tonight.

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