Page 96 of Naughty Santa Daddy

Emilio shifts.

I lift a brow at Susan, and she clamps her jaw. For all the good her goddamn tongue is doing, she could’ve cut it out like the other two dickwads.

I don’t have time for this.I pull out my gun from my side holster and put the barrel to her head.

Her eyes widen. “No! I’ll talk—”

I pull the trigger, cutting her off mid-sentence. I don’t give second chances.

“Fuck!” Emilio barks. “Blowback. Jesus, I just took a shower.”

“Take another one,” I snap.I’mstanding right in front of her, andhe’scomplaining about blood splatter?

I hope Hadley is already asleep. I can’t imagine how I can explain the blood and gore on me.

Scowling, I return my gun to the holster and storm to my F-150, nodding at Thomas, a silent sentinel in the early morning hours. He’s pulled a double shift. Big John’s there to relieve him, so Thomas can rest for a couple hours. Fatigue leads to fuck-ups.

Emilio races ahead and jumps into the driver’s seat.

Powdery white snow glimmers in the darkness. The bracing air washes against my skin and slides through my hair like a lover’s caress, reminding me of the brush of Hadley’s fingers.

Once I settle into the passenger seat, Emilio guns forward. We don’t speak. Anger competes with worry, and I’m better left to my own devices in this mood. When we arrive at the cabin and I walk into the house, I hear Greta in the kitchen. I’m not in the mood for conversation with her either, so I skirt past.

As I walk into the den, the Christmas tree greets me. Bright, beautiful, and innocent. Everything I’m not. Everything Hadley is. I should be grateful that I so diligently watched her and then decided to “borrow” her until shit gets sorted. The hitchhiker hadn’t succeeded in doing whatever the fuck he intended. He was one man at one time.

Susan was a coworker. She could’ve taken out Hadley at any time. Since the asshole failed, Susan probably would’ve tried next, and I couldn’t allow it to happen.

I rub the back of my neck, not liking the fear pulsing through me. Fear equates to vulnerability. But my enemies,Hadley’senemies, are closing in. For whatever reason, anyone and everyone tied to Colton Bernard and this scheme Gio has been running for decades ends up dead. In order to protect Hadley, it’s time to face everything and everyone remaining. She needsanswers and explanations. She needs the full story to make an informed decision.

Barring that, I have to smoke out Gio. Motherfucker must know I’m on to him. He must realize The Tulip’s death is connected to me.

“Mass?”

I’m bloody and strapped. But this is who I am. Seeing the real me has to be a part of her informed decision. I turn my back on the tree and all that I willneverbe.

Hadley gasps and covers her mouth with a hand. Her gaze roams from my face to my bloody shirt, then meets my eyes. “Where did you go?”

She’s asking the wrong questions. Ones I can’t answer—won’tanswer. To forge a safe and happy future, she needs to understand her past. She needs to know she isn’t Hadley Bernard.

She’sHalona Tsosie.The name, the first meaning fortune and the other slender, has a lyrical quality and is fitting for a woman with golden skin, long dark hair, and warm brown eyes. Outside of Amos, she is the best thing that’s happened to me.

I recoil at the thought. I love few and fallin lovenever.

“I deserve to know,” she says flatly. “This is the second time you’ve come in here all bloody. Are bad guys breaching your fortress, or does your compound contain a death chamber, and you’re the executioner?”

Murder is easy. Death. Torture. Love is hard. Love is hardest when the woman you’ve unexpectedly fallen for has a target on her back.

“I need to shower.”

I start around her, but she blocks my path. She is frustrating and fearless, but she won’t best me. I grip her hips and lift her out of the way, then stalk to our bedroom. She’s hot on my heels.

My pace picks up. I attempt to slam the bathroom door, but she rushes by.

“Did you kill someone?” she demands as I strip away my shirt and throw it in the trash can. I’ll order it burned later. I leave no DNA evidence, mine or anyone else’s. “Did you?”

My trousers drop to my ankles. I’ve gone commando, so my hard cock springs free. The sight of my straining dick doesn’t grab her attention, annoying me to hell and back. Of course, I won’t touch her until I shower. The material served as a barrier between my skin and Susan’s blood and tissue. It was also the dividing line between good and evil. Me and Hadley.

She can’t touch me until I shower. I won’t taint her in such a manner.

---