Page 97 of Outcast

Matías' expression iced over. "I keep you alive." His tone brooked no arguments. "Matthews knows more than what he told you. I plan to get it from him."

"That's where Esteban was almost shot!" Now she sat on the edge of the bed and she looked like she was two seconds away from locking Matías in the bathroom. Her eyes were wide and her bottom lip trembled.

Shit, she was scared. For me or for him? I rubbed my chest.

"There won't be a detail and no one will know I'm goingthere. Believe it or not, I know how to be discreet," he said wryly as he started to turn.

"It's too fucking dangerous!" Rita jumped to her feet and caught his arm.

For him. She was afraid he’d leave her again. Or get taken from her. Exhaling, I curled my fingers tight against my palm.

"I'll go with him."

They whipped toward me with matching shock on their faces. I smirked. "Don't look so surprised I'd offer."

"You were almost shot there," Rita repeated as she took slow steps toward me, dropping Matías' arm.

Some of the tightness in my chest released. She was worried about me too.

"It will be safer if I go by myself,” Matías argued.

"No, it won't." I raised a brow. "You need someone to watch your back.”

"Rita would be alone." A frown tugged on his lips.

"Then we all go,” Rita tossed out like that settled it.

"No," Matías and I both said. I didn’t want her anywhere near that place. It wasn’t ours, we didn’t have it secured, and just fucking no.

Matías glanced at the floor for a second, then glanced back at Rita.

"I'll take Esteban with me. We won't be gone for more than two hours. You'll stay locked in this room. If nothing else, I believe you'll be safe here. If we don't check in or we're not back, my brothers' men will come get you and you can ride to the Chinese restaurant to get us."

Rita rotated her hands as she processed his words. Finally, she said, "There are so many holes in that plan."

He dipped his head. "We don't have a choice. If there aremen planning your death, I'm not going to wait on them to act to figure out who they are."

Rita had to see that neither of us were going to risk her life. Not if we could stop it before it happened. Gang princess or not. Leader or not. She mattered too much to me.

I glanced at Matías. Fuck.

She mattered too much tous.

"I hate you right now."

"No, you don't," he said in a cocky tone of voice I’d never heard from him before.

I set her chair back, then cupped her hips from behind. At the same time, Matías boxed her in from the front.

"We'll be back as soon as we can," I murmured in her ear.

Matías cupped her throat with one hand and her breast with his other, swiping his thumb across her nipple.

Her breath caught.

In for a pound, I tugged her dress up, slipping my hand to the vee of her thighs, cupping her sweet, hot pussy. I groaned as she pulsed against my fingers.

"You're so fucking turned on," I muttered, dropping my forehead to her shoulder.

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