Page 45 of Mine, Forever

“I got a call from one of my contacts at the PD. They’ve arrested Ebony.”

Honestly, I didn’t know what came first, my outburst or standing up so quickly the chair went flying backward into the wall.

“What for?”

“You know what for. Looks like Adora-Lee ratted on her daughter.”

“Shit, I knew I should have fucking killed her. Who’s watching the cells?”

“Drew Cole.”

Fuck! Could this get any worse?

“Get Lamb here…now!”

York nodded, quickly leaving the office.

How the fuck had they gotten to her?She should have been in the apartment sleeping off the torment I’d given her. The one I knew had scared the shit out of me knowing how out of control I was with the situation and with how my body reacted to hers.

Drew had to be one of the only cops I didn’t control in this damn city. Of course, he had to be the one in charge of the cells and her arrest.

I ran my fist through the computer screen in frustration. Sparks flew everywhere, and my knuckles were cut open. Blood dripped down onto my desk, but I felt nothing. Ebony was locked up, and I had no idea how I could get her out.

Pain wasn’t something I felt a great deal of, but the pain of knowing I couldn’t rescue Ebony right now was almost unbearable. I didn’t know where this sort of emotion had come from. I certainly hadn’t felt it about anyone else before. When I’d had her locked up in Serenity, I didn’t feel powerless or scared I wouldn’t see her again. I knew what was happening to her. I had ordered it and thus, it gave me all that power over her.

Goddamn it! How did I so easily let her get out of control?

Ebony’s complete turnaround had me worrying this was only a phase, or worse yet, a ploy to destroy me for what I had her endure in that damn asylum. But I couldn’t keep my hands off her, I couldn’t keep my mind off her, and frankly, it had me acting like a sap. If any of my boys had acted this way, I would have shot them by now. I was waiting for the men to start retaliating and knock me off once and for all. I knew I deserved it, and yet it hadn’t come. Probably largely due to the fact they were scared of me and scared of what York would do in vengeance, but I couldn't rely on that forever.

The door opened. Chaz came in with a concerned look on his face. “Boss?”

“I’m fine.”

He didn’t leave. Actually, he did something I never thought he would. He came into the office and checked my hand. “You’re going to need stitches.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Let me do it. I used to be a nurse.”

The laugh that usually would come with such a comment didn’t arrive. Instead, I sat down and let him clean my wound. He returned to the office with a first-aid kit, one I’d never seen before. Chaz made no sound while he stitched up my hand, nor did he ask why my computer had suffered such a fate.

He was one of the men I remembered hiring. Most were employed because they wanted to work for me, but Chaz was recruited. He was living on the streets when York told me about a street rat that would serve us well. I didn’t believe it, but York never told me anything unless it was worth checking out. So I went to the place York said he’d be, and I observed him for a few hours. Not only was Chaz a neat-street rat, his belongings all laid out like he’d been in the Army or military of some kind, but he kept to himself. When others came looking for trouble, he dispatched them with such force and efficiency, if I’d blinked, I would have missed the whole thing. He knew how to get rid of them with ease, using the lake not far from here to dispose of their bodies. He never spoke, not until I gave him the club, and boy didn’t he turn it around. I’d never thought I would have a business out there in the packing district, but I did. He made it worthwhile, paying me back for what I gave him—a future.

“Ty’s not coming back,” I told him, surprising myself with the admission.

“I figured.”

“Do you need someone to replace him?”

“Eventually. At the moment, we’ve not had many incidents.”

I nodded, keeping my mouth shut before I softened anymore. Putting it down to the fact he was helping me with my hand, I ignored the alarm bells screaming in my head that I was losing touch. I was losing my edge because of that fucking woman. I knew, in my soul, I knew I would do anything for her, even if it came at the cost of my life. I’d never been scared of death before. Now I was scared of never seeing Ebony again, of leaving her alone in this world without someone to watch out for her. But more than anything, I was obsessed enough with her that I couldn’t bear the thought of someone else being with her. She was mine, damn it, and she was going to fucking stay mine forever.

“Is there something else I can help you with?” he asked me, packing up the kit.

“No. I have to think so leave me be.”

“Done.”

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