Page 19 of Protecting Lanie

Lanie’s breath hitched.

“Archer…”

He tilted her chin up, making sure she saw exactly what she did to him. “Do you want to test me, little one?”

Her pupils dilated. “No, Sir.”

Damn right.

Archer let go and started the engine, forcing himself to focus. The drive was silent, the air thick with something neither of them dared name. When he pulled up in front of her apartment, Lanie shifted, clearly unsure how to break the moment between them.

“Thank you,” she murmured.

Archer reached across her, popping open the glove compartment. “Take this.”

She frowned as he handed her a small, sleek phone. “What’s this?”

“A secured line,” he said. “Molina won’t be able to trace it.”

Her throat worked as she swallowed. “You really think he’s that close?”

Archer’s voice was steel. “I know he is.”

Lanie exhaled. “What if I don’t want to live in fear?”

Archer leaned in, his lips brushing the shell of her ear. “Then let me handle it.”

She shivered. “That’s not fair.”

“Nothing about this is fair,” Archer murmured, his fingers trailing up her arm, slow and deliberate. “But I protect what’s mine. And right now, you’re mine.”

Her lips parted, but he didn’t give her the chance to argue.

“Inside,” he ordered.

Lanie hesitated, then nodded, slipping out of the car without another word.

Archer watched her run up the steps, use her key to open the outer door and disappear inside.

Then, with calculated precision, he pulled out his phone.

“Reyna.”

A beat. Then a sharp, alert voice answered. “Yeah?”

“I need eyes on Lanie’s place.”

Another pause. “You expecting trouble?”

Archer’s jaw tightened. “It’s already here.”

Reyna exhaled. “Got it. I’ll post up nearby.”

Archer ended the call.

Molina was getting closer.

And Archer was about to make sure he never got close enough.

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