Page 50 of To Catch A Rook

How had I not known this? And who would I have to kill to take it away from her?

Bitter resignation replaced the caustic burn and its gnawing teeth bit through the base of my ribcage and into my heart.

“What is it going to take to get you to stand down, Hill?” I lowered my guard for one brief second, giving her the smallest glimpse of my pain. “I can’t protect you from him.”

Whether I meant Alvarez or Antonio, it didn’t matter. Hillary hid behind bold confidence and billions of dollars, but these men were far more ruthless. They weren’t concerned about saving innocents—young girls or beautiful billionaires; if she was a problem, they would eliminate her.

Antonio would sendmeto eliminate her.

Hewas still pissed at her father for the trouble he’d caused the cartel years before, and didn’t need another reason to look her way. It was why I’d put distance between us every time I felt her pull a bit too much. I was a weapon for my father, and nothing else. And if he knew the truth about how I felt about her?

He’d use her as a weapon against me.

“Kell—I don’t need your protection.” Hillary worried her lip between her teeth. The rare uncertainty made my chest twinge. “I need yourhelp.”

Raw irritation filled her features moments before her brows molded into a hesitant frown.

I blew out a breath. Hillary Lane never asked for help. She demanded it, she threatened for it, but she’d neveraskedme for anything before now; this time, we were partners instead of opposing forces.

Her blue eyes blazed, but they were rimmed with forlorn pain.

“I’ve had to clean up three more hitters in the last month. All well-known men, all girls supplied by Alvarez. One was as young as fifteen.”

Her voice faltered, barely noticeable, but it held the resignation of someone who blamed themselves.

“I can’t keep chasing him from behind, Kell. I can’t keep walking in at the very last second before these people are destroyed. Sometimes”—she drew in a sharp breath, as if the words themselves brought on too much pain—“sometimes, I’m too late.”

Before I could stop myself, I pulled her the few inches into my arms and wrapped my biceps tightly around her shoulders. She didn’t lean into me for a solid few seconds before giving up on being stubborn and settling into my comfort.

I’d held her like this before, but only ever after sex. Never as a simple offer of support. It wouldn’t be the first time Iwished I could be this man for her. But I’d long since let go of that fantasy—choosing instead to take what I could get.

“You can’t keep doing this, Killer,” I murmured into the top of her head. “Period,” She started to pull away. “I’ll help you, but it’s going to have to be on my terms. Otherwise, we’re both dead.”

She slipped out of my grasp, and her mask of cool neutrality was firmly back in place. “I’ll consider it.” Even her voice didn’t shake.

I stood out of my crouched position and stepped back, giving her space to move out of the seat. She straightened her skirt and combed a few idle fingers through her hair, refusing to make eye contact. Then she flashed me a terse smile.

“We’ll talk soon.” Her tone made us sound like professional acquaintances instead of the complicated lovers we were. I hated that tone—but I had no one to blame but myself.

I nodded once and leaned back against the desk to watch her walk down the narrow hall to the stairs.

I didn’t know how the fuck this was going to work, but I’d have to think of something. Fast.

Otherwise, my Killer was going to be the one who got killed.

An insidious sense of unease burned a hole through my guts as I drove through the quiet streets of a small suburb to my makeshift ‘home’ whenever I was in Carlisle.

The bungalow wasn’t modern or flashy like the condo in California, or rustic like my cabin in the Nevada mountains, but it was the least likely place anyone would expect me to live, so it was the first place I bought years ago.

Not that I was there much. A few weeks a year here and there, when I needed to check in on my brothers or oversee Cartel business. It was rare I was in town for FBI operations, and the international theft ring Trish had called me in to investigate was turning out to be more sophisticated than anticipated.

My team had uncovered a group called ‘The Six’—a Board of Directors with a very complicated trail of bank accounts in Zurich and the Caymans who seemed to offer their services to the highest bidder.

My realm of criminal activity had nothing to do with high-value theft, but Jediah’s did, and I’d taken the opportunity to pick his brain at his pretentious party the other night. The brunette he’d introduced me to was their ‘connector’ – the middle woman who vetted the client and the mark—now I was waiting for the lead to come through while my team continued to chase money trails on the other side of the world.

I’d pretend to want to stiff someone, hire them to do it, and steer the FBI right to the source. Then I could pack up my things and walk away from this shitty town.

If only. I could have said that yesterday, maybe, before I’d held Hillary in my arms and she’d asked for my help. I wouldn’t leave her behind—not again.

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