Page 38 of Fierce Secrets

It had always been Meredith. Even when I filled the void and my bed with other women, she was the face that haunted my dreams.

The one I wasn't supposed to want, the one I couldn't have.

But I said none of this to Gray.

He sighed, shaking his head before nodding, more to himself than anything. "One problem at a time. The Palter situation is handled, right?"

"Yes." I was grateful for the change of topic. My nose ached, but it was nothing to me. I'd had much worse.

"The entire crew?"

I nodded, remembering the satisfaction of dragging out the death of the man who'd been the active shooter. The man who'd unknowingly shot at Meredith. He'd sealed his fate the moment he'd fired that gun. "Wiped out. It was a small operation – I tookout the key players myself. Have a team cleaning up any loose ends."

Gray nodded, and I couldn't help but notice how he shifted slightly at the mention of violence. That was the difference between us – always had been. While Gray understood our world, participated in the business side, he preferred to keep his hands clean. He'd done what was necessary over the years for our partnership, for the family, but he avoided bloodshed when possible.

Not like me. Not like the monster who'd earned his place through violence and death.

The same monster his sister had kissed like she wasn't afraid of the blood on his hands.

"What about the other situation?" Gray's question made me tense.

I sighed, staring down at my whiskey glass in annoyance. "Having trouble tracking the source. The Donati family has no shortage of enemies." The anonymous threats, the files that had appeared on my desk – someone was playing a dangerous game. A game they shouldn't have started, because there was only one way this could end. "But I'll get to the bottom of it. I'll handle it."

"Right." Gray hesitated, watching me closely before his expression hardened. "I think it's best you stay away from Meredith."

The suggestion felt like acid in my veins, but I kept my expression neutral.

"I'm checking out the Morrison place tomorrow," he continued. "Your team is still assessing it?"

"They'll have a full report by morning." I knocked back the rest of my whiskey, needing the burn. "Every detail, every weakness, every possible security measure needed. So far, it's a good spot. Gated, fenced."

Gray nodded, his shoulders relaxing slightly. "Good. I'll take Meredith there, or leave her with Sofia for now. With Roman watching her, she'll be safe." A slight smile touched his lips. "Not to mention Sofia will be on guard."

"Sofia has been invaluable as her best friend." Sofia was indeed an asset we hadn't even known we had until now. but the idea of staying away from Meredith while others protected her...

"It was a happy coincidence, them becoming friends," Gray mused.

I thought back to when I'd first discovered their friendship, how I'd vetted Sofia thoroughly before allowing it to continue. "Happy coincidence," I agreed. One of the only times life had actually thrown us a coincidence. Nothing in our world happened by chance.

The same way tonight with Meredith hadn't been just chance. It had been inevitable, like a bullet finding its target.

"If you touch her again," Gray's voice cut through my thoughts, "in any way that isn't to protect her, I'll break your face."

We both knew I could take him down in seconds. Years of violence had honed me into something deadly, while Gray had always preferred boardrooms to battlefields. But I wouldn't jeopardize our friendship like that – not over this, not over anything.

Still, the threat grated against something primitive inside me. I was caught between loyalty to my best friend and this burning need for his sister. Between honor and desire. Between past promises and future possibilities.

I'd told Meredith she was mine, whispered it against her skin as I'd claimed her. And I'd meant it – meant it with every dark, possessive fiber of my being.

For now, though, I'd let Gray cool off. We had more pressing matters to handle – whoever was threatening us, targeting our operations. One catastrophe at a time.

I'd find a way to have what I wanted without destroying this brotherhood we'd built. But as I stared out at the city lights, the question that had haunted me for years resurfaced: How could I bring Meredith into my world of shadows and blood? How could I be both the monster I needed to be and the man she deserved?

The man who'd held her through nightmares wasn't the same one who'd executed several men tonight. The hands that had touched her so gently were the same ones that dealt death in dark alleys.

Could she really accept both versions of me? Or would the darkness eventually consume whatever light she saw in me?

CHAPTER 14

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