Page 31 of Past Due

“Not that involved,” I assured him. “I’ve come across contracts and leases when doing my mom’s taxes and getting her paperwork together. There’s no reason she would need that many storage units unless she was holding stuff for Spider.”

“Is that it?”

Reluctantly, I admitted, “Before I turned eighteen, I sometimes carried things for him.”

“Things?” he repeated tightly.

“Smaller packages.”

“Drugs?” He asked for clarification in a calm voice, but I sensed he was maintaining a razor thin control on his emotions.

“Yes,” I admitted, embarrassed. “He never asked again once I was old enough to actually go to real jail.”

“He should never have asked!” Besian snarled. “You were his child! You were his to protect! Ending up in juvie would have been the best outcome. At worst, you could have been shot!” He blew out a noisy breath and stunned me by pressing his lips to my temple. I couldn’t help it. I leaned into his gentle kiss. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t raise my voice like that.”

“You aren’t wrong. Spider overstepped massively.”

“Yes, he did.”

“So,” I said anxiously, “who wants to hurt me now? The cartel? Russians?” I hesitated. “Albanians?”

“Not us,” Besian hastily promised. “And not the Russians.”

“But maybe the cartel?”

“Maybe.”

“Or maybe someone even worse?’

He nodded. “There’s a contract on your life.”

As his words registered, I jolted. “A hit? On me?”

“Yes,” he said solemnly. “Someone is very pissed off at Spider, and you’re the pressure they’re applying to get whatever it is that they want.”

Terror tore through me like a wildfire. I jumped off of his lap and pushed him away when he tried to grab me. “You have to go!”

“What?” he stared at me with confusion. “Go where?”

“Anywhere! Just away from me!” My panicked gaze fell on the bright afternoon sunlight coming through the windows. “Oh no!”

“What are you doing?” he asked as I rushed across the room and yanked the curtains closed.

“Snipers!” The memory of the gunshot that ripped his chest open burned through my mind. I could almost smell the blood, feel it under my fingers as I tried to put enough pressure on the wound to keep him from dying right there in that filthy lot.

“Marley!” Besian embraced me from behind, wrapping his powerful arms around me and dragging my back to his chest. He kissed my temple, my cheek, my neck. “We’re safe here. No one can touch us here.”

I sagged against him, desperate to believe he was right. “Then you should stay here when I go back.”

“Out of the question,” he said, spinning me around to face him. He slipped one arm around my waist and cupped my cheek. “Marley, from now on, your place is right next to me.”

There was no other place I wanted to be.

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