Page 109 of Hidden Memories

My stomach turns. That is not a thought she should ever have to entertain.

I grip her chin, tilting her face to mine. “Look at me.”

She does.

“If they come, baby, they die first.”

I might seem calm on the outside, but inside, I’m already there—standing in front of her, shielding her body with mine, fists bloodied, bones shattered, whatever it takes.

She won’t die.

She won’t be an example.

I’ll burn this whole fucking world down before I let that happen.

I drag a hand through my hair, my pulse is a war drum. I’ve seen the worst of humanity—Enzo and Rio have pulled back the curtain for me more times than I can count. Monsters don’t care about fairness. They don’t hesitate. They don’t stop.

But neither do I.

Paul showing up today only makes me more certain—this isn’t over. This isn’t just about Nic’s fraud. This fire, this threat? It has her father’s fingerprintsall over it.

Kat’s dad wasn’t some doting parent coming to check on his precious daughter. He was sniffing out an angle.

I reach out, covering her hand with mine. “It doesn’t matter what these people want because they’re not going to get it. You’re safe here. Enzo and Rio have turned this over to the feds, but they’ll have a team at GhostEye working on it, too. I know my brothers. They’re the best of the best. This won’t last forever.”

Her eyes meet mine, shining with unshed tears. “And then there’s my father. Santi, he… he showed up here. How did he even know I was here? For real? Is he the one who put all those cameras up at Julia’s? How would he have known? You and I haven’t talked for years.”

Her words shake, but her eyes stay sharp. She’s thinking, putting the pieces together. That’s my girl.

It does have me wondering—was Paul tracking her all along? Did he always know where she was, just waiting for the moment that suited him? Or did he follow the trail from the farmhouse, asking the right people, applying just enough pressure?

Kat wipes a tear off her cheek like she’s angry at it. “I keep trying to make sense of him coming here and what he wanted. Maybe he suspects he could be taken down for Nic’s crimes and is trying to get ahead of it? Maybe he’s scared. Or maybe he’s known what Nic was doing all along and is guilty, too.”

I don’t like any of those options.

“Kat, listen to me.”

I slide closer, caging her in with my body, warmth surrounding her. I cup her cheek, slipping my fingers into the silk of her hair, tilting her face up until there’s nowhere to look but at me.

“Whatever your father’s motives are, let GhostEye,Gabriel, Anton… let the fucking feds deal with it.” I soothe her the best I can. “You’re here.”

I wrap myself around her, claiming space, taking up room, making sure she feels it—feels me.

“You’re in my arms now, Kat. That means nothing—no one—gets to touch you. Not the past. Not the danger. Not even your own goddamn fears. And if something comes for you? It’ll have to go through me first. I don’t run. I don’t fucking break. And I sure as hell don’t let anyone take what’s mine.”

Her lips curve into a faint, bittersweet smile. “You always know what to say.”

I brush a strand of hair from her face and honor her with words I’ve never said to anyone else. “You bring out the best in me.”

The mood shifts between us, and she reaches her hand down to my cock which has been half-hard since she walked in the room. “And which part is the best of you?”

My deep growl vibrates against her lips. “Are you suggesting I’m just a hot body and a pretty face,Michi?”

“I’m suggesting there’s more than one way to make me feel better.”

The words linger between us, unguarded and exposed. Then she leans in, her lips brushing mine—a kiss that’s soft yet charged with a fiery need. I pull her closer, my grip firm, as if daring the world to try and touch her while she’s in my arms. Her fingers tangle in my hair, igniting something primal, and the kiss intensifies, stripping everything else away until it’s just this—just us, locked in a moment that feels like it could burn forever.

I pull her down to the bed, and she straddles me. Her cardigan slips off her shoulders, and I reach up to lower one of her pajama straps.

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