Page 54 of To Have and to Hold

The device flickered on when I pressed the side button. Only 15% battery, enough, I hoped, to type a few things into a search engine.

First, Rafe’s name. Which only spoke about his finances, his public business. It would take too long to dig deeper. There wasn’t even a reference to me, our marriage. It really settled into me how much hold he had, how little I meant, if he could bury even his wedding from any websites. There was nothing of his church, not that I truly knew anything about it. No hints, nothing. But then, I was probably looking in the wrong places. They had power, power to hide, to dominate in the shadows.

Frowning, I typed in my name. Then the family name. Only when I got to my fathers, did it mention his grief. The son of a powerful businessman dead at twenty-seven. Charlie.

I wracked my brain, remembering some of the things said to me. Charlie was dead. Theo was the heir to the family fortune, tothe all the businesses. Did he care? It was all foggy to me now, learning about it at the time overwhelming and confusing. But I was clearing, my mind was focusing.

Tablet forgotten, I clambered up and raced back to the bedroom, jumping on Theo, my legs on either side of his waist.

He woke with a ragged breath, grabbing me and throwing me onto my back, his gaze wild. They softened the second he saw it was me. “What is it?” he queried, still pent up despite the warmth behind his eyes.

“You killed Charlie, didn’t you?” I asked, needing to know. How deep this went for him. How far he would go.

He frowned, trying to shake the sleep from his brain, then nodded. “He didn’t give a shit about you. It was the only way.”

“Theo…” I sighed, stroking his cheek. He was still hovering above me, tension between us, our bodies pressed together.

“Let me get something straight, little sister,” he said, his voice growing harder. “I would burn down the world for you. Kill every fucker in this city to keep you safe. I would die for you. I’d kill you myself before sending you back to that man. Violet, you are all mine. And I’m never letting you go.”

I lunged up to kiss him, overwhelmed with emotion. He met my lips, and we fell into each other. Tender, desperate, muttered whispers of desire and love until we collapsed, still tangled together.

Chapter 30

Theo

Connorstareddownatus. His eyes darted between me and Violet, his expression a deep but resigned frown. She was fast asleep, exhausted at last, her body spent in the way it should be. From too many orgasms, not from pain and grief. I held her tighter, unwilling to move, even with Connor’s disapproving stare.

Though was it disapproving? There was something darker there, a lingering glance as he looked at our bodies. We weren’t well covered by the sheets, not expecting any fucking company, and his gaze stayed for a beat longer than appropriate.

But then appropriateness was far out the damn window now.

“What the fuck, Theo,” Connor said, his voice low enough that it was clear he didn’t want to wake Violet up either.

“You knew. You caught us before. Don’t. Don’t even start,” I responded, still tense, but not moving. Connor’s knee cameonto the bed, hovering over us. Violet remained motionless, breathing in a steady rhythm. My spine tingled.

He leaned down. “There’s a big difference between hearing it and seeing it, you prick,” he growled, his fingers slipping into my hair, turning my face so I had no choice but to look at him. What the fuck was going on? My gaze narrowed. He was kneeling on the bed my sister and I had fucked in, his eyes full of disgust and anger. "She's your baby sister."

“What are you doing?” I asked, my hand landing on his chest, intending to push him off. But he grabbed it, held it there, stretched almost too far for comfort. My fingers splayed out over him, and he locked eyes with me. “Connor, stop.”

For long minutes, he glared at me, watching my every movement, every twitch and blink as I tried to figure out what the fuck he was doing. Violet shifted, her grip tightening on my side as she burrowed in deeper, groaning and muttering something without opening her eyes.

Connor stepped back, releasing my hand and letting it drop to the bed. “Meet me in the kitchen.” Then he swept away, taking his overbearing presence with him, leaving me in the peace that was my sister. I wanted to burrow into this bed with her and never leave. Ever. Fuck everyone else.

“He’s a strange man,” Violet murmured, and I looked at her, surprised to see her awake. She stared at me with wide eyes.

I nodded in agreement. I’d worked with the man for years, but as of late, he’d felt different. The way he watched us, the lingering of his eyes, where Violet and I connected. It wasn’t genuine disgust, it was hatred, something else.

“I think he wants something more from me,” I admitted, unsure how I felt about it. “We… you know we’ve been working together for a long time. Gathering intel, getting as close to the top of the organization as we can without giving anything away. He asked me to steal evidence, take pictures and try to trackshipments. That was supposed to be all. He’s the bigger fish here.” I kissed her head and thought for a moment, grateful she didn’t respond, only kept listening, waiting, stroking my chest to soothe me. “Since Charlie died, I think he’s seen the opportunity for more from me.”

“You just need to go and talk to him, I reckon,” she whispered. “If he can save our sisters, we should let him.”

“Okay,” I acquiesced. “You go back to sleep, beautiful.”

I kissed her head again and slipped out of her grasp, her arm thumping onto the now vacated space on the bed as she snuggled into my warmth and sighed. Fuck, it was hard to leave her. I was obsessed with her, addicted to the way she tasted, the feel of her skin against mine, the way she moaned. All of it. It wasn’t a healthy obsession, either. But I didn’t care.

I leaped back onto the mattress and smothered her with kisses, gently biting at her neck while she shrieked and laughed, batting me away before pulling me close. I ached to ignore everything else, but she pushed me off with one last long, languid kiss. “Violet, I love you,” I told her, smiling when she replied in same. “In love with you, I’m in love with you. It feels different.”

She smiled, cupped her hand around the back of my head and kissed me, her lips warm and pliable. “I’m in love with you, too,” she sighed.

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