Page 79 of Cruel Vows

“Handle it until I get there.”

“Will do.”

I end the call and toss the phone on the chaise at the foot of the bed. The plush and tufted white monstrosity of a piece of furniture was put there at Ellie’s insistence so she could spend time reading when she wakes up in the middle of the night.

The damn thing is a magnet for stubbed toes and muttered curses.

Ellie mumbles in her sleep, a small trail of drool running from the corner of her mouth and onto the pillow she has mashed under her head, cocooned with one arm.

Though I want to go and let her sleep, I know I’m playing with fire if I do. Dominic sent me a message just before he called, telling me about the gun held to him.

I’m not going to put anyone else through Ellie’s temper tonight.

After grabbing some clothes and hurrying to get dressed, I nudge her shoulder. “Ellie, you need to wake up.”

She mumbles and rolls onto her back, throwing the pillow at me. “Time for sleep. Vagina is out of commission for the night.”

I snort and peel back the blankets. “As tempting as that is right now, we have other things we need to deal with, which means you need to get out of bed and get dressed.”

“Nope. Sleep. No more not drinking at bars tonight. Skyla tried to poison me. Bed.” She hauls the blankets back up her body and rolls to the side. “Sleep, Sean.”

“There’s been an attack at one of my boats and I don’t know how bad it is yet, so I need to go out there.”

She yawns and sits up, staring at me through half-opened eyes as she clutches the sheet to her chest. “What?”

“There’s been an attack at the marina and Noah’s behind it. I have to go there now, and I figured since you already marched your way into a bar the other night, you would march yourself into a crime scene if I leave you behind.”

Ellie gets out of bed and heads straight for the pile of clothes she moved to the chair instead of putting away. She rummages through it, pulling out the ribbed black leggings that make me hard the moment she puts them on.

I glance away from her ass. “And regardless, with everything that happened with Rebecca, I’m not going to be letting you out anytime soon.”

“You’re going to have to let me go out and live my life at some point.”

“Later.” My gaze drops to the curve of her butt in those damn leggings again before I look away,

Now isn’t the time to be thinking about tossing her over my shoulder and listening to her come for me over and over again.

She hauls on a hoodie and tosses her hair up into a high ponytail before holding out her hand.

My eyebrows pull together as I look down at it. “What?”

“Gun?”

For a moment, I consider not giving her one.

Even though I know she’s more than capable of handling one—and she’s proven that to me—the idea of handing her one feels a lot like admitting that I can’t keep her safe.

Still, it’s better for her to be prepared, so I head to the closet and open the gun safe, pulling out a handgun for her.

She checks it over before tucking it into the back of her waistband. “Let’s go.”

Her strides for the door make it seem like she is a woman completely in charge. As she heads down the stairs, her head is held high, and there’s defiance shining in her eyes when she reaches the bottom and looks back at me.

I catch up with her, leading the way into the garage and selecting the keys for the armored car sitting in the corner. I’m not going to be taking any risks when it comes to her safety this time.

The last thing I need in the middle of a war with the Rinaldos is a fight with Aiden.

I parkthe car at the end of the pier, turning to Ellie. “I don’t know what we’re going to be walking into and I want you to stay with me at all times. I don’t need to worry about you with Noah’s men still lurking around.”

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