Page 70 of Savage Reign

And one of the people who could hurt Mila just happened to be sitting by himself in one of our establishments, enjoying a fucking meal. It was as if the fucker knew we would be here. Someone tipped the fucker off.

Only a few of the restaurant staff knew we were coming.

My eyes looked around the restaurant at the waitstaff, then at Richard, the manager in charge. I didn’t like the fucker, but he was good at his job and ran the place smoothly. He was also terrified of us, which meant he wasn’t the one to tip him off.

My eyes stopped on a waiter hanging by the bar. He was trying to avoid eye contact, and there was just something… antsy about his movements.

He made eye contact with me, blanched, and quickly looked away.

Huh.

I thought it would have been more difficult than that to figure out. How… disappointing.

I recognized the man. He was standing on his last leg here. Richard had been having problems with the fucker because he had been harassing some of the hostesses. I supposed he knew he was going to get fired. Perhaps this was his way of getting back at us? How fucking stupid. He should have just picked getting fired over what was going to happen to him now.

Maverick came up to me and placed his hand on my chest, meeting my eyes. I knew what he was trying to ask. But he didn’t need to worry. I was fucking calm. I wasn’t going to lose it.

I nodded. The slightest shift in his eyes told me he was relieved. We headed over to where Agent fucking Matthew Jones was sitting. The fucker took a sip of his wine casually. We stopped in front of his table, and he waited three fucking seconds before looking up at us. “Gentlemen. How are you doing this evening?”

“You know, it’s starting to feel like you have a crush on us,” I said, my eyes taking in the black suit he wore. I had no doubt he was packing.

Jones scoffed. “You really think so?”

“Following us around, talking to people about us, finding out everything there is to know about us.”

“You’re deflecting, Killian. Is this what you do when you’re interested in a girl? What a pretty girl in a red dress. How… tempting.”

It took everything in me not to jump over the table and tackle the fucker to the ground. The last fucker who talked about Mila in front of me was nothing more than ashes that had been scattered into the Chicago River.

Maverick must have known how I was feeling because he placed one hand on my shoulder.

“Does Lincoln know you’re here?” Maverick asked, his voice low and calm.

Jones’ jaw ticked at the mention of Erin Lincoln, the section chief in charge of Jones’ unit, and from what Larkin, the rat we placed in the FBI crime division, told us, a pain in Jones’ ass. The woman was probably a decade or so older than him and a known fucking hard-ass.

“What is it? Ismothera sore subject?” I asked.

Jones didn’t answer me right away. “I don’t have to report my every move to the unit chief, especially if I’m out enjoying a nice meal on my night off.”

The fucker needed a fucking hobby if this was really what he did on his night off.

“Then we won’t keep you from it,” Maverick chimed in, ever the diplomat. “Hopefully, your night is a little more… fruitful after your meal, seeing as how you won’t be getting any more than that. A meal.”

I made a show of looking around our restaurant. “Seems we might need to make a few changes, seeing as how our dear old friend has taken it upon himself to visit us so much.”

“Yeah?” Maverick asked, playing along. “And what are you thinking about changing?”

My eyes found the man I was sure tipped Jones off about our appearance. I knew I guessed right when the fucker tensed. “Maybe some new staff members.”

“Don’t think about doing anything that will implicate you. If you can let it go, I suggest you do,” Jones said, his voice dark with anger.

I shot him a smile. “Don’t worry. I never let anything implicate me. And I never let anything go. Have a nice night.”

Jones stood up and sputtered something unintelligible, but we were already walking away. I had no doubt he would pull all sorts of strings, hoping to protect his little informant, but hewould learn soon enough. When I have my eyes set on someone, there isn’t even a fucking nook on God’s green earth the fucker can hide that I can’t find.

When we stepped out of the restaurant, the car was parked and waiting for us. Marcus was standing in front of it, keeping guard. He nodded at Maverick and me as we passed. I opened the door and climbed in, finding Mila sitting comfortably on Silas’ lap. My brother’s arms were wrapped tightly around our girl, as if he was afraid she might disappear on him again if he didn’t hold her tight enough.

I knew the fucking feeling well. It was taking all of my self-control not to take her back to the Tiernan mansion and lock her there until I was sure she wouldn’t ever leave.

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