Page 37 of Duke of Ruin

I can’t help the slight smile on my face. I move back and give him room to get up. He pulls on the clothes and heads to the bathroom. I take both of our weapons and put them in the drawer next to the bed, and then I hear a soft knock on the door. My adrenaline spikes, but then I hear Stacey’s voice on the other side.

“Noah, it’s me,” she says softly. I go to the door, checking through the peephole before opening it to make sure she’s alone. She slips inside as soon as I open the door. My eyes run over her. She looks like a federal agent. Her clothes may not have “FBI” printed in giant letters anywhere, but they may as well. Her hair is pulled back into a tight ponytail, and her jeans and polo shirt are neat and functional. She wears a leather jacket that barely conceals a sidearm, and I imagine there’s another one in her boot.

Her hand instinctively reaches for her weapon as Eli emerges from the bathroom, but I step in front of her.

“Stacey, this is Eli,” I say. I keep my eyes trained on her, trying to silently let her know that Eli isn’t a threat, and a threat to him would be a threat to me. She glances between the two of us a few times before relaxing.

“What kind of shithole have you dug for yourself here, Noah?” she asks as Eli moves into the room and takes a seat on the bed.

“It’s a fucking mess,” I agree with a glance at Eli. His posture is tense and waiting. I direct my eyes to the nightstand, letting him know that’s where I stashed our weapons.

Now that we’re speaking in person, I give her the full story. It’s hard not to take offense when she rolls her eyes as I tell her I’ve fallen in love with Eli and his safety is my top priority.

“So you don’t want credit for the collar?” she asks incredulously when I’m done talking. I glance over at Eli, whose expression has taken on a glazed look.

“I don’t give a shit about credit or collars or any of that. I just want to get Eli and myself somewhere safe, somewhere we don’t have to always look over our shoulders,” I say. “I’m done with law enforcement.”

She looks as though I slapped her. “Are you fucking serious?” She directs her glare to Eli before turning back to me. “You’re one of the best. You can’t just walk away.”

“I can and I’m going to, one way or another. If you don’t want to be part of this, you can go,” I snap.

“I could arrest you for killing Reese,” she says, directing her attention back to Eli.

“Not fucking likely.” Eli stands up. His arm is retied into the sling, but he straightens his shoulders and presses his lips together.

I jump up and get between them. “This is not a negotiation,” I growl at Stacey. She’s been my friend for years; we went to school together. I knew she was all cop, but I didn’t expect her to act like this. “We do this our way or we walk.”

“Our way? As in you andhim?”

“Yes. I told you, he’s my priority. I don’t care what happens to anyone else. Eli is the only one who matters.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see his eyes tighten as he looks away.

“Oh, come off the sappy bullshit.” Stacey rolls her eyes. It takes all I have not to pick her up and toss her out the door.

“Call it whatever you want,” I growl, my voice low and lethal. “But that’s it. That’s all you’re getting. If you want our help bringing down Gianni Carbone, then you have to do it our way.”

“Fine, fine, calm down,” Stacey says, lifting her hands in a placating gesture. “I always knew you were a romantic.”

I furrow my brows at her.

“Oh come on, all through high school all you cared about was taking care of others—your mom, your sister, me.” She lifts her brows at me, and I shake my head. “It’s never been about law enforcement with you, it’s always been about protecting others. Those two things are similar, but definitely not the same.” Her face breaks into a knowing smile as she looks over at Eli. “You must be something special.” Her brow lifts, and Eli’s face softens.

“Whatever.” I shake my head, but she’s right. The only reason I went into law enforcement in the first place was because I knew my mother lived in constant fear, always looking over her shoulder and waiting for the other shoe to drop. I wanted to give her peace of mind. Maybe I finally can.

“Listen, I can get you both in Wit-Pro, but you’re going to have to testify. That’s the only way I can get the resources,” she says.

I glance over at Eli. His shoulders have tensed again, but his expression is resolved.

“Whatever we need to do,” I assure Stacey.

“So the Carbones think you’re dead?” Stacey directs her question at Eli.

“Maybe, but I can’t be sure after Reese showed up,” Eli answers.

“Here’s my proposition,” Stacey says, looking back and forth between the two of us. “They think Eli’s dead, or at least they’re pretty sure, but they knowyou’realive and definitely want you dead.” She nods toward me.

“Seems accurate,” Eli says.

“So you, Eli, come back from the dead and claim you’re bringing them Noah to get back your place in the family,” Stacey continues.

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