Page 115 of Bound By Darkness

"Now, now.You know better than to ask me that."My fingers tap lazily against the steering wheel."Let’s just say some wheels are already turning.And with you right where I need you, those wheels are about to crush everything in their path."

I shift my body, turning slightly toward her."You trust me, don’t you?"

Aoife tilts her head, her lips curving into something between amusement and intrigue."Sounds messy."

"A necessary mess," I counter smoothly."You’re not afraid of getting your hands dirty, are you?"

She drags a nail along the hem of her skirt."You know I’m not."

"Fuck, Aoife,” I say, my voice deepening."You have no idea what you do to me.”

Before she can respond, I lean in, claiming her mouth.My fingers slide up her thigh, gripping hard enough to remind her exactly who she’s dealing with.

She lets it go on just long enough to tease before she pulls back slightly, her breath uneven but controlled."Where are we?"

"Why don’t I show you?"Stepping out of the car, I move around to her side, opening her door."Welcome to the beginning of our empire."

Aoife takes in the warehouse, her gaze sweeping across the vast space like she’s already envisioning what it could be."It’s a bit rough around the edges," she says as she takes a few more steps inside.

"So was your father’s empire when he took over.This place needs the right hands to shape it into something unstoppable."

She turns, looking at me with a slow, knowing smile."Good thing you have me, then."

Fucking hell.I drag a hand over my jaw."You really do know how to keep a man on his toes."

She smirks a glint of mischief in her eyes."What’s the fun in being predictable?"

I lean closer, letting my voice drop."Predictable’s never been what I want from you."

"I can see it now,” she says as she walks further into the space.“The two of us, running everything.No Ruairi.No O’Sullivan.Just power."

"You sound like you’re already convinced."

She exhales a quiet laugh, trailing a hand along the rusted edge of a shipping container."I didn’t go through the trouble of taking Ruairi to stop now."

Her confidence is fucking intoxicating.

"That’s what I like to hear," I say, stepping in and closing the space between us.

"But if I’m in, I’m all in.”She meets my gaze, unwavering.“That means no secrets, no half-truths.If we’re doing this together, I have a voice in every step.After all, I’m the one who has access to both Ruairi and Mr.O’Sullivan."

Fuck me.

A slow, dark grin curves my lips as my fingers trail along her jaw, tracing the line to the hollow of her throat."You have no idea how much that turns me on."

Aoife

Cian walks ahead of me,gesturing around the warehouse like he already owns the city.Like this place is just the first piece of his inevitable empire.

"We need to move soon," he says, turning back to me."I don’t want to waste any more time.O’Sullivan has had his grip on Dublin for too long."

He’s power-hungry, so I don’t have to push.All I have to do is stand to the side and wait.Sure enough, he dives right in.

"Here’s what I’m thinking," he starts."We hit him when he’s vulnerable.Catch him in transit.Somewhere outside his comfort zone.Maybe when he’s heading to one of his properties.We block the road, force him out, take him before his men even know what’s happening.Simple, clean, effective."

Simple.Clean.Effective.It takes everything in me not to let my amusement show.

Cian thinks he knows what he’s doing, but I can already see the flaws.He has no understanding of Eamon’s security and no grasp of the way his operation runs.He’s thinking like a thug, not a strategist.

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