Page 4 of Darling Wildfire
“It’s okay to be worried—”
His gaze sharpened on me and if it wasn’t for our years of friendship a lesser man probably would have backed down under such a forceful warning stare but I wasn’t such a man.
“She kind of showed up in your life at—shall we say—an inconvenient time,” I continued.
Something resembling a growl of agreement escaped North as he looked away with a frown.
“The less she knows, the better,” he grumbled.
“That’s what they always say, and it never seems to be true,” I muttered before burying my face in my glass, inhaling whiskey fumes as I took a large sip. The burn was welcome and did wonders to steady my nerves. Not for the first time in the last two days I wished Atlas was around to help me talk sense into North. He was always better at it than I was. I tended to stir up North’s volatile side whereas Atlas tempered it all down with reason.
“I’m going to ask Graham to join the team,” he said.
I wasn’t surprised about that although I’d thought it would happen a lot sooner. I’d been on the Red Rabbit job which was where I first met him. He was a solid guy who I’d gladly have at my back again and I knew North trusted him explicitly now.
“Then he’ll need to knowallof it,” I stressed. “What’s your hesitation? I understand Kaelin, but him?”
North sighed. “I haven’t had to tell someone the full story in a really long time,” he admitted. “Most of the team has been with us since the beginning—West, Lach, Knight—even Knox, Tex and the Volkov brothers joined a few years in.”
He had a point. Everyone was already aware of just how deep into the shit we were. He’d found Kaelin under false pretenses and I’m sure, even now, she had no idea what kind of man he really was. The last few years had put more of a strain on him and it wasn’t just from the revenge against Vetticus.
“She could probably help us with the other thing,” I said carefully.
Kaelin was already a touchy subject with North and I wasn’t looking to fight tonight especially by bringing up another sensitive subject. He made a noncommittal sound in the back of his throat, staring out the damn window again.
“She’s going to find out about—”
“Enough,” North said quietly. “We are so close, Nyx, so fucking close.”
Regardless of whether he was talking about Vetticus, or the other thing—excitement rushed through me. I couldn’t help the dark smile that curled my lips at the thought of getting my hands on Vetticus on my terms, playing our game. The anger and hatred for him hadn’t lessened over time, it only made my resolve to rip him apart piece by piece more of an intense primal urge.
My gaze dropped to my left hand that was missing my pinky finger—a constant physical reminder of the pieces of us Vetticus had taken and the scars he’d inflicted.
“I’ve thought about this moment for a really long time,” I admitted and when he met my eyes with a smirk of his own, I went on. “And it feels better than I imagined.”
He held his glass up. “Cheers to that, my friend.”
4
THERON
ONE WEEK LATER
Mine.
The word slid across my mind, almost seductive in the way it lingered, as I saw Kaelin enter the office and head past reception. Those green eyes landed on me and not for the first time I cursed Cooper for ever taking away the fire that burned there. Now she was unleashed, untamed and undeniably mine. Graham noticed where my attention had gone and turned from where he sat sprawled in a chair in front of my desk.
“Do you think she followed the instructions?” He asked.
We watched her walk down the hall in a tight black dress that went to her knees. The neckline was high and it wasn’t revealing or inappropriate but somehow she still made it look sinful. She wore her hair down in loose waves and I loved watching her walk in heels. Especially when they were the red bottoms I’d bought her last week.
“Are you hoping she did or she didn’t?” I asked dryly.
Graham scoffed but didn’t get a chance to answer before she pulled the door open and walked in. The smile on her face made me want to kiss her breathless and then do naughty things to that mouth.
“Hey gorgeous,” Graham drawled.
“Hey sexy,” she said. She went over to him and leaned over to kiss him. Graham slapped her ass as she straightened and she walked around the desk to me.
