Page 96 of Wicked Duty
“Go pack your things.”
“Where are we even going?” She regards me with wide eyes and pale cheeks. Less information always makes her more anxious than not. I just want to hold her, but there’s no time.
I march toward the couch, reaching for my bag. “My place. I’ll feel safer if we stay there. I have more control over security and far fewer variables to contend with.”
I’m also desperate to find the crypto wallet.
Lucy’s in danger every second that thing remains in her possession. And the longer she has it, the longer I have to snoop around behind her back.
And if she finds out aboutthat…
Well, there won’t be any more cutesy dates in the city, will there?
A new plan materializes in my head.
As soon as we get to my place, I’ll find the wallet. Whatever it takes. At least this time, I’ll have the homecourt advantage. Turning my own apartment upside down should be far easier than overturning hers or trying to rifle through her things in the unpredictable amount of time she spends showering.
Once I’ve located the wallet, after I’ve handed it over to Shane Gallagher, that part of my contract will be over. Then once the modeling competition ends, I can tell Darren to assign someone else to Lucy’s guard detail. That wasn’t the original agreement, but we should be fine. After that, my employers won’t have any say in the nature of our relationship.
Which means I’ll be free.
For the first time in a long time, I’ll be able to pursue something with someone, if that’s what I want. And what she wants. Beyond touching this infuriating, beautiful woman, I haven’t thought that far down the path. But if us together means I’ll have more days like today…
Fuck. I want to try for her. Want to care.
Even though I know better.
Focus, Callum.
If I’m not careful, there may be no future for either of us to explore.
After I get the wallet to Shane, I’ll do whatever it takes to persuade Lucy not to testify against Roguilin. Once the DA learns she won’t be testifying and Roguilin learns he’ll need to tango with the Irish Kings to get that crypto wallet back, Lucy should be safely out of his crosshairs.
That would grant her freedom too.
Freedom to relax and…be with me, if she so chooses.
Pushing those thoughts aside, I follow Lucy into the bedroom. “Want some help?”
She doesn’t answer as she rips clothes off hangers and tosses them haphazardly into the suitcase she packed before we arrived at the hotel. “I’m gonna take a quick shower.”
When she disappears into the bathroom, I speed my search for the wallet. The device must be around here somewhere. If I see where she packs the thing, swiping it once we reach my apartment will be that much easier.
I grab a handful of her clothes from the suitcase and begin rolling them into tidier bundles, hoping my fingers might brush something metal or?—
“What are you doing?”
I drop a pair of leggings. Lucy’s wrapped in a towel, observing me with narrowed eyes. The shower’s still running, which explains how she snuck up on me.
“Helping.” That sounds like a question. Shit.
While she doesn’t call me out, she does shoo me away to dig through her suitcase before returning to the bathroom.
No sign of the wallet. And I’m too afraid she’ll catch me off guard to do a deep dive.
Twenty minutes later, we pull into the garage of my extremely secure loft. I park the Range Rover next to my motorcycle and step into the bright, fluorescent, enclosed cement slab I call a garage.
I round the SUV and yank open Lucy’s door. She peers outside, her bottom lip between her teeth.
