Page 55 of Steal a King (Five Kings 2)

“But…”

“Bring what you need, I’ll set you up from the apartment. Until we have the person, or people responsible, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

She makes to argue and I hold up my hand, fixing her with the usual bastard expression I use on my business associates. “Just do it because god help me, if you go against me on this, you will open up a side to me you wish you’d never seen.”

She appears to shrink under the force of my anger and just sighs. “Fine, have it your way, for now, but just for the record, this picnic sucks, you suck and your whole fucking world sucks.”

She looks so adorable when she’s angry, I feel like ripping her clothes off right here and now but instead I take her hand.

“Come, I’ll get the guys to strip the shop and set it up back at the apartment. I think the sign can go back up and we’ll put a number on it for orders.”

She looks so defeated I feel bad and say more gently, “Trust me, Ella, it’s for the best. Until we know who’s doing this, we need to be sensible.”

As I take her hand, I feel fiercely protective over my little wild flower. If anything ever happened to her because of me, I would never forgive myself.

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