Page 65 of Murder & Mayhem

“So? That was eight years ago.”

“He never forgot it. He never forgotyou. And now you show up back in his life all these years later, making him acknowledge feelings he usually buries?” He shakes his head. “That’s more than just a minor coincidence to him.”

I sink further into the sofa with every word he says, unable to fully comprehend it all. “That’s why he’s…”

“Practically pissing all over you? Yeah.”

The hint of aggravation in his tone has me glancing up at him, the tight lines on his face confirming how much that annoys him. I don’t exactly know what that means, that he’s angry that his best friend—lover?—is apparently obsessed with me. Nor do I want to delve into any of that. I already have two men—two violent, alpha-male gang leaders—waiting for me at home. I sure as fuck do not need to add two men that I don’t trust and that I’m actually supposed to be gathering intel on so we can eventually kill them to this convoluted harem I seem to be building.

Sighing, I rub my eyes. “I don’t know what to make of any of this, but I need you to take me back into the city.” He opens his mouth, probably to deny me, but I bulldoze over his excuses. “I need to see Luc and sort out work stuff. I’m not running. I’ll come back here with you when I’m done. But Ineedto go sort stuff out.” My expression is unrelenting as I hold his gaze.

He glowers at me unhappily, but eventually, he gives a slight nod of agreement. “Fine. The next time Dante meets his father I’ll take you into the city. You’ll only have a few hours, though.”

“That’s fine.” I can work with that. I just need to check that Luc and the guys are okay. I need to see their faces and be reminded of our objective because I’m losing perspective, which scares me more than anything.

Chapter 23

I groan into my third—or is it my fourth?—coffee of the day as I scour the city map spread out across my desk. Red’s been gone for three whole days now, and neither Oliver nor I have slept since she called. I know she sounded fine on the phone, and she assured us she wasn’t in any imminent danger, but there was no way we could just sit back and wait. I feel like all I ever do is bide my time and fucking wait. I’m sick of waiting. I didn’t act when those fuckers took Evie, but I sure as fuck am going to act now. I won’t let them take another woman I love from my life. ‘Cause yeah, I fucking love her.

She’s been battering her way through my walls for weeks now, making them crumble. First with her ballsy move inmyclubhouse, then when Oliver and I saw her in action, killing those sick fucks. I was hard as fucking stone the entire time she was fucking with them, and when she took Oliver’s gun and shot one of them without even blinking,fuuuuck. It was the hottest thing I’ve seen in a long time. That whole night was a turning point for me. The night when I saw Red for who she really is. The night when I at long last managed to separate her from my sister and accepted that she’s capable—more than fucking capable—of looking out for herself.

All these amazing qualities that I’ve been blatantly ignoring for weeks now finally hit me full force, and I could no longer deny my feelings for the intelligent, sexy, fierce woman who’s got balls of steel and more tenacity than a grizzly bear. After her little stunt in the clubhouse the other day, I’d agreed to try and let her in. Even as I’d said it, I wasn’t convinced I’d be able to do it. Although I was willing to try.For her. I knew exactly what she hoped to achieve with that little show… and she won. She pushed me to confront my feelings instead of being the petty dick I was acting like, and that night, I got a taste of what it could be like sharing her with Oliver. The thing is, sex has always been easy for Red and me. It’s the other stuff that doesn’t come naturally to either of us. But I promised I’d try.

I just hadn’t expected to be so blown away by watching her in action as the Reaper. It solidifies in my mind that this woman is fucking perfect for me. The way she got off on the bloodshed and exacting justice. It was intoxicating and far beyond my expectations of what she was capable of. So yeah, she won me over with her little show, but she put me on my knees and had me kissing her feet when she killed those assholes. I’ve never been so fucking turned-on as I was that night. Next time she sends some sick, abusive shitstain to his death, I want to fuck her brains out right there beside his dead body, then help her dispose of him afterward.

And if the dance and murder weren’t enough to make me realize what was right in front of me, then hearing her on the phone the other day was the final lifting of the veil over my eyes. When she said those three words… everything just fell into place. My future—however short it may be—flashed across my eyes, and she was in every single scene. The way she should be. The way she was alwaysmeantto be. I thought I had to do right by Evie before allowing myself any happiness, but Oliver’s right. I can do both. Have both vengeance and love. In fact, I’m pretty sure I can’t achieve the former without the latter. And now the Antonellis are fucking with me once again, trying to murder and then kidnapping my woman. Well, this time, I’m not a scared little thirteen-year-old boy. I’m the leader of the motherfucking Rejects, and I’m going to bury every last one of those fuckers… I just need to figure out where they’re hiding her first.

My eyes roam over the northwest portion of the city—Antonelli territory. She’s gotta be there somewhere, but where? We’ve had fuck all success identifying where any of the higher-ups live unless they could be holding her in one of their clubs or their casino. But that’s too many places for us to look. We wouldn’t get through them all without raising suspicions.

I hear the creak of the door opening, but I don’t even bother to look up from the map. “Fuck off,” I snap. If it were Oliver, he’d have already come in instead of hovering in the doorframe, and I don’t give a shit about anything else that’s going on right now.

My temper flares when whomever it is doesn’t do as they're told, and with a furious snarl, I snap my gaze in their direction. “I—” Words fail me. Fuck, I think my eyes are failing me. Jesus, did I add too much whiskey to my coffee? “Red?” She’s standing in the doorway, looking like a fucking vision, as her eyes rake over me, a soft, content smile lifting her lips. She never looks at me that way. It’s the smile she reserves solely for Oliver. Not that I can blame her. I’ve never given her a reason to look at me that way. I’m not Oliver with all his soft edges and quiet reassurance that can elicit sweet looks like that… yet, I’m somehow lucky enough to be privy to one of them right now.

When her eyes lift to meet mine, her soft, sweet smile morphs into its characteristic cocky grin that I love just as much. It’s lively and mischievous, and it’s the one she saves just for me. Oliver might bring out the softer sides of her, but I’m the one who fires her up and makes her feel alive—even if I piss her off while doing so. I fucking love that fire. The back and forth between us, the sniping and subsequent angry fuck. It’s uniquely and perfectly us.

“Miss me?” Her tone is teasing, but there’s an undercurrent of relief.

I’m out from behind the desk before I’ve even registered that I’ve moved, and I close the distance between us in two strides. Yanking her into the room, I slam the door closed and haul her into my arms. None too carefully, I push her into the wall beside the door as she wraps her long legs around my waist, hugging me closer. “Fuck, Red. It is you.” Relief bleeds from every word as I stare disbelievingly at her. Honestly, until I was able to set eyes on her myself, I was half-convinced I’d never see her again. Just like Evie.

Her hand strokes down the side of my face, tangling with my beard that I haven’t bothered to do anything with for the last few days. Based on the last time I looked in the mirror, I’m sure I look pretty fucking rough with my bloodshot eyes and scruffy beard, two-day-old t-shirt, and hair that’s probably all over the place from running my hand through it in frustration. But she doesn’t seem to care about any of it as she looks into my eyes. My hands squeeze her ass as I watch her back. Based on the quick assessment I did when I saw her standing in the doorway, she appears to be unharmed, but I can’t seem to look away from her beautiful blue eyes to double-check.

“Yeah, big guy. It’s me.” Her voice is soft, softer than it’s ever been around me. The feel of her flush up against me, her hot core pressing against my rapidly growing dick, has me wanting to strip her naked and fuck her right here and now. Prove to her she’s mine. Let her know that I’ve finally accepted it.

“Say it again,” I growl, my voice strained and raw sounding. Nothing like my usual self. Her brows pull down in confusion, but it only lasts a second before she catches on to what I’m asking. I know she intended them to be for her brother, and maybe she meant them for Oliver too, but fuck it. I’ve decided she meant them for me. A hesitant smile slowly plays along her lips, and when her thumb brushes across my cheek, I’m certain she’s going to tease me before giving me what I want. Thankfully, she doesn’t.

“I love you, Cain.”

There it is. The words hang in the air between us, sounding like the best fucking song I’ve ever heard. I’m not sure if I remove the last bit of space between us or if she pulls me in, but our lips crash together in a desperate, sloppy kiss like we’ve both been starved of one another.

“Again,” I grunt, grinding my erection into the apex of her thighs and loving the way she moans and moves against me.

“I love you.”

Fuck, I’ll never get tired of hearing that, even if I don’t feel like I’m deserving of her love. Not yet, anyway. Pushing her deeper into the wall, I bring my hand up between us and deftly undo the button of her jeans, shoving my hand into her panties. Her head falls back against the wall as I find her fucking gushing for me. I push three fingers inside, stretching her. Not moving, I hold my position as I growl, “Again.”

Her cheeks and chest are flushed, her breathing coming in heavy pants as she looks at me through hooded eyes. Her tongue licks along her lower lip. “I love you.”

I fuck her hard and fast with my fingers, because even in this moment of sweet sentiments, Red and I don’t do soft and sweet. We fuck rough and dirty, the way I like it. The way sheneedsit. And this time is no exception. It doesn’t take long until she’s coming around my fingers, crying out my name. She’s still convulsing around me when she opens her eyes, finding me watching her. She’s fucking beautiful when she comes. I’ll never tire of watching it. I wait until the haze of endorphins lifts from her eyes, before saying, “I love you too, Red.”

---