Page 74 of Unveiled

He shook his head, crossing his arms. “Hell no. I’m just saying if we don’t act, who knows who we’ll lose this time. You lost Marco already.”

Marco. I never thought I would miss him. Taking a deep breath, I clenched my jaw at the mention of his name.

“Hey,” William called out behind me. “I’m sorry. I—”

“It’s okay. He fucked up and lost his life because of it.” I took a few steps over to a bag, digging through it. My mouth fell agape. “Merda.”

“What?” William sped over.

“Isabelle was nice enough to pack clothes for me.” Exhaling, I rolled my eyes as I pulled out the Desmond Merrion Supreme Bespoke suit and held it up. “I mean I appreciate her understanding the rule of me always having to have a suit with me,” I laid the pricey garment on the bed and smoothed it as best as I could, “but I wish she had not done that.”

“You’re the idiot who paid almost fifty grand for a suit and I doubt she knew how much it costs.”

I shot him a warning glare. “Not the point. I buried my brother while wearing this suit.”

“And I’m sure he appreciated you showing up in a suit that I’m positive cost more than his entire funeral.”

“Liam!” I growled.

I think I’m going to go get a drink.” Shaking his head, he ambled toward the door. “I’ll leave you to mourn your outfit.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Protection

First, Noah and I strolled along the shoreline closest to the house. I carried my sandals in my hand as I kept a slow pace next to him. The waves curled over the sand, breaking under my bare feet and over his black boots. I did not want to speak since he was studying the surroundings and examining every palm tree we passed. He was calculating everything so carefully in his head.

“So, tell me.” Suddenly he bent over and picked up a small piece of driftwood, inspecting it.

“Tell you what?” I paused for a moment and realized he was still walking. I took a few strides to catch up.

“How did you end up with a guy like that?” He tossed the wood into the foliage that hugged the beach.

I stopped and tilted my head, confused. “You know how I ended up with h—”

“No, no that’s not what I mean.” Noah snorted. “I’m not questioning the relationship. I just wonder what made you stay with him, I guess.”

Shrugging, I smiled. “It was this unimaginable connection from the beginning.” I giggled, thinking back to the Valentino vs. V game he played. “Although, he had a connection with me first while watching me.”

He nodded, “But was it instant after you figured out who he was?”

“It was, but I mean after a while, I was hoping he andVwere the sa—” I froze. My eyes widened.

Noah halted and rotated, holding one of his arms out in front of me as a shield of some sort, while grabbing the handle of this gun with the other. “What?!” He hissed. His eyes scanned the area around the beach.

“Is this about Laura?” I beamed with a wide smile.

He sighed, dropped his hands, and rolled his eyes. “You can’t scare me like that while we’re out here.”

“Sorry, sorry.” I snickered, patting him on the shoulder blade. “You do know she was drunk at my party, right?” I continued to push his buttons a bit, seeing how far he would let me go. “Laura was bonding with the east pillar in the living room that night too.”

“Ha ha.” He chortled before it turned to an evil grin. “She wasn’t drunk when she spent the night and was bonding with m—”

NOAH!Valentino’s deep, infuriated voice echoed from Noah’s generally noiseless earpiece.

Promptly, he ripped it away from his head and his eyes enlarged to the size of saucers.Oh my God!He just heard that!He mouthed as he scrambled to mute the microphone in a hurry. His face was turning a bright hue of red as imminent doom emerged on his face.

I tried my best to contain my laughter, but it was too late. I dropped my sandals on the beach then rested my fists on my hips, watching him fidget with the communication device. “Don’t worry I’ll talk to him when we get inside. He won’t kill you. I don’t think he will anyway.”

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