Page 32 of To Keep

“What are you talking about?”

“Victoria. She told me all about your little affair. If it wasn’t for that, Seth wouldn’t have gone looking for an alliance with Petrov. All this shit could have been avoided.”

“Is that what you’ve concluded?” Viko asked. “Do you think I’ve come this far by thinking with my dick?”

“It makes sense.”

“Seth Dante went rogue long before I fucked Victoria. That was just to let him know I was still in control. He was a scared little mouse playing a game meant for men.”

Galen paced the hallway outside his bedroom. “Then why did we do this whole song and dance? Why did you have me keep Skye at my place if you knew everything?”

“I like to fuck with my enemies, keep them guessing, keep them in a state of panic,” Viko said. “It took a bit of digging but I have the full picture now.”

“So, for you, it’s over then. Well, I’m not giving her up.” It had to be said because if Viko decided to end her life, Galen would kill his boss before pulling that trigger.

“Can you protect your little toy forever?”

“From who? You or Petrov?”

The line went dead. Fuck. Galen hated playing games. He wanted to do his job and get paid without all the drama. Now he had bigger plans that included adding a civilian to his fucked-up life when there was already a target on her head. He couldn’t keep her locked up forever. He needed Viko’s blessing to kill Petrov once and for all. It was the only way to get this hit off her head. But for some reason his boss had a hard-on for his enemy.

“What’s wrong?” Skye’s hands smoothed down his back. He tensed briefly, then relaxed. Tonight was supposed to be about her.

He turned around in the dim hallway and pulled her close. “Just some business. Nothing to worry about.”

“I could hear you from the bedroom, Galen. It sounded like a lot for me to worry about.”

He shook his head. “I’ll never let anything happen to you.”

“What about Petrov? What about Viko?”

“For you, I’ll kill them all.”

He wasn’t joking or exaggerating. Galen would rather not release the hellfire, but he would if he was forced to. He’d done a lot of bad shit in his life and he wasn’t afraid to die. And somewhere along the way, Skye had turned from a problem in his life to the only reason he had to keep going.

She rested both her hands on his chest. “I know they shouldn’t, but somehow those words really turned me on.”

“Really…”

“No one’s ever really cared much about me, certainly not enough to literally kill for me.”

He cupped her face in his hands, looking down at her sweet innocence. “I shouldn’t bring you into my world, but I can’t give you up.” Galen kissed her forehead. “We need to lay low for a bit. We’ll go to one of my safe houses out of town until things aren’t so hot around here. It’s not the Ritz, but it’ll be safe.”

“As long as I’m with you,” she said.

Galen ran his thumb over her lower lip. She was so gorgeous. And from this day onward she belonged to him.

“I want to be with you, Skye. I want to take care of you.”

Her lips parted and she took a quick breath. “I want that too. I’m tired of just existing. I want to be happy with you.”

“Tell me you want to be mine,” he said.

She swallowed hard in the quiet hallway. As soon as she nodded, her fate was sealed. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her back to his bed. Petrov may be out looking for Skye, but they still had time. Right now, all that mattered was claiming his woman.

His cock was hard as he stared down at her lush body. All his.

“I’ve never had a virgin before,” he said, running his finger along her inner thigh.

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