Page 105 of Tempt Her

“Well, I can’t stay on my yacht, you dumb bitch. I just had it put in dry-dock. They’ve closed the club, so I’m going by the liquor store and coming home. Have it ready.”

Gentry hangs up, and Ford snarls, “You’re not staying with him. He almost hit you the last time he was home.”

Stacey knots her robe so tight. “I’ll be okay.”

“The fuck you will, baby.” Mateo backs Ford up. “You’re coming with us. You’re not safe with him anymore.”

“I neverwassafe.” Her energy shifts so damn fast. She starts cleaning up the kitchen, dumping out our coffee mugs. “And I can’t stop now. Cade’s so close, and she needs my help.”

“She just buried her mom,” Ford seethes. “She’s busy grieving and not able to protect you right now.”

“Listen to him,” I urge Stacey.

“No.” She starts washing out our mugs, removing all evidence of us. “Y’all listen to me—I got this. I didn’t come this far and suffer this much to give up now. I have to keep up the act for just a few more days, so don’t pitch a hissy fit over it.”

“This ain’t a fucking hissy fit.” Ford grabs her arm. Not in an asshole way; he’s worried, turning her around. “You’re one bullet away from death. He’s got the guns and the desperation to do it. And you don’t fucking act the same. You’re not his bitch anymore, and he’s gonna know it the minute he walks through that door.”

“Don’t underestimate me.” Her teeth clench. “I can handle it.”

“Well, I fucking won’t,” Ford growls back. “I will fucking kill him if he lays a hand on you. I’ll spit in his face before I snap his fucking neck, looking him dead in the eye while I do it. I know you can put up with his mouth and the bullshit he spews, but I’m hiding in your guest room. Give me some water and those muffins; I’ll be fine. I’ll have my gun, too; all you have to do is shout, and it’ll be over. I’ll put his ass in the ground before he ever dies behind bars.”

Stacey’s face bends, not wanting to give in. “I don’t want you involved. I don’t want you getting hurt over me.”

“Too late,” Ford sneers. “Iaminvolved, and Iwillget hurt if you are. It’s not up for debate. It’s an order.”

“This ain’t our sex parlor games with collars and kink.” Stacey glares back at him. “What if Gentry finds you? What do you think he’ll do to you and Mateo and Luke? Just like you said?”

“Ford can handle him,” Mateo reasons with her. “We’ll wait around the block in our truck and take turns. We’ll be his backup. It’s a good plan, and he’s right. It’s the only way we can be sure you stay alive.”

“He’s been trained to hide for weeks,” I assure her. “Like I will be. It’s just a guest room closet and two days while this storm blows through.”

Stacey sucks her teeth.

I love how strong she is now. How she’s not crying over that man anymore, but she’s gotta let us do this.

“Do this for me,” I tell her. “I don’t need you to marry me, but I need you to be okay. Mateo does too. It’s like Ford said; we’llshowyou how much we love you.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN

Egyptian Darkness by Louise Lemón

“Those women can’t do it,” Gentry talks like I give a shit. “They can’t filibuster our bill. They can’t last like a man does. Watch.”

Says the man who sips Chardonnay he bought at a liquor store while I’m the woman swigging whiskey.

I shrug. “Seems women can outlast men at lots of things. Don’t we even live longer?”

He glares over his delicate glass from the black leather settee across from me.

Laughter drums through my mind relishing how I was fucked by three men on that settee. I hope the power of it, the one I feel beating through my veins, shrivels his little dick with each second his balls droop over the same spot.

“Women live,” he warns, “as long as menletthem live.”

He’s been home for six hours.

Before he arrived, Ford gathered provisions and claimed a spot in the guest bedroom upstairs with an ensuite bathroom. Mateo and Luke helped me sweep the house again for evidence before they left.

The house is clean, but I’m not.

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