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“I said I’d keep you safe,” he said, sliding his hands into his pants pockets.
“My hero,” I whispered.
“I’m no hero,” he said, nodding toward the hooks. “You don't need to worry about those.”
“Who said I was?”
“The tremble that just made you shiver.”
I swallowed hard, holding his gaze as he crossed the room to come within an arm’s reach of me.
“I said I’d keep you safe,” he said again. “But let’s get one thing clear, angel. I’m not your hero.” He tugged my hand away from the hook, and I swear electricity crackled beneath my skin. “You merely traded one monster for another.”
CHAPTER 3
Gareth
Dawn had just broken across the sky as I looked out the window from my home office. I'd already gotten in a workout and a shower and answered a few emails. But as I took a sip of my morning coffee, I got an alert that someone was at my front gates.
I headed over to my computer, checking the security system, adrenaline already slicing through my veins at the thought of it being Doyle or one of his employees.
It was only a slight relief to see that it was my older brother, Dante, eyeing the camera with a disappointed look only he could muster. I briefly considered not allowing him in, not wanting visitors to rattle the still-adjusting Serenity.
She'd always been quiet, only speaking to me in hushed tones a few times during the poker games, but there was something about her now, a listless sort of demeanor that had anxiety clawing up my throat every time I spotted her around the house. I’d been trying to give her as much space as possible. Space to grieve her past life, if there was anything to grieve, and space to sort out the move we'd made when she’d called in her favor.
I couldn't help but think about her original request. I’d thought about little else since, especially when I saw her around my home, wearing nothing but my big T-shirts and shorts.
It didn't matter what she wore, really. I was always thinking about her. She had this intrinsic sort of allure, something I'd never felt before, and had tried very hard to deny every day since she came into my life.
And it wasn't just her gorgeous blue eyes or delicate curves, but it was the flashes of her real personality that I saw whenever her father left the room. She was brave, courageous, and funny. It was a lethal combination. I had this innate need to protect her, and it was a recipe that ensured Serenity haunted my every thought.
And now she was my wife.
On paper.
She was only my wife on paper.
It was the only way I could protect her while also not stealing her virginity, like some villain lurking in the shadows.
I would only take the time I needed to ensure her independence and safety from her family before releasing her from the binding contract to me. Because the last thing she needed was to be tied to another mobster’s life, even an ex one.
I clicked the button that opened the gates, and I saw my brother on the camera make a finally gesture before he got back in his car and drove through.
I made sure to watch the gates close behind him, my eyes lingering on the screen for a few more seconds to ensure nobody had followed him.
Fucking hell, it had been at least two years since I'd had to seriously worry about a physical attack on my property, let alone on me. I thought I'd left that life behind the minute I went legitimate and excluded myself from that part of my family’s lives.
We were all still on good terms, not because I had a plethora of legitimate businesses that were successful, but because my family didn't hold my personal choices against me. I was lucky in that regard, where Serenity wasn’t.
A flare of anger worked its way up my spine, and I had to rotate my neck in an attempt to get rid of the sensation. Every time I thought about what that asshole Doyle planned to do with her, I could almost feel the weight of the gun in my hand and the sweet satisfaction of squeezing the trigger.
I backed away from my desk, pacing the length of my office, doing my best to count the amount of book spines I could see on one shelf in order to ground myself.
I'd had to undergo a shit-ton of therapy after I removed myself from the more criminal activities of my family, but it wasn't like I ever forgot how to be a killer. Especially not when I’d been raised to believe it was normal. And while I had promised myself I’d never pick up a gun again, I knew when it came to Serenity, there were no lines I wouldn't cross—no promises I wouldn’t break—in order to keep her safe.
I could only hope that Doyle would be intimidated enough, not only by me, but by the family I had behind me, to stay the fuck away.
I didn't hear Dante’s approach, not when he and Brooks had been trained to be as silent as cats, but there was something in the air that I felt when he made it just outside my office. I opened the door moments before he barged through it and ushered him inside before closing it again.
