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Cash tucked the blanket around Riss and then slid out of bed. He was exhausted and on top of the world. She was his. She’s said it over and over every time he’d taken her. She’d be sore when she woke up. The thought made him smile. It would be a good sore. The type that told her she’d been well and truly fucked and she’d enjoyed every minute of it.
He quietly redressed. He needed to check in with the security office. Davenport and Li were both set to leave tomorrow, or today rather. Their departure had to go off without a hitch. He also needed to make sure Antonio had installed the camera in the space between the houses by the dog door.
He adjusted his sweater and then bent over to kiss Riss on the forehead when something caught his eye. It was the edge of something under the mattress. He reached down under the mattress and pulled out a book. The leather binding was dull with age. The pages frayed on the sides. His stomach pitched as recognition bloomed in his brain. The Fitzgerald family bible. He’d believed her when she said she didn’t have it. But here it was.
She’d lied to him. To both he and Archer.
Worse, he’d let her. He’d never doubted her. Not for one minute. He’d been so blinded by his fear over her leaving without telling him and then so angry when she came back and didn’t seem to care that he’d been scared. He’d let his emotions blind him to the truth.
He tucked the bible under his arm and then turned out the light that he’d demanded they leave on. He’d wanted to see all of her in the light. She’d acquiesced. He’d thought it was because she felt the same way about him, but that hope was dashed on the rocks of betrayal. And the Oscar goes to… Maybe she was better at hiding her deviousness than her sister.
He left the room and immediately went up to his own and had a quick ice-cold shower. He’d been suckered. She’d used him like he’d been told to use her, only she was much better at it. He’d fallen for her, hook, line, and sinker. The pure lust he felt for Riss allowed her to cloud his vision. Fogged up his brain.
Well, pushover Cash was fucking through. The searing pain clawing at him gave him clarity. He needed to hold on to that anger, that rage, and hone it. That’s how he’d gotten through war, and it was how he’d get through this.
After all, this was just another type of war, wasn’t it?
Ten minutes later he walked into the security area and went into the boardroom. Paperwork was scattered on the desk in front of Archer. Cash threw the bible on the table with a loud thump, and then leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.
“You took your time,” Archer said as he reached for the bible.
“Some things shouldn’t be rushed,” Cash countered.
The corners of Archer’s lips turned up. “Indeed. I admit, I was worried.”
Cash cocked an eyebrow. “About what?”
“You.” Archer untied the leather bindings and opened the bible. “I wasn’t sure you saw through Riss. You seemed to be quite…smitten with her. I thought it might be blinding you to reality.”
Cash’s shoulders tightened. Archer had seen what he had not. If he hadn’t found the bible by accident, he would probably be on the way out by now. Rage at his own stupidity and embarrassment warred in his chest and rose to his throat with a spastic pain.
“Who would you have gotten to do it?” He asked more out of morbid curiosity than anything else.
Archer looked up. “Do what?”
“Take me out. I assume that’s what would’ve happened if I didn’t turn up with the bible.” Cash wasn’t afraid of death. The thought of it didn’t bother him in the slightest. The thought that he might bring about his own because he’d made a fool of himself over a woman was a different story.
Archer locked gazes with Cash. “Not sure it would’ve been punishable by death, but you might have been assigned to a residence in Mongolia as a permanent security guard.”
Archer’s answer had taken him by surprise. He burst out laughing. “Mongolia. There are worse places I guess.”
“Doesn’t matter now. You did your job and enjoyed it I would guess since it’s been hours since you went up there.”
Cash flipped him off with a cocky grin and then slipped out of the room.
“Cash?”
He stuck his head back around the corner. “Yeah, boss?”
“Davenport and Li are leaving today. As soon as they are gone, I want you on a plane back to D.C. Ryker is there working on something, and he needs help.”
“Yes, sir.” Cash nodded and then continued down the hall. D.C. Not protecting Riss. Not going to New York. It was a good thing, he reminded himself. From the throes of the best fucking of his life, Riss had become a nightmare. Soon, he’d be able to put that behind him.
And damn if that thought wasn’t accompanied by a wash of melancholy.
He shook it off and asked Antonio, “How did the camera installation go?”
The man let out a string of curses in multiple languages. “Fucking insane going through that door. I can’t fit.”
