Page 14 of Hide Little Traitor

The days I couldn’t get out of bed because my grief was so debilitating. The way he fed me every meal by hand just to make sure I ate. And how he reminded me that despite losing everyone I loved in a matter of days, it didn’t mean I’d never love again.

But this is different.

He’s not looking at me like I’m fragile or as if I’m about to fall apart.

He’s looking at me like I’m his next meal and he can’t wait to devour me.

I try to break away from his intense gaze, but rough fingers grip my chin, forcing me to look up at his towering form.

He’s at least a foot taller than me, making my neck ache from the angle it takes to hold his eyes.

“It’s not safe for you to leave right now,” he murmurs, his breath whispering across my cheek.

“And when will it be safe?” I hiss. “Tomorrow? Next week? A year from now?”

“Once my ring is on your finger and you share my name. Only then will it be safe for you to leave the property.”

CHAPTER NINE

RONAN

NOW

Being alone with someone I’d like to watch bleed out in a ditch is irritating.

Relying on said person I’d like to watch bleed out in a ditch is even fucking worse.

Ryker and I said goodbye to Camilla and her men when the jet landed in New York and waited for the crew to refuel, and now we’re back in the air.

Alone.

This is a bad idea.

I’ve known it since the second the others stepped off the plane, but I become surer of it by the second.

There’s only one way this little trip goes, and it’s with one of us in a body bag.

It’s just until we find Chloe, I tell myself.

But then what?

Neither of us is going to give her up without a fight, and that’s provided we ever find her at all.

Kingston has spent years evading us. Why would he make it any easier to find him now?

Especially now he has something valuable to hide.

Someone.

Fuck. How did this happen? How could I possibly let Kingston take Chloe…again?

I had her back for such a short amount of time I barely had the chance to consider what our future could look like now that so much time has passed.

When we were teenagers, it was easy. There was a path laid out in front of us, and we just had to follow it. Finish college. Move back to Miami. Step into the family business. Get married. Have a family.

It was so easy back then, but not now. Not with all the baggage we both have and the trauma my family inflicted on my sweet sparrow.

It’s probably a good thing I’ve left the family, because for how long could I continue looking my father in the eye knowing he would have killed the mother of my child given the opportunity?