Page 114 of Ruthless Enforcer

For several seconds, nobody says anything.

Mandy stands over him, gun still trained on his body.

Then she lowers it.

Hendricks crosses the distance between them and stops beside her. He doesn't take the weapon. He doesn't touch her until she turns toward him.

After a moment, his hand settles at the back of her neck. “Done?”

Mandy looks down at Turner. “Now I am.”

Hendricks looks at me. “We'll handle this.”

Mandy's gaze moves past me to Clara. “Have a good show, Claire.”

Clara, reaching down to take off her other shoe, stops dead. “What? How do you know?”

Mouth curving, Mandy hooks a thumb toward Hendricks. “No secret is safe from that guy.”

Hendricks looks mildly offended. “Some are.”

Mandy glances at him. “Name one.”

He considers it. “No.”

Despite everything, Clara laughs. Then she's moving toward me.

I holster my weapon and meet her halfway. “Clara.”

She crashes into my chest.

I catch her, wrapping both arms around her and lifting her clear off the concrete. For one second, I don't give a fuck about Cole Turner, the body behind me, or anything else in this world.

Just her. Whole. Breathing. Mine.

“I'm okay,” she whispers against my neck.

My hands move over her anyway. Shoulders. Back. Arms.

“Gabriel.”

“Humor me.”

“I'm okay,” she insists.

I finally pull back enough to look at her. “He hurt you?”

“Only my dignity.” She winces, holding up her shoe. “I lost the other one.”

“I'll buy you another,” I promise her.

“That's not how shoes work.”

“Then I'll buy the company.”

Her mouth twitches.

Shrugging out of my jacket, I put it around her shoulders.