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Christian looks completely relaxed, but there’s something in him he’s keeping on a tight leash, something that prowls and bristles with dark power. It isn’t aimed at them. It’s aimed at who did this.
“Thank fuck you’re okay.” Reaper says this to me but his gaze is hard on Christian. “This was arson, pure and simple.”
Angel raises a brow. “He means hello. But yeah, whoever did this didn’t try and hide it. Arson.”
Christian gives my arm a squeeze before letting go. “Let me fucking guess. Fucking Frank.”
Reaper is still looking at him. “He didn’t sign the note, but we think so. And it was aimed at Mia.”
“I’m here, you morons,” I say. “It’s bad enough the entire De Luca clan have lost their minds and turned into a bunch of raging Neanderthals, I don’t need the lot of you doing the same.”
“Mia . . .” Reaper drops his arms and comes over, touching my scarred face lightly. “We’re exactly that. But we’re not failing you again.”
“Give me the note.” Christian takes it when Reaper holds it out. His gaze scans it. “Fucking hell. ‘Cunt, because you didn’t stay out of it.’”
My cheeks burn. “Give me a weapon and I’ll take him out myself.”
“You think,” Christian says turning to me, “you can find if when we can’t?”
“Stop underestimating me.”
“Invite me to the wedding,” says Angel, earning my scowl, “we’ve got other things to deal with.”
Reaper blows out a breath. “Christian told us your plans for what you want to do.”
“What I . . .” I stare at them all. “Burlesque? One day. Down the road. I like working here, and I love working for you.”
“We were planning,” Reaper continues, “to hand this over to you. Had the paperwork ready. We figured you could turn this into your dream or do what you want with it and we can have another strip club. Upscale, like this.” He shakes his head. “It’s going to take a lot to rebuild. Christian, whatever you need, we’ll be there for back up.”
“Thanks,” he says to Reaper and Angel. “I’m going to be killing this bastard for this, and whoever helped him. I know what this means to Mia.”
The other two look at each other and excuse themselves and Christian draws me into his arms. “I know, sweetness. The fact your cousins were gonna give this to you, it means something. You did good. And you will keep doing that. I’ll help you fix this and make it better than before.”
He says this like he’ll be hanging around. It’s a lie. But right then, I hold it tight. I’m reeling from what happened here. The sex? I’ll have to face it and my emotions soon, but right now, this is something I can do, something I can handle.
“You told them.”
“I followed you, and running burlesque? Not gonna lie. I’d love to see it.” A wry smile breaks through the hard shell of his anger and heat licks in my belly. “See you run it, see what you do, not the girls. Maybe if you gave me a private show—”
“Christian,” I say quietly. “I’m not ready. I’m barely hanging on to things.”
“I know.”
“Not . . .” I close my eyes. “Not like that. It’s this. The place was everything. It got me through. This place which sounds strange, but it’s true, this place and Blake and therapy, and now someone tried to kill it. And I have to take care of the girls, my staff—”
“You will. Everyone will help, Mia. But first, I have a man to find and kill. If you’d been here.”
“I wasn’t.”
He just looks at me. “Mia, I’m going to take to you Leo’s. And then, when this is done, we talk.”
* * *
I curl up in the car on the ride back. Christian is on the phone to his men. Orders fly, cold threats are passed along. Plans are made. I tune out.
That look he gave me? I don’t know what it meant when I said I wasn’t there. Like he knew. But I don’t know how, so I shift my head to the thoughts of a new future.
It’s weird, but the blessing from Reaper and Angel, the fact they trust me enough to give me the place means it all lies ahead.
