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“You’d leave your casino?” I ask in shock. I always felt like that was his thing… like that’s what he lived for.
“I don’t want to, but I’d rather leave it and both of us be alive,” he says as he reaches out and takes a couple of strands of my hair between his fingers and tugs lightly. He’s got a wrinkle forming between his eyebrows as he says this, and I can tell he really is distraught over the idea of me putting myself at risk. I guess… I would be too if I knew he was the one going off.
I give him a smile as I lean into his touch. “Even though I haven’t worked for Norn for years, he’s kept a close eye on me. He wouldn’t let me leave. And he’s going to be more than pissed after this. I promise you that I’ll be fine.”
“Let me go with you.”
“That’s a horrible idea! Then I’ll have to watch you while trying to kill him. It’ll just add to the risk.”
“Right, it’ll keep you from doing anything risky,” he says. “You can clearly use a long-ranged weapon with ease. Use it.”
I’m quiet for a moment as I realize that I don’t really know how I want to do it yet. It all depends on where Norn is and the best option to end his life.
Kade’s hand slides down from my hair and cups my cheek. “Len… for the first timein my lifeI want someone. I want to drift through life with someone. I want to relish this feeling of waking up and being tucked against someone… against you. To know that at the end of the day, when I come home, it’s not to an empty house. Please, I don’t want that taken from me.”
I bite my lip before giving him a nod because the sound of those things… all of those things… I want them. I’ve never been a frivolous person; I’ve never been greedy or asked for much, but right now I want those things so badly. “Okay… but you have to trust me. I want those things too but we can only truly have them when he’s gone. Norn is well aware many want him dead and is doing everything he can to keep himself protected. He doesn’t show his face out in public and he sure as hell won’t come out so I can shoot him from afar.Especiallyknowing I’m looking for him.”
“No, he won’t, but what if we force him out?” Kade asks.
“What are you thinking?”
“My father knew I was business smart, so he relied on me for a lot of the business aspect of things. This means that I have access to everything my father did. Norn doesn’t know this, but if he hasn’t changed some things, my father’s account would still be attached to a lot of Norn’s business.”
“What does that change, though?” I ask.
“If I were to take this information and simply hand it off to the police, they’ll be required to pull him in,” Kade says.
I shrug because I really don’t see how this will help us. “They’ve taken Norn in countless times, but they can’t hold him. They know they can’t, but they do it just to show the public that they tried but were ‘incapable’ of finding anything illegal on him. It’ll happen again.”
“Right… but that means we’ll know where Norn is. I know a guy who works at the station who will be able to tell me when he’s being brought in. Let’s just say that to get to the secure rooms, they have to walk past a row of windows.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You want me to shoot Norn when the police are escorting him?”
“I sure do.”
A grin forms on my lips at that idea. “You are devious and sexy.”
“Thank you,” he says as he grabs me and pulls me on top of him. “Now, let’s just stay here for a couple of days first.”
I lean down as he cups my face in his hand while his other hand wraps around my waist, and it’s the most tempting thing I’ve ever felt. It’snearlyenough to hold me here, but the idea of making a mistake and Kade losing his life for it makes me know that I can’t. Not yet.
I offer him a kiss instead, which he greedily takes, hands tightening around me as his lips move against mine. His fingers sink into my hair as he presses into me. His free hand slides down to my ass, squeezing it gently as I’m tempted even more, but I know I can’t be.
The moment I even consider remaining here all day, I’m reminded that neither of us are safe. The longer I’m here, the greater the chance that Norn will kill Kade. Breaking the kiss is one of the hardest things I’ve done, but I manage to sit up and look at him.
“Kade, we have to do this, and once we do, I’ll let you keep me here as long as you want.”
He hesitates before nodding. “Okay. Um… let me get Harker to bring my laptop here. Staying here is probably safest until we absolutely have to leave. I’ll also have him bring us food. I’m starving.”
“Those dust pretzels didn’t hold you over?” I tease.
Kade grins as he reaches over and grabs his phone before calling Harker. While he gets that situated, I call my cleaners and ask if they can bring us a different vehicle. It’s not generally something they do for me, but they’re more than happy to do so. Sometime before Harker arrives, a slip of paper slides under the door, and I realize it’s a valet ticket. I slip it into my pocket and head back to Kade who is on the phone but smiles at me.
I don’t know why that smile just stops me in my tracks. It’s such a genuine smile, one that draws me in and refuses to let me go. Never did I imagine he would be the one giving it to me. Growing up, I knew Kade from a distance. I wasn’t allowed to get close to him— my brother kept me locked away and refused to allow me to interact with others—but doing what I did, I was skilled at seeing things that others didn’t want me to see.
And one of those things was Kade. He was rich and handsome, so of course I was attracted to him. I never stopped to think that his life wasn’t perfect. I saw the abuse from his father, but I was so used to everyone being nasty and hateful that I was still jealous of what he had. In all the years I stole glances at him while he never even knew I existed, have I seen a smile like that?
He gets off the phone and looks up at me. “What’s that look for?”
