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“I’ll be there tomorrow.”
“Mmmkay.” Drowsiness begins kicking in and taking me away.
“Sleep tight, pet. I’ll see you soon.” His voice is the last thing I hear before sleep pulls me under.
* * *
Cage
I had just landed in New York when I decided to give Magnolia a call. I wasn’t going to. My plan was to wait until her event tomorrow. I wanted my arrival to be a total surprise, but something was niggling at me to call her. To check in on her, and now that I have, I’m damn glad.
There was a depressive note in her voice when I rang, and I’m not sure if that’s due to her mother—after some digging, I suspect she’s been an issue Magnolia’s entire life—or something more. I can tell there’s more.
This situation with the asshole bothering her will change from the moment I touch her. He’ll know exactly who she belongs to, and if he tries to bother her any further, he’ll find himself in a shallow grave.
I researched Magnolia’s duties for this event and found out that she is expected to be there for the entire six-hour signing and possibly the after-party. Readers apparently get a real kick out of meeting the inspiration behind an author’s characters. Models bring them to life.
I can understand that. Can respect it, even. Though I imagine that for someone like Magnolia, this will be a draining event. She’s a vibrant woman, but her sociabilities are more geared towards the children she wishes to help.
I have much to learn about Magnolia, but from what I’ve discovered so far, she’s got the politeness of a southern belle, and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if she overdid herself. Which means it’s my job to take cues from her and ensure she—and by proxy, her friend—takes whatever breaks either of them may desire when it’s needed.
I’ll be the wall between Magnolia and the rest of the world for as long as she allows me. And if she ever tells me to stop, I’ll continue doing it from the shadows because a man like me, once he’s dedicated himself to a woman, that’s it. He’s finished. There will never be another like her, and I don’t want there to be. Until I glimpsed Magnolia through that classroom window, held her in my arms as she shook with fear, the only thing I cared about was the next kill. How high I could make my body count. It was a thrill for me.
Which is why I found it so confounding when I wasn’t upset about there not being any more men to kill in those tunnels in Prague. I spent two days navigating through the underground before coming out the other side, and it didn’t bother me that there was no cleanup. It meant I got to leave sooner. See my pet sooner. And that appears to be what I exist for now.
McCall had laughed at me when I sounded so confused over the idea. I spent the last couple of days traveling, wondering what the hell was wrong with me, only to discover the answer was nothing at all.
My heart simply belongs to another.
It will be a process to get used to, but for Magnolia, it’s one I’ll gladly walk through fire for. After my stint in prison, paying her gunman back for what he did to her, I still haven’t heard anything about his death on the news or in the papers, so I’m assuming she has no idea what I did to the man either. I wonder if anyone outside the prison does.
Not that it matters; they’ll never identify it as me. They’ll never know I took the asshole’s life simply because I could. And at a time when I was merely curious and angry about Magnolia too. That curiosity has blossomed into infatuation and obsession since then. The more I learn about her, the more I come to realize that she is the only thing in this world worth breathing for.
Her happiness is the be-all and end-all of my existence. I’m certain the men from my youth would laugh at me now. Find it preposterous that I’m devoting my life to another after fighting so hard to escape the rule of a true tyrant.
One day, they’ll understand this level of loyalty. At a time when they least expect it, too, I hope.
CHAPTER7
Magnolia
An hour into the signing and the doors have opened to the public, the rambunctious group of VIPers having gotten their one-on-one time with their most-loved authors. Though, I don’t believe any of them have left. So many stopped at Joss’ table, wanting books, signatures, and pictures of her, Tyler, and me. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much, and my ribs ache from the constant laughter. For a bunch of women who are voracious about the written word but say they’re far more introverted in real life, they sure know how to make a girl feel welcome.
“How’s your hand?” I ask Joss, reaching over during one of her very few breaks from signing and begin massaging her fingers.
“Soooooo much better now,” she moans and closes her eyes. We’ve both been nervous about today. Not for nothing, but it’s been wonderful so far. And Tyler has been on his best behavior, for the most part. Which is a relief. We only had one incident before the readers arrived, and that was him trying to touch my bump, hinting about how the readers would go crazy if we claimed he was the father.
I had to restrain the urge to throw up on him. It’s not that he’s not attractive, he’s just not for me. The readers love his flirtations, and he seems genuinely happy to interact with them. Especially the ones he’s connected with at other events.
“How areyoudoing?” Joss asks, leaning over to whisper in my ear as another group of women approaches.
I pat her hand and offer a smile to the women. “Hi, ladies!” Tyler welcomes. They giggle as he charms them with a smile from behind me. Gently, he places his hands on my shoulders, knowing I won’t cause any kind of scene in front of an audience.
I smile through their questions and laugh when they talk about a part inAlignthat they loved, and when it comes time to take pictures, one of the girls looks between Tyler and me, stars in her eyes, and comments, “Tell me you two are together, and a love story was born because of the cover?”
Tyler wraps an arm around my shoulder, kissing my temple as he pulls me close, and mutters, “Something like that.” At the same time, I hear Joss hiss out, “Oh shit.”
Looking towards her, I follow her line of sight. A gasp gets stuck in my throat as I see what she does. Seewhoshe does. “Cage.” I’m frozen to the spot as he glares at me, his eyes roving up and down my body. My bump is hidden because of the women standing in front of me, but he doesn’t miss the way Tyler holds me or the fact that he doesn’t let go when he notices Cage and how he devours me.
