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“Yes, he said the same thing. It calms his soul.”
Our talk is interrupted when Kieran steps inside and sits in the chair in front of me.
Fox returns with a plate, and my appetite has me bouncing my legs.
Halfway into the meal, I say, “It was great of you to help him.”
He keeps eating, scrolling through his phone.
I wave my hand in front of him. “I’m trying to have a conversation with you.”
He casts me an accusatory glance. “Put that on my not-redeemable list.”
We finish the meal in silence. After he pays, we drive back home.
The moment I am out of the car, he speeds away, leaving me with a strange knot in my stomach.
I punch the wheel so often, my knuckles might break. When I reach the compound, I change into a T-shirt and shorts before heading to the gym. I take my frustration out on the punching bag.
This is a mistake.
Fuck friendship, fuck this bullshit. I should have let Delaney have her. Then she would have known how good she has it under my care. Miss All-I-Know-Is-A-Sheltered-Life has no fucking idea how the world works, yet finds me guilty on all charges.
Sweat and blood mix and I drop onto my ass in exhaustion. I turn to find Cato and Cameron eyeing me with an uncommon emotion—worry.
I shut the door behind me and get in the shower. Knowing you are a monster and being fine with it is one thing. It’s completely different when the girl who used to look at you like you were the hero now sees you as the greatest villain. Aurora affects me, and fuck, maybe that’s my punishment, wanting to keep her when all she wants to do is leave me.
I change and find them in our joined office.
“What’s on today’s agenda?”
“Ricardo, again. The heir of the DeCavallaro family in New Jersey, trying to unbalance the power by attempting to break into Boston. I’ll take care of him,” Cato says.
“Good. He didn’t leave us another way.”
Taking notice of my appearance, Cameron asks, “Are you sleeping here?”
I nod. I need to clear my head.
“Man, I haven’t seen you this—unsettled,” says Cato.
“We should have found another way. I always thought I would end up with a woman as flawed, even as ruthless, as me. Aurora is pure, and our world will just pollute her soul.”
“You’re not a savior, man. And if it’s any consolation, at least we’re going to be miserable together.”
I tip my head in acknowledgment. They leave and I go to bed, tossing and turning. She’s not the reason, I keep telling myself. Pull yourself together.
I bolt upright in the middle of the night when my IT expert, Rowan, storms inside the room.
“Someone is trying to hack the system.”
I jump to my feet and rush to the basement. My team is here, typing in a frenzy of codes, but I have no fucking idea what they mean. Every level of the organization is set up in threes to minimize the risk of having a rat. Cato storms inside, followed by Cameron.
Cato gnashes his teeth. “Someone better start talking.”
“They shouldn’t have been able to get this far,” Rowan says and leans back, a sign he’s got everything under control. “Wait.” He points to his screen. “This can’t be.”
“Rowan,” Cato says in a low tone, losing patience.
