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“It’s not,” he growls. “Not even a little bit. It’s the truth. We are a couple. You’re mine.”
I swallow. “I’myours?Like… your girlfriend?”
I probably sound so immature to him. This is the worst time for us to have a conversation like this, when his son’s, my ex’s, life is on the line. Maybe something about this room makes us forget what we’re supposed to focus on. This is where we first got steamy, after all.
“You’re mine,” he says firmly. “Never forget that.”
I get the sense he doesn’t want to speak anymore. It’s the way he rests his cheek against the top of my head. I want to ask him exactly what he means byhis, but it’s enough to sit here with him in the calm before the storm.
I know one thing for sure. I don’t want revenge anymore. I just want my man to be okay.
CHAPTERTWENTY
Duke
“Nice to meet you,” Ethan says, shaking Molly’s hand.
It says some messed up things about me that, even now, with my son’s life at risk, I hate the sight of Molly touching another man. I’m going to have to get used to that. But if anybody ever oversteps the line, I’ll ruthlessly tear them to pieces. She asked if she was my girlfriend. I told her she wasmine, and I meant it. She belongs to me. I would’ve gone further, but what if Ryan doesn’t make it? Can I live with that on my conscience?
We’re in the living room. Ethan is wearing a leather jacket, his bald head showing a zigzagging scar from a home invasion call from his time on patrol. He stands behind the chair, squeezing it, letting out a tired sigh. His eyes flit to Molly, then to me. It’s like he’s asking if he can speak freely in front of her. I nod.
“So, it turns out the man you fucked up was the son of the head honcho, some little toe rag called Jackson.”
“I pieced him up because he was holding a gun to my woman,” I snarl.
Ethan flinches. Molly lets out a gasp. I know I should try to rein in this part of myself until my son’s safe, but if it weren’t for that brick in the window, I would’ve taken Molly’s virginity right there, in the gym. I would’ve told her exactly what she means to me. I would’ve explained that I own her and always will.
“They don’t see that as a good excuse,” Ethan says once he’s over the obvious shock. “They actually want to talk.”
“Good. I’m ready.”
Ethan runs a hand over his head as though tracing the scar. He does it often during training, especially in between sparring rounds. It’s like he’s reminding himself how bad things can go and how quickly. “I’m risking my ass by being here. If the brass finds out I didn’t report this…”
“If you report it, will these wannabe gangsters find out?”
Ethan swallows. “Yeah, most likely.”
“Then what will they do to Ryan?”
“You’d probably never see him again.”
“Then let me talk with the bastards,” I snap.
“Goddamn corruption,” Ethan goes on. “It was worse when I started, but it’s still bad. The worst part is if I said anything about it, they’d find a way to get rid of me. Right now, I’m on the borderline. People talk way too freely around me. They’ve gotten way too comfortable.”
I let him vent, then ask, “How do I speak with them, then? I’m supposed to meet them in…” I glance at the clock. “Seven hours. Apparently, they have a surprise.”
Ethan reaches into his leather jacket, takes out the note, and slides it across the coffee table. I snatch it up and immediately take out my cell phone.
“No,” Ethan says, reaching into his pocket again. “Use this one. It’s a burner. There won’t be a record of you talking with them.”
“Why does that matter?” I ask.
“If you end up seriously hurting one of them to get Ryan back, the fewer links between you, the better.”
I take the burner cell. Molly is biting her lip, twirling a piece of hair around her finger over and over. I can’t believe I ever went even an hour without seeing her. With her taste still on my lips, with her so close, I can’t imagine being apart. A sick part of me wonders if the hair twirling is because she’s worried about Ryan.
That wouldn’t be a bad thing, would it? But what if all of this is still about revenge? What if she really cares about Ryan, and I’m just a way to get to him?
