Page 33 of His For The Keeping

Shane shook his head at the sight of his retreating wife. She was feisty and beautiful as fuck in that white dress. Her bare back was giving him thoughts he shouldn’t be having right now.

She was his—all his—and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. The thought made his cock ache and stand even taller in his pants. He felt guilty for a second. Who had time for lust when his focus should be on revenge? On finding the bastards who killed his family and getting rid of them? He needed to sink his fist into their flesh and bring them pain, punish them for what they’d done. A quick death would be too good for this kind of evil.

Instead of focusing on that, all he could think about was how she’d writhed under him in bed last night.

His new bride was talking to Mak. A match made in heaven those two were, and if he wasn’t careful, they would be trouble. Frankie was smiling, an authentic smile, the first he had seen in days. It lit up her entire face.

Then and there, Shane decided he would do everything in his power to get that smile back on her face as often as possible.Unfortunately, what he was about to say would likely make it disappear. He had caught up with the police chief on the new, untraceable phones Mak had brought them. Mak, using her resources as an active-duty Army Intel officer, put together a package.

Using the new burner phone, he had called Chief O’Malley. O’Malley had reached out to the press to request they add Shane and Frankie’s names to the list of casualties they were publishing. Unfortunately, the request had been made too late. A retraction would have brought more attention to the situation, so he had decided to leave it alone.

For a space of a heartbeat, Shane thought maybe killing off who they had would have been enough for the unknown enemy, that knowing Shane was in the military and Frankie was the youngest daughter would be enough for whoever had done this, and they would walk away from wanting to do more harm. It wouldn’t keep Shane from tracking them down and destroying them, but he’d rather be on the offensive than the defensive, especially when it came to protecting Frankie.

That hadn’t been the case. The bastards hadn’t gone underground, satisfied with burning two empires down. They ransacked Frankie’s home before setting it on fire. Security cameras had shown them searching for something, turning over every nook and cranny. They didn’t find whatever it was they were looking for, only taking a photo of Frankie off the wall. Wearing masks and gloves during the crime, they had left no forensic evidence behind.

After speaking to O’Malley, Shane called his first cousin, Ronan, to check in. Ronan and some of his crew had flown in from New York when they heard the news of the massacre and set up shop in Shane’s father’s house. He and his men were at the ready to go to war for what had happened to their kin. Some of Shane’s father’s men, who had not been present at The Barn, hadalso been on alert for anything out of the ordinary. There had been no movement on their side.

All clues pointed to the attack being aimed at the Lombardos, putting Frankie in even more danger than previously believed.

Shane hadn’t had the opportunity to tell her about her house yet. The wedding occurred right after the phone call, and he hadn’t been alone with her long enough for that conversation. He planned to tell her once they got to Colorado. Speaking of Colorado, it was time to tell her about that part of the trip. He looked at Brad and nodded.

“I spoke with Phantom today,” Shane said during a lull in the brunch conversation.

“Oh? How is that old bastard doing?” Brad asked.

“Old? He’s like five years older than you,” Mak poked Brad in the ribs.

“True, but five years, especially in the military, can age you,” Brad teased.

“He’s doing good. He set up a community in Colorado.”

“I heard something about that. What’s it called again?” Brad played along for the girls’ benefit.

“Valhalla, a several thousand-acres ranch, where he’s setting up a retreat for wounded warriors and a community for recently separated veterans. Pretty cool, like a small town on the outskirts of town.”

“It’s awesome he found his calling,” Mak said. “I love Colorado.”

“I love Colorado, too,” Brad said. “We’ll have to arrange a visit soon.”

“Speaking of visits, after lunch, Frankie and I will leave to visit Phantom.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Frankie dropped her fork on the table. “Colorado? Yeah… no.”

He looked heavenward. Lord, help me with this one.

“It isn’t ideal, but I need you to be safe. Valhalla is about as safe a place as I can think of for you.”

“For me?”

“Yes. I spoke with Phantom earlier, and my Master Chief suggested the option. You’ll stay with him in the main house on the ranch since his home is still being built, and the main house has multiple suites. You’ll be safe there while a team and I find the bastards who killed our family. Then—”

Before he could continue, she interrupted him.

“You married me to push me off on someone else and abandon me?”

“Frankie, I don’t think that’s what he meant,” Mak said, trying to help.

“I don’t need a babysitter.”

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