I can’t believe he’s fucking back.
I could hate him purely upon association. My former bastard of a stepfather’s brother. The DA who helped the judge nail all those poor motherfuckers who rubbed the Giles family the wrong way.
If a contract on him ever goes up, I’ll take it in a heartbeat. I don’t care that he made sure my mom received the life insurance payout on Giles after I took him out. All I care about is that piece of shit stays far away from her. But I haven’t had to intervene there. Giles isn’t into middle-aged women. They’re far too old for him—at least, according to the rumors.
I looked for evidence. Called in a few favors. Nothing. The man covers his tracks too well. There’s not a shred of hard evidence that he’s ever done anything wrong in his entire piece-of-shit life.
But he’ll fuck up eventually.
I don’t like leaving Magnolia with him, but she’s fierce and doesn’t do a damn thing she doesn’t want to do anymore. Not with her best friend married to Mount. She lives under the extended shelter of his protection, just like Temperance does. Even Giles wouldn’t dare test Lachlan Mount’s authority.
As we approach the outer limits of town, I look down at the beanie between the seats. I hate to ask Temperance to put it on, especially now. But I know, for her own safety, she can’t know where we’re going.
She reads my mind and grabs it. “It’s okay, Kane. I just want to go home.”
Home.Hearing her refer to my place with that word soothes my ragged edges in a way I didn’t know I needed right now.
“Thank you.”
She pulls it on and squeezes my hand. “Don’t think this means I won’t argue with you about it next time, though.”
“I’ll count on it.”
30
Kane
Ijerk awake in a cold sweat, my hand shooting out to grab the gun on my nightstand before I’m even fully conscious of what I’m doing. I blink, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness and the warm body curled against my side.
It was just a dream.
But fuck, it wasn’t a good one.
I release the cold metal of the pistol grip and flex my hand before turning on my side to draw Temperance closer. I want to surround her with my strength. Keep her safe. Never let anything touch her.
She thinks she knows how fucked up the world can be, but she has no idea.
I close my eyes and breathe in the scent of her, mixed with mine, and wish I could have a million more nights just like this, except with no demons chasing either of us.
I know it’s a fantasy, but for the rest of tonight, I’ll let myself believe it.
31
Temperance
Coming back to the distillery after a day away feels even harder than it should. Probably because I have to deal with yet another event and all its details.
We can’t hire an event planner fast enough to suit me.
I should have been running through my checklist of last-minute items an hour ago, but I got distracted when Valentina responded to my email, asking how quickly I can deliver my new finished piece. Now all I want to do is get back to the warehouse, hop in the Tahoe, and drive to Noble Art as fast as I can.
“I swear, Keira planned her vacation for this week on purpose. She wasn’t thrilled about hosting this speed-dating event after Mount threatened to make anyone who hit on her disappear.”
Kane leans against the wall of windows facing the New Orleans skyline as I rush around the tables once more, adjusting the centerpieces. He tried to help, but men and table decorations don’t mix.
“I thought you hired him to deal with this nonsense,” Odile says as she steps through the entrance to our closed-off section for the event. It’s only the second time we’ve used our new modular wall that looks like shelves in a rackhouse, or at least close enough so that customers can feel like they’re getting an authentic experience.
She sets the tray of appetizers on the sideboard and shoots a sharp glance at Kane. “So, what’s he doing watching you fuss over it all?”