composure she wore as

. "You think you can coerce me into

for you, d

took a sip of her wine,

if it means protecting Birdie. The Rick

movements in her lap. "And wha

s for her. In this lighting, the soft glow on her coppery skin painted an image of a Greek goddess close enough to touch but too far removed from rea

ed sexuality. Femininity. Sharp cheekbones and boldly arched brows highlighted the beauty of her face, but the real Achilles

learned to use. If I were a sexually motivated man, I might have co

to be my wif

She was amused by the idea, and

on from my hand with a napkin. "Here is my

it in front of her. Dark chestnut hair fell around her shoulders as she lea

ow what I do. Who I am. Surely even an asshole like y

e men you've fooled," I assured her. "You won't make my life h

"Because you aren't looking for a

lfill your end of the bargain for as long as I want, and then I will set you free. If

ection and shook her head in disgust

my suit jacket. "

from the flames of her th

o hours, and then th

as I did on the way home. Gunning it through the streets of Vegas had always been too risky, an

I scrambled up the stairs to our door. There was no need to unlock it because it was already

frail voice called

r eyes were red, her cheeks stained with mascara, and it had the immediate effect of triggering every protect

I moved closer but froze

f rage. There was an incendiary device lying in wait for the right trigger, and it didn't explode often, but when it did, it leveled everything in her path. Even that was p

r body, rocking back and forth. "I'm so sorr

e okay. But right now, I just need you to go pack. Only

ructions lodged in my throat when the telltale sound of

anywhere, and n

ome up with a plan. But apart from kicking this dude in the nuts a

for Mr. Wes

t's," he answered. "I don't

mud. "Whatever he's payi

zed out of his thr

hat do y

. It's been laid out already. If you nee

ay?" I asked. "So we can discu

tedly some type of mercenary if my wild imagination had anything to say about it. I wasn't in the

jeans, and a leather biker vest. Not exactly who I would expect Lucian to run

smile. "Which I'm sure you know alr

ll me Ace,"

on," I ventured. "Mr. West helped you out som

iled. "Lucian was right a

n my mouth, but I tried not t

lashes at any man who comes you

st a simpl

ped me out in a way that nobody else ever would, and I owe him my

oyalty to Lucian was unwavering, and

scure his vision. I didn't want him to witness my sister c

"You and your sister here are fucked six ways

irdie s

the sofa and trying to push through

own, B

. It was my fault. Tell Mr. Wes

ok his head. "That's not the

e. "You know I wouldn't let yo

eyes on me. "I'm not a kid, okay? I screwed up, and I should be the one to

completely gone to shit now. How could you do this to me? After everythin

d she looked at the floor. "I

managed to get by with the idea that I'd done the best I could with what I'd been given, but that wasn't

I could handle this. I would fix it. I always did

sorry, B. I should have done bet

ur fault," s

her face as Ace walked to the fridge and grabbed

" he mu

ed on the couch, kicking his dirty boots

n the television. "Making myself at ho

. "You think you're staying h

my frustration. "It's either that or I take her

in his direction.

settled back into the sofa and got

n, how could I be sure of anything? I turned to Birdie, who w

o be okay," I

she whi

ced the words out with

f something.