Page 87 of Graves

“Because you are the dumbass that landed yourself in there in the first place,” Dominic scoffs.

“I was protecting her! She could have died. She could have been raped! Worse! I protected her, and I would do so again in a heartbeat. You’re the disappointment, you’re the letdown. So fix this, get him off our back once and for all, or I’m running. I won’t do this much longer. If you don’t fix this, I’m going off the grid, and I’m taking her with me,” I say as I shoulder-check him, walking toward the door to grab my things.

Dominic catches my arm, whirling me around to face him before shoving me against the wall. He holds his forearm against my throat as he lowers his face to mine.

“If you so much as leave the county with her and don’t notify me, you will regret it, I promise.”

“Fix. This. Now,” I snarl, not at all bothered by my brother’s empty threats. He doesn’t scare me. The moment he stopped completing jobs was the day we stopped being equals. He knows it, and so do I.

Without another word, I shove him away from me and head out the door. I storm into my bedroom, shoving some clothes inside a suitcase, before grabbing my keys and wallet. I need to head back to the warehouse to grab my equipment and call in a flight.

I have such a one-track mind, I almost miss her. Lookingto my left, I pause in the kitchen when I see my angel staring at me with a small, hopeful face. She’s holding a plate out to me with some eggs and a burned-looking thing that appears to have been a pancake in another life.

“I, uh, I’m not a very good cook, but you guys always make me food, and I just thought I could make it for you this time,” she says, her weight shifting from foot to foot like she’s nervous.

I’ve never found anything more adorable in my whole goddamn life. I drop my bag to the floor and cross the distance between us, taking the plate from her, setting it on the island, and cupping her face as I press my lips to hers. She leans into my touch, her tongue darting out first. She tastes like fresh mint, and I chase the flavor as my grip on her tightens.

It’s not enough that I’m doing jobs for free, especially ones I don’t agree with. The fact that I’m constantly being taken away from her is too much. I can’t think without her, can hardly fucking breathe. I need her by me at all times, and Maxim is ruining everything. I can’t do this much longer. I can’t be without her.

Pulling away, I bury my face in her neck, inhaling her sweet scent as I murmur against her skin, “I have to go.”

“Oh, where are you going?” she asks.

“Away, for a job.”

“Oh,” she says, a twinge of sadness in her words that pangs my heart.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay?”

She nods softly, and I press a kiss to her neck before pulling back to look at her. Her eyes are sad, and it fucking guts me.I watch as she pulls away, taking the plate of questionable-looking food as she heads toward the trash.

“Hey,” I say as I catch her elbow before she can dump the contents. “I have time for breakfast before I leave.”

“Really?” she asks, her face brightening a bit.

I smile at that, nodding as I take the plate from her and pull her with me to the table. I set her on my lap, wrapping my arms around her as I eat the barely digestible food. I grin through the whole damn thing like it’s a five-star meal, though, because the smile it puts on her face is worth everything.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

DOMINIC

With Zayden gone and Maxim satisfied, I decide to take Blake to work with me. She needs to get out of the apartment more, and I need to be spending more time at work. For several reasons. I’ve almost dug up all the men she listed, everyone except Slinky. Once I have their habits and routines finalized, I’ll send it all to Zayden, and he will take care of the rest. Then again, a larger part of me wants to participate for the first time in a long time. This isn’t a job. These aren’t meaningless kills. These are necessary and essential, and theyall deserve to fucking burn.

Blake is helping Jarod sift through some data reports. I told her she didn’t need to help, but she insisted she wanted to. Jarod’s ears instantly turned pink when she smiled at him and took up the desk beside his. His eyes were practically glued to her while my own narrowed on him, and when he noticed, he quickly dropped his gaze and focused on his work. I’m not threatened by him in the least. Doesn’t mean I appreciate him staring at my woman.

My eyes come to her, and I feel my body soften. God, I never thought I’d fall in love, ever. Look at Zayden and my childhood, we didn’t necessarily have great examples or a solid start, but here I am, so fucking gone for the woman in front of me. The way I worry about her constantly is maddening. I’m not sure if this is how love always is, or if we just have a unique situation that forces me to feel this way. It goes past her safety, though. I worry that she’s happy, I worry if she doesn’t laugh enough. With one look into her eyes, my entire world flipped on its lid, and suddenly all I could eat, sleep, or breathe was her.

She looks up at me, obviously feeling my eyes on her, and I give her a quick wink that sends heat rushing to her cheeks before she winks back at me. I chuckle in my seat before focusing back on the screen, determined to track down Slinky and exhaust all avenues possible to get Maxim out of our lives. Killing him may be what it comes down to, but if we were even going to attempt that, we would need to buy off the handful of personal guards he never goes anywhere without, at the minimum.

I’ve already reached out to a contact that is in touch withthe Mariano Family. It would make things easy to just have the mob take him out for us, no guilt or blood on our hands to be found, but my contact said not to hold my breath. So, I’m working on alternative plans.

“Babygirl, can you come here?” I call out through the open door.

Blake smiles and nods before getting up. I watch Jarrod carefully as she does, checking to see if he will sneak a peek at her ass. Lucky for him, he doesn’t. Good, I wouldn’t want to have to kill my protégé.

“Close the door,” I say as she steps through the doorway.

She raises a mischievous eyebrow before sauntering toward me. Her long legs eat up the distance between us before she perches herself on top of my desk in front of me. I lean back in my chair to allow her room before scooting closer to her.

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