Page 15 of The Warrior's Salvation

Ronan’s tone turns colder, but he's always so collected. “What else did he say?”

“He threatened more violence. Not just the pickets—something bigger. I don’t know what he means yet, but I get the feeling he means the offices.”

"I'm not surprised." Ro's voice is almost a growl now. He knows as well as I do that if Cormac wants to, he can drop a nuke in our supply chain simply by taking out this office. The little pushes at our boundary line are meant as an intimidation tactic. He wants the O'Rourkes out of play on the docks and he wants his own supply line to take precedence. If he moves on the office, it means war.

"I'll talk to Draco. You just make sure you keep things running. And for Christ's sake, make sure his daughter is safe. Damn fool should never have let her work for him." I picture Ronan's angry expression as he thinks of his own child and I know how he feels.

"I'm on it, Ro." I hang up the phone, but my mind goes to the odd way Evie is acting. I'm not just watching over this office anymore. My job is now to protect this place from Cormac's attacks and keep these innocent workers as naive to Draco's real business as possible while protecting their lives as well.

Starting with his daughter.

11

EVIE

Idon’t want to get in Lochlan’s car. I’m perfectly capable of driving myself home, but here I am, standing by the passenger door with my arms crossed, glaring at him.

“I’m fine,” I snap, my voice tight. “I can drive myself.”

Lochlan doesn’t flinch. He doesn’t even look upset—just that determined look in his eyes. “No. I’m not letting you drive. Not today.”

My blood boils at how easily he dismisses me. “You’re being ridiculous.”

He shrugs, unfazed. “I’m not taking any chances. Get in the car.”

I roll my eyes but do what he says. There’s no point arguing with the way things are. I feel exposed, out of control. I can’t explain why, but this is how it is. The threat feels real, and part of me wants to feel safe, even if it means being pissed off at Lochlan.

The car engine roars to life, and we sit in silence for a few moments. The day presses down on me—everything’s happened so fast, so much to process. I’m still trying to wrap my head around what happened earlier. The video, the threats, my father… I don’t know what I’m dealing with, but I know I can’t back away. Not now.

Lochlan glances at me as he pulls into traffic, his jaw tight. “You okay? You were acting weird this morning.”

I stiffen, caught off guard. “I’m fine. Just… tired,” I lie, keeping my voice steady.

His gaze sharpens, but he doesn’t say anything else. The tension in the car thickens, and I feel like I’m suffocating. I want to tell him the truth, but I can’t. If he finds out about the threats against my father, he’ll pull me out of the office, and I can’t let that happen. I need to find out how deep my father’s ties go.

He lied to me the other day, told me what I wanted to hear. But my father is tied up in this thing somehow, even if it's Lochlan and his family who put him in the middle of the situation. That video only proves it, and now I'm stuck in a situation I didn’t ask for, having to protect my own father from something he won't ever see coming. I have to dig in deeper and find out how far it goes to see if there is a way I can save him.

"Well, you can tell me if you want. I'm not going to freak out or think you're weak." He steals glances at me as he drives, and my eyes track over to him curiously. Why would he say something like that unless he already knows what's happening? But if he knew what was happening he'd have stopped it by now, stepped in and nailed Darren Connelly to the wall.

"I'm fine," I say, letting my tone soften. It's not Lochlan's fault this is happening, and I have to be honest with myself. I feel safer with him in his car than being cut off by that creepy man. Maybe if he sees that Lochlan is with me every second of the day, he'll get the point. He has to know who Lochlan O'Rourke is.

"It's because we had sex?" He's so blunt, stopping at a red light and staring at me. His eyes bore into my skin, making me nervous and a bit flustered. With everything that happened at work, sex was the last thing I had on my mind. But now that he's brought it up, I find myself feeling warmer, kind of aroused.

I swallow away the tension of being forced to do something I wasn't pleased with and let his question sink in. When he left my apartment last week, he said I needed to bring my A-game next time. He obviously knows what he wants, but I don't, so it makes me curious to hear his thoughts. I muster a bit of boldness and say, "Yes, the sex…" It's a lame excuse, but he buys it and smirks at me, which embarrasses me a little.

"What did you mean by bringing my A-game?" This time, it's my turn to stare at him as he pulls away from the intersection and turns toward my father’s house.

"I mean, you went from a prowling vixen in your da's living room to a puppy on a leash. If you want to please me, you'll have to be a bit wild. I like the feisty ones. Why do you think I followed you back to your suite?" A smirk plays at his lips. I get the feeling he's asking for something, and if he wants the vixen, then I have to pull her out and pretend I know what I’m doing.

My core tightens. I'm sure my body is making loads of moisture as I angle my shoulders toward him. He's focused on driving, and I feel like the mood in this car just shifted. So he's being a bit overprotective by driving me around. At least I can have some fun with it. So I unhook my safety belt and lean over him, rubbing his groin. Surprisingly, I find a slight bulge that hardens under my touch.

"A vixen?" I purr, conjuring images of a woman clad in black leather with a whip and a man tied to a bed. I'm sure it's not what he's meaning, but it's all I can think. "You want to be dominated?" I whisper in his ear, and he chuckles.

"I want you to fight me a little. Make it interesting."

Lochlan speaks so confidently, I'm not sure what to think. "Fight you?" I ask, finding that my hand has stopped massaging his swelling dick as he pulls into the driveway and rounds the house to park by my apartment.

"Yeah," he says as he slides the car in park. He grabs my wrist and tightens his grip hard around it, then presses a kiss to the inside of my palm. "Fight me."

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