Page 50 of Shadow

She giggled. “I’m sorry. It gets better tonight, though. The evening events are where all the flashy things happen. There will be bar trick competitions, cocktail hours, and a lot of fun things. I think we’re going to hit up the pool party.”

He frowned and picked up her hand. “Just don’t drink too much.”

She rolled her eyes. “Lighten up, Ripley. I can’t handle it when you see danger in everything. I’m a thirty-five-year-old woman and the last time I drank too much I was in college.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Really? That’s not what I heard. Three years ago, you went out with Darci and Carrie and Elise. You got so drunk Samuel Carter had to see you home.”

Her mouth dropped open. “How the hell did you hear about that?”

He smirked. “Samuel and I have worked together on a dozen or more missions. He owns the plane we flew on to get here. The night you all went out, Gage told him to tell on you the next time he saw me.”

“Fuckin’ Gage,” Olivia said, shaking her head. “That was right after I told you not to call me again if you weren’t home for good. I was having a rough night. So, sue me. Carter’s a good babysitter, by the way.”

“He’s one of the best men I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting. I would trust him with your life.”

It wasn’t enough that he’d trusted the man with his own life frequently. There were only a handful of men he would trust to protect Olivia if it ever came to that. And Samuel was one of them. Gage and Peter were the other two.

“The point is, Ripley, I’m a big girl. Even if you want to treat me like your baby girl and take care of me and protect me, you have to let me handle myself sometimes. I know that right now things are complicated because of the fire and the sabotage at my house, but we’re going to figure that out at some point, and I need to know that you’ll back off the over-protectiveness.”

He sighed. She was right. No matter how much of a Daddy he felt like to Olivia, she was indeed a grown-ass woman who needed the freedom to live her life.

“I’ll do my best, Liv. But if you ever knowingly put yourself in danger, you will not like the punishment one bit. I won’t tolerate you endangering what’s mine.”

She picked up his hand and squeezed. “I hear you loud and clear, Sir.”

“Daddy,” he corrected.

“Daddy. I hear you. I promise.”

“That’s a good girl. Now, tell me more about this evening’s activities. There’s a pool party?”

She nodded and grinned. “There sure is. Maybe you can strip down to some swim trunks, and I can make everyone jealous that you’re all mine.”

He chuckled. “Then where am I supposed to keep my gun?”

Her mouth dropped open. “You’re fucking carrying a gun?”

He glared. “Watch your tone. I’ll happily send you to the pool in your bikini with a bright red ass.”

She blinked and shook her head. “Sorry. I’m just surprised. Are you always carrying?”

He nodded. “Most of the time. Don’t act so surprised. Why don’t you carry?”

She shuddered. “I hate guns. It freaks me out to know you’re packing heat, Ripley.”

He picked up her hand and squeezed. “Sorry, Liv. That’s just something you’re going to have to learn how to deal with. Hopefully, we’ll never need it, but you’re going to want me to be armed if we ever get into a tough spot.”

She grimaced but nodded. “I guess you’re right. Sorry for freaking out. How are we supposed to make out in the pool if you’re not going to strip down for me?”

He laughed. “Relax, Liv. I’m not actually bringing a gun to the pool. I was only teasing. If you want to objectify my body, I won’t say no to that.”

What she didn’t know was that in addition to him bringing a weapon to Vegas, he had hired a local security firm to shadow them, and they were most definitely armed.

Olivia flashed him a wicked smile and changed the subject. “Tell me more about sending me to the pool with a red ass.”

Before Ripley could respond, her phone rang. “Hang on, this is the bar.”

She held the phone to her ear. “This is Olivia.”

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