Page 50 of Brutal Collateral

I consider what my wife will handle when I marry her considering she should have been a SEAL. She’ll be kicking my ass on a nightly basis. And fuck, why is my cock thickening again?

“Brandon Keller,” I answer Trace, waiting for his response.

He sucks in a breath. “You found a way past all those guards outside that building?”

“You can say that,” Connor says, pulling on his tie.

“Wait. Brandon is tied up in your trunk?” Trace cocks his head to the side. “Who else—”

“Brandon isn’t tied up,” I whisper in his ear. “He’sdead.”

The color drains from Trace’s face because that wasn’t part of the plan. “You killed him?”

“No,” I scoff, still in shock over what I fucking witnessed. “Ava killed him.”

“She was there?” Trace questions with a high-pitched lilt.

“Oh yeah.” I stroke my aching jaw.

“She gave him those bruises, that hellcat.” Connor splits his face with a grin.

“Where is Ava?” Trace asks and then glances at his wife. “That’s who he’s supposed to marry.”

Shea gags on her champagne.

“She’s also in the trunk,” I say, tapping my swollen lip. “Tied up and screaming her pretty head off.”

“What? Why?” Shea asks, sounding mad because these fucking hellcats stick together.

“I’ll be right back.” Trace steers her away.

What a way to start a truce with the Greeks.

“Are we staying to eat?” Shane asks me.

“No. We have to get Ava some proper clothes and calm her the fuck down.” I draw in a breath.

I get she’s been through something horrible, but I showed up to rescue her. Instead, I got attacked and nearly knifed to death along with Brandon.

“We have to settle this with Ares, tonight,” I add.

“Can I make a suggestion?” Connor rocks on his heels. “There’s a priest a few feet away. And a chapel. Why not just...” He makes a swinging motion with his hands. “Bring her back already married.”

“Something tells me a legit priest won’t marry a tied-up woman screaming she doesn’t want to get married,” Shane grumbles his voice of reason.

“Do we know an illegitimate one?” Connor asks, shrugging.

If only that would solve all our problems.

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