Page 19 of Kingpin

A brick. Against my fucking bulletproof glass windows.

And it had a note attached to it.

I looked around one more time before picking up the brick. I walked back inside with it and locked the glass balcony door behind me. I untied the bow and slid the note away from the brick. Then, I placed the brick on the side table next to the couch.

“What do we have here?” I murmured.

You’ll pay for what you’ve done. Mark my words.

I rolled my eyes at the pathetic note before I shoved it into my pocket. I rested my shotgun against the back of the couch before I walked over to the cardboard box. Ready to see what was inside the damn thing, I scooped it up and walked it into the kitchen.

However, when I opened it up, my jaw clenched with fury.

“Oh, hell no,” I growled.

I flipped through the pictures of Brianna out and about. Walking in and out of lingerie shops and clothing shops with mounting bags in her hands. I saw her getting in and out of a taxi right at the foot of my place. The outfit she had on in the pictures told me they were taken that day. The last one had a circle around her face with a redXdrawn through it.

As I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, I dialed everyone I could think of to ensure her safety.

I had completely forgotten she was in the closet waiting for me to return.

9

Israel

“Do you have to work tonight?”

Brianna’s voice sounded from the doorway of the kitchen, pulling me from my trance.

“If you’re asking if I have anywhere to be, the answer is no.”

I heard her heels click across the floor. “Well, why don’t we go out for dinner then?”

“You want to go out for dinner?”

She sat across from me at the table. “I mean, you don’t like my cooking. Otherwise, I’d cook for us.”

“Who said I didn’t like your cooking?”

“The fact that you don’t eat it.”

My eyes lifted to hers. “You cook at inconvenient times.”

She grinned. “You mean regular people meal times?”

“Are we really regular people, though?”

“That depends. Do you want to go out for a romantic dinner with me this evening? Because that’s something normal married people do.” She shrugged.

I sat up. “Suppose I consent. What would this dinner be utilized for?”

“Does it have to serve a purpose other than getting to know one another better?”

“In that case, all we have to do is take our clothes off to get to know one another better.”

I watched her cheeks flush, but there was something else about her. Something that was different. The flush of her cheeks trickled down her neck, and I could see it better. I narrowed my eyes as I stood. I walked over to her side of the table and offered her my hand. I helped her stand, pulling her against my body as I took a closer look at her face.

In her eyes.

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