Page 105 of The Vigilant

“I’m going to follow up with my contacts to see if anyone can confirm that Mara is in that apartment building.”

“I’ll check in with Talon over at Armorous,” I added, drawing looks from both of them. “We’re talking about going after two of the top players in the local Triad. Not a smart idea to do that without some kind of backup or plan for the fallout.”

Rob nodded. “We can meet back here in the morning to review the final strategy and then prep for tomorrow night.”

Rob and Creed started to talk among themselves, but Sutton remained quiet. She didn’t even nod. I had to talk to her—to apologize. If all this came to an end tomorrow, I couldn’t let it end like this.

I had to take the sword pulled from my chest and lay it at her feet. Even if it changed nothing between us, she had to know that how I felt about her wouldn’t change.

“Sutton.” I went to her, my voice hoarse.

Her gaze flickered with an expression I recognized—one that gave me hope. The same one she wore when she handed me her vulnerability and begged me to take care of her. But just as quickly as my hope inflated, she pierced it by saying, “I need to talk to Rob. Alone.”

My jaw locked, but I didn’t protest.

I would’ve waited in the hallway, but Creed pulled me into a conversation, taking me with him into the garage to run through his initial plan for the rescue mission. By the time he was finished and I went back to the office, the door was open, but only Rob remained inside, texting on her phone.

“Where’s Sutton?”

She looked up. “Back at her—your cabin.”

“What did she want to talk to you about?”

All it took was one look to give me the answer:to be involved.

“Dammit.” My chest exploded with anger. “You know that’s impossible. How fucking dangerous—” I broke off, unable to even verbalize the thought.

What was she thinking?

These were the same people who’d sentassassinsafter her. They knew who she was. What she looked like. The second she was involved, she not only risked us getting to Mara, but her own safety in the process.

“I can’t stop her, Tynan,” Rob cautioned.

“Well, I will,” I replied and left the room, heading straight for the elevator.

I would stop her. I would stop this reckless risk she insisted on taking because she was mine, even when she wasn’t. Even if it meant she hated me for the rest of her life, as long as I gave her a life to do it, it would be worth the price of her hatred. And of breaking my own heart.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Sutton

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” The door banging against the wall punctuated his angry question.

I turned my head slowly. I didn’t need the pounding footsteps, nor the thud of the door, nor his deadly tone to warn me of his presence. The hot, sparking fuse that chewed its way down my spine was more than enough warning of the ache about to blow through me.

I still wanted him. No, not wanted. Hungered—starved. I was starved for him. For his touch. For the sound of his voice. For the heat of his nearness. For the comfort of his control. And I hated him for it. I hated him for making me want him so viciously, only to confess that he felt responsible for my father’s death—a responsibility that carried over to me.

So, I ignored him. Avoided him. Spent my days in the gym or cleaning bikes in the garage like Mr. Miyagi was my spirit animal. Spent my night listing out all the reasons I shouldn’t—didn’t care.

But apparently, I didn’t hate him enough to stop wanting him. I didn’t hate him enough to move to a different cabin or not think of him when I climbed into his bed each night. No matter how hard I tried to convince myself that the only person I could trust to care about me was myself, every time I put my fingers between my thighs, my touch fell flat. There was no heat. No buzz.No him.

Even when I imagined him. His hands on me. His mouth between my thighs. The promise of release he’d spelled out with his tongue—there was nothing but ache for the real thing.

Which was why Creed’s information on Mara’s whereabouts couldn’t be more welcome. The sooner we found her and she was safe, the sooner I could leave here and pretend like Tynan Bates had been nothing more than that white knight for a six-year-old princess.

My nails bit into the skin of my palm as I turned slowly to face him. My chest squeezed. This was why I avoided him. The steady heat of his eyes, the firm set of his mouth—it made me want to let go of everything and run to him. To claim each and every promise he’d made.To choose to be his.

But to fall for someone who made those promises out of guilt…

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