Page 76 of Reckless Promises

Fallon shrugs. “The lasagna is worth it even if I never leave the bathroom again.”

“If you want to risk it, let’s do it.”

She laughs, and I shake my head, glancing out the window. Fallon keeps talking—about wine, spaghetti, dogs, everything, and nothing. And it’s strangely comforting that she doesn’t wait for a response. That she doesn’t ever stop talking.

At least if she’s rambling, I can think about anything other than the thoughts rolling around in my head.

Ever since we got back from Bridgeport a couple of weeks ago, the tension in the house has been increasing. Cillian’s been working more and clearly stressed. Every time he walks out of a business meeting the wrinkle on his forehead is more prominent.

He got what he needed from Brandon Davenport, and now all he needs is confirmation of which shipment to target, and everything he’s planned will be set into motion.

I’m not looking forward to the fallout, but for Cillian’s sake, I hope it’s soon. I’m afraid his exhaustion is going to wear him out.

Either that—or the sex. Not that I’m complaining that he enjoys using me as his sole form of stress relief.

My heart hammers just thinking about what he does to me in bed. It’s like he’s on a mission to see how many orgasms he can get out of me in a row.

“Here.” Fallon claps when the car rolls to a stop. She pops the door open, glaring at Daniel when he grabs it and opens it wider. “I told you I’m capable of doing it myself.”

Daniel doesn’t say anything to her as she walks past him, but he smirks and shakes his head.

“Mrs. Cross.” Daniel nods at me when I climb out.

“Thanks, Daniel.”

The majority of my conversations with him are less than five words, even as I’ve spent more and more time around him.

Daniel might be Cillian’s personal head of security, but when I leave the house, he always sends Daniel with me. Cillian might be loosening up, but when it comes to my security, he doesn’t waver. If he’s not around, Daniel is.

Cillian trusts him, and so do I. Even if he is quiet.

Besides, I don’t mind the silence. In the same way Fallon’s constant chatter is comforting, Daniel’s presence is calming.

“My brother is paying, yes?” Fallon glances over her shoulder at me.

“He said Daniel will take care of it and not to worry.”

“I’m going to take that aswe have no spending limit.”

“Probably.” I laugh.

Two women walk up to us the moment we enter the store, and Fallon dives into everything she’s looking for. Purses, dresses, and shoes.

My father had money, so my sister and I never wanted for anything, but we weren’t allowed to do our own shopping. We weren’t allowed to leave the house unless it was for school or an emergency. So this is foreign to me.

Roaming through the store, I graze my fingers over the dresses. The fabrics are soft as butter, smooth. The silk shines under the store lights, and the gems sparkle. Maybe Cillian was right when he said I needed a change of scenery and a break from the house to take my mind off what’s on the horizon.

Reaching into my purse, I pull out the phone Cillian gave me this morning. His name is the only one programmed into it since I never really had friends. And when I asked him if I could add my sister’s last known number, he said he didn’t want to risk my father gaining access and using it to contact me before he had a chance to set his plan in motion.

I expected that to be the end of it.

But then he pulled out his own phone and let me send a text to my sister from there. She didn’t respond, but it broke down another barrier between me and my husband.

My thumb hovers over Cillian’s number, and I’m about to press it when I remember he’s in meetings all day.

So I switch to texting him instead.

Odette: I’m spending all your money.

---