Page 106 of With This Kiss
“We should get out of here. It’s not convenient,” Reign said to his dad. He turned his head back, his eyes meeting mine for a quick second before he turned and looked at Eric.
“It’s nice to see you again, Captain Murphy. You should know that the Bratva has a very long and unforgiving memory. I hope this little bubble of protection you thought you found with the Italians is durable enough to keep you safe.”
Eric’s face paled even more, but he kept up the appearance of being fearless. He tilted his chin and looked at Reign. I supposed he thought it looked intimidating, but Reign had at least a good half foot on him and was as wide as Eric was tall. The intimidating look didn’t work too well for him.
“Is that a threat, boy?”
Boy?
He couldn’t be much older than Reign’s twenty-five years.
“No, Murphy. It’s a simple observation. Even a toddler could see that.”
Eric muttered something unintelligible, his face taking on a deep hue of red.
Reign led his dad and his bodyguards away, leaving me standing there with Dad and Murphy and not knowing what to say or do. I resisted the urge to call him back to me, knowing it was better to keep up the appearance that we didn’t know each other.
But it was so fucking hard. I suddenly felt too vulnerable, and I didn’t know why. I didn’t like it.
Just before he disappeared from view, he turned his head back and looked at me, a mix between worry and anger raging in his deep blue eyes. I shifted on my feet and stared back at them.
“I’m… I’m going to go,” I said. “I’m meeting some friends nearby.”
Dad nodded without looking at me. I let out a small sigh of relief and was about to walk away when Eric stopped me. He grabbed my hand without warning, holding it between us. I tried to pull away, but his grip was strong. I looked over at Dad, expecting him to say something, especially since he had alwaysbeen a little protective of me, especially when it came to his men touching me, but he said nothing.
“It’s really nice to meet you, Jamie,” Eric said. “We’ll meet again soon.”
I didn’t respond to him. I yanked hard on my hand and finally managed to escape.
He smiled at me, his bravery returning to him now that the Bratva, that Reign, wasn’t around.
I shot him a hard look before walking away. I could feel their gazes on me, making my back feel warm.
The entire thing made me feel uneasy.
What was Dad really doing with the police captain, who had been in bed with the Bratva ever since they managed to get him promoted to his captain position? And what were the rumors Ilya was referring to when he saw me with them?
I didn’t know.
The only thing I knew was that this entire plan had been a mistake. And now, I needed to go face Reign’s wrath.
Stepping outside, I started to make the long walk to the bus stop.
I could have stopped and hailed a taxi, but that suddenly felt like too much effort.
As I stood at the edge of the sidewalk, waiting for my bus to come, a familiar black car pulled up to the curb.
He didn’t roll down the window, nor did he honk at me.
He kept the car idling there, waiting for me to decide. I had a feeling that if I didn’t make therightdecision soon, he would take that choice away from me and force me into the car himself.
I let out a small sigh and walked over, opened the passenger side door, and climbed inside.
His face was stony, his features sharp and harsh all at once.
“Reign—”
“Shut up, Jamie.”
