Page 75 of Stolen Hearts

Yeah, they knew exactly what the fuck they were doing when they tried to kill us.

This was planned.

And “we” weren’t the target.

Calliewas.

I knew that the second I saw the way the shots were clustered against the side of the couch I threw her behind. And it was confirmed later, when Kildare and Drakos forces, aided by some of Gavan’s men, did sweeps of everyone’s homes and near anywhere any of us might do regular business.

They only found one thing: a sniper rifle mount bolted to the roof of a building across the street from the Drakos estate, with an unobstructed view of Callie’s bedroom window.

Someone wants her dead.

Hours later, with the scene at the Kildare brownstone now roped off by NYPD officers loyal to our organization, Callie and I are stepping into a midtown luxury apartment belonging to Gavan’s half-brother Konstantin, co-leader with him of the Reznikov Bratva.

Konstantin and his wife Mara have just recently welcomed twin girls into the world at their main home in London. This is just apied a terrethey keep here in New York for when they visit. For the foreseeable future, it’s going to be where Callie and I hide out.

And Gavan’s assured us it’s a fucking impenetrablefortress.

He, Ares, Deimos, and Cillian are behind us as we walk into the admittedly stunning sky-high penthouse with views over Central Park and half of midtown.

“I know, it’s a lot of windows,” Gavan growls quietly. “But they’re military-grade bullet-proof. The door is steel-lined and punch-code locked, with reinforced framing and hinges. The perimeter walls are steel braided concrete, and there’s a fully-stocked armory in the walk-in closet in the bedroom. The code is eleven-six-eight-two. Oh, and the entire building management works for me.”

I arch a brow. Gavan shrugs.

“Just standard home security in the Bratva world.”

“I’m impressed.”

“What you are, my friend, issafehere. That I can promise you.”

“And obviously we’ll have our own men and Drakos men posted at the front doors, on the roof, and on every other floor,” Cillian mutters.

I nod, turning and watching Callie walk across the huge living room to the giant wall of windows. She’s put on some yoga pants and a hoodie after the chaos of the shooting, and I can see her reflection in the glass as she looks out—the way she grins as she takes in the magnificent view.

As if shewasn’tjust shot at with bullets big enough to cut her in half.

It’s not benign indifference to her brush with death. It’s not that she doesn’t get it, or hasn’t realized how close we both came to getting killed. It’s that she’s moved past it already and is choosing instead to drink in the beauty of the moment.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever realized before that that’s part of her personality.

“Look,” Ares sighs. “I know it’s not ideal, Castle.”

It’s not. Billionaire fortress it may be, Konstantin and Mara’s penthouse is a one-bedroom, one-bathroom deal. And Callie and I are going to be stuck in here together until the forces Ares, Gavan, and I have put together find this shooter.

No, that’s not “ideal” in the slightest.

Not when it’s clear from the events right before the shooting that I can’t be trusted alone with her.

At all.

Even after the chaos we’ve just experienced, and our brush with death, that’s almost the only thing I can think of. The sweetness of her submission. Her breathy moans and her sock-covered feet curling against the floor as she whimpered for me.

And the pinkest, sweetest, wettest pussy in the fucking world, clenching around my fingers as she fucking came for me.

I clear my throat and my head, frowning as I turn to Cillian. “I need to be out there, helping to tear this city apart looking for this prick.”

His brow furrows as he nods slowly. “If you want. That’s now officially your call to make.”

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