Chapter 20
Chapter twenty
Barrett
Ididn’t want to let her go. I could lie to myself and say it was because of what she witnessed last night. This level of attraction is new for me, and it's the worst possible time to explore it.
As I leave her house and head straight to Rafe’s rather than my own, I decide to end this farce of a payment arrangement with her. When the job is over and Campbell is dead, if I still have this deep need for what only she seems capable of giving me, I’ll find her again.
A handful of interactions with her and I’m obsessed. I don’t regret fucking her last night. She has just enough of every delicious personality trait that sets my nerves alive and makes my cock stand at permanent attention.
My little warrior. Despite letting her go, she’s my little warrior.
I let myself into Rafe’s house and sit on his couch. It only takes a few seconds for him to emerge from wherever he was and stand in front of me.
“Fain said everything went well last night.”
“You could say that.” Even with Sage’s interruption. “Any news?” If things go as we expect, we won’t hear a thing about Bradbury’s death.
Rafe shakes his head and sits, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.
“Perfect.” It means Sage’s boss is more involved than it appears.
Possession surges in me and I tense to leap from the couch to go back to Sage. It’s irrational. She’s been working close to him for years and hasn’t been in any danger. She isn’t now.
Rafe narrows his eyes. “Fain said you rushed off and called him for a favour.”
I haven’t told them about Sage, about her attempted blackmail and our following payment arrangement. I didn’t elaborate on how I got a legitimate ticket to the gala. And I don’t feel like telling him now. It doesn’t matter. Tonight, I’ll visit Sage and tell her the debt is paid.
Giving Rafe a look that says to mind his own fucking business, I force myself to relax against the cushions. Fain walks in a few minutes later, halting when he sees the two of us having a staring contest.
“Sage Cooper. Pretty little thing and your date to the gala.” Fain wags his finger between the two of us. “That’s what this little showdown is about, right?”
My sigh is more like a growl as I roll my eyes toward Fain.
“I drove her car home for you last night while I assume you drove off with her.”
“She was there?” Rafe’s anger is contained, but that’s only because we all trust each other. Anyone else and I’d be dead. And so would Sage.
“It’s complicated. She was supposed to leave.”
“She did. As far as the highway behind the house where she left her car,” Fain explains.
“I know.” I have to admit that it was smart of her to pretend to leave. I was in too much of a hurry to realize her intent to return when I turned my back.
“Do we need to take care of her? Is she connected to the target?” Rafe is tense, but he’s waiting for my explanation before acting.
“No. And no. She’s my problem.”
“Is she a problem?” Fain crosses his arms.
“No,” I say slowly and more forcefully. “I’ll take care of her tonight. She isn’t an issue.”
Rafe and Fain exchange a look, but I ignore them, bringing the conversation back to why we’re meeting this morning.
“How are they hiding the body?” I ask Fain. He followed Morrison and Campbell this morning to see how they reacted when they found the body.
“Morrison rolled back into town at five this morning and met Campbell at the empty house and the bloody scene you left behind. I don’t know how they figured it out that early.
My guess is they have trackers on certain people.
They buried him in the foundation of the next house and moved up the concrete pour. They’re pouring right now.”
“What about the clean up?” It was a single shot, but a lot of blood soaking into untreated wood.
“Those fuckers don’t trust anyone. They rolled up their sleeves and did it themselves. Ripped out the wood and replaced it after calling the construction crew off for the day.”
“We need their communications. We already know how difficult it is to get close enough to Campbell for that, but Morrison seems like an easier target.” Rafe isn’t wrong and I hate that he isn’t.
“I can access them.” My eyes are closed and I’m both terrified and thrilled that I’m not yet as finished with Sage as I planned. That obsession with her inside me smiles like a Cheshire cat. You can try to deny it, but I’ll always be here.
When no one responds, I open my eyes.
“Get Corvin to give me what I need to monitor his computer and phone, and I’ll get it done.” Corvin is our go-to hacker and all things tech. We can do most things ourselves, but it’s nice to have someone like him on our side to make things smoother.
“How?” Rafe asks slowly.
“I have a contact close to him.”
“Sage Cooper,” they guess at the same time.
“Gold stars for both of you.” My sarcasm bites, but I stand and walk toward the door. “Call me when it’s ready.”
I go home and lean against the door frame of my bedroom. The sheets are twisted and rumpled at the end of the bed. And I can smell her. It’s faint, but the femininity to the scent is most definitely new to the air.
I’m helpless. I can try to deny myself, but I don’t know what I’ll do with her now. Except I know I need to let her go. Her debt is done. I should have made her pay a different way, but we would have still ended up tangled in my sheets.
My phone buzzes.
Pulling it from my pocket, I expect to see a message from Rafe, but it’s from Sage.
Sage: I’m home.
Daddy: Good.
The message I expected follows before I can put my phone away.
Rafe: He’ll have it ready tonight.
Me: Good.