Chapter 27 Theo
THEO
“FUCK THIS SHIT,” I fumed as we slammed into our hotel suite after somehow managing to dodge the influx of cops and ambulances that had descended on and around the stadium.
Today had been a clusterfuck of epic proportions, but one of the perks of having lived a life cloaked in secrecy was that our missions with Libertine had taught Shep and I to blend in or, at times, vanish altogether.
Something that had come in handy, since I’d just offed my attempted assassin.
“I’m getting really sick and tired of this motherfucker,” I continued as I stormed into the massive en suite and pulled the tails of my shirt from my pants.
“First he sends some bullshit AI video to all of you, trying to make me look like a traitor, then he’s snapping photos of us like some dick-stroking creep, and now this. Some botched attempt at blowing me up?”
I glanced in the mirror to see Shep leaning against the doorjamb as though it would fall down without him. His wig was hanging over his shoulders from under a ball cap, and the fake contacts masking his ice-blue eyes were trained on me as though I was about to fly off the handle.
So I was a little worked up. That tended to happen when someone was trying to kill me.
“You got a problem?” I snapped when Mr. Stoic continued to stare me down.
“Other than the fact I just had to call and have a body removed? Nope.” Shep pushed off the door and turned to walk back out to the living quarters. “Just another day in lovely Cardiff.”
Smug fuck. How would he like to be in my position? No one believing him. A babysitter watching his every move. Someone out for his blood.
“You know what?” I called out as I tore my shirt off, following him to the door. “Fuck you.”
Shep stopped in the middle of the room and turned. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” Just as I could hear myself, and while I knew I should shut up, the adrenaline of the day had my mouth in overdrive. “I don’t need your sanctimonious judgment. Hell, I don’t even need your twenty-four-seven protection. All I need is to be left the fuck alone.”
I spun on my heel, about to make a truly epic exit by storming away and slamming the en suite door, but Shep grabbed my wrist and spun me back to face him.
“So you can what? Murder your way through all of Europe? I don’t think so.”
“It was him or me. Sorry if you don’t like the way things turned out.”
“Don’t be such a drama queen. There are ways to neutralize without pulverizing. We could’ve taken him somewhere, questioned him.”
“Oh yeah?” I sneered. “You don’t think the concierge might’ve had a few questions for me if we’d dragged a bloodied, lifeless body through the front lobby?”
“I don’t mean here.”
“Then where, genius? We had to think fast, move quick. Sorry if I didn’t take the time to map out a good place to take a man to torture him.”
I yanked my arm from Shep and headed back to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. Fucking know-it-all. Nothing infuriated me more than being treated like a hothead. Especially when it came to matters like this. I wasn’t stupid. It wasn’t like I’d just said, Fuck it, and killed the guy.
I’d asked questions, and he’d decided not to answer. That wasn’t on me. But to act like I didn’t want to get to the bottom of this, like I wasn’t just as invested in finding out who was making my life a living hell, was downright insulting.
The cut above my eye was throbbing like a bitch. I inspected the gash, the dried blood indicating it wasn’t too bad, all things considered. But it was going to leave a nasty bruise all the same.
Putain. That was just what I needed when I was supposed to be attending several more events in the following weeks. A reminder of the explosion and that I was there. The press would have a field day. The story would never die.
Kind of like me.
I turned on the tap and splashed several handfuls of water over my face, the shock of the cold temperature enough to jolt me out of my red-hot rage as the door was flung open and I spun around to see Shep striding toward me.
Gone was the stupid hat and hair and the contacts that hid his true identity. In their place was the ice-cold fury of King’s second-in-command. Shep’s lips were pulled into a tight line, his fists balled at his sides, and he crowded me back into the sink and took hold of my jaw.
“You done with your pity party for one? Or do you need a few more minutes to lick your wounds?”
I tried to pull my head away, only to have him yank it back to face him.
“Because we have a problem, and I need your fucking head in the game.”
“It’s always in the game.”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
“Are we gonna do this all night? Because I could use a shower.” I leaned in and sniffed him. “So could you.”
Shep roughly pulled his hand away from my chin but didn’t back up an inch. “We’ve got bigger issues than a fucking shower, Theo. It’s time. You know it, and I know it.”
I ground my molars as we stared each other down, and while I knew exactly what it was he wanted, there was no way it could happen.
“I can’t do that,” I said.
“Too bad.”
“Too bad, my ass. I have obligations to put on a goddamn happy front while Jean’s gone, and I can’t step away from that. Not to mention, how can we catch this asshole if we’re hiding?”
“That’s not your problem anymore. We’re going off the radar whether you like it or not.”
“We?”
“Yes, we. I’m not dropping you off somewhere so you can get antsy and try to take things into your own hands.”
I narrowed my eyes as I pushed off the counter. “Someone tried to kill me today. I think I deserve to be the one who makes them pay.”
“No one’s saying otherwise.”
“But you want us to go hide and let the others take care of it. Like fucking pussies—”
Shep shoved me so hard, my back slammed into the door. Every muscle in my body protested, already aching from my being thrown on the ground earlier.
“Keeping your stubborn ass safe is the priority. Today only proved that this thing has gotten bigger than you and I can handle alone, and there’s no way I’m letting you do another public event until this guy’s six feet under. You got me?”
Damn, a pissed off and in charge Shep was really fucking hot, and I couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Now, that we’re on the same page about. Well, the six-feet-under part, anyway.”
“All of it. I’m not asking you. I’m telling you. And if you want to defy me, I’ll pull rank and make you.”
“Oh? How do you plan to make me? Please go into great detail, and don’t leave anything out, especially the salacious bits.”
“I’m not fucking around, Theo.” Shep’s hand on my chest moved then, sliding up to my throat to hold me against the door. Not enough to cut off my breath, but just a warning, a threat that he was serious. It wasn’t like I doubted his words; in fact, I knew them to be true.
“No, you’re not, which is unfortunate for my dick.” I wrapped my fingers around his wrist and tried to pull his hand off my neck, but his grip was unyielding. “Don’t you have a phone call to make?”
Shep’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Keep pushing, I dare you.”
“What? I’m sure King’s already seen the explosion all over the news. He’s probably blowing up both our phones.”
“Probably.”
“And you’re not running off to answer?”
“No.”
I could see the hundreds of thoughts in Shep’s mind flit across his face like a to-do list in the making. He wasn’t the man I was sleeping with right now, he was second-in-command of the Libertines, a man with incredible power and connections, and I couldn’t help but admire the way he took charge.
He did that well in the bedroom too, but even with my always-inappropriate behavior, I could tell now wasn’t the time.
“All right,” I said, holding my hands up to show I was relenting enough that I was willing to at least listen. “What’s the plan?”
Shep dropped his hold on my neck. “Whatever royal obligations you have left until Jean returns, get out of them. Don’t tell anyone a thing, not even Amaya.”
“I can’t tell what I don’t know.”
“Exactly.”
I waited for him to give me a little more than that, but when he didn’t, I pressed, “Care to give me a heads-up on the plan? I can keep a secret. Obviously.”
“It’s better if you don’t know.”
I followed him back into the living room of the suite, where he headed straight for his bag and began to dig through it.
“Don’t call for the plane,” he said, pulling out one of the burner phones he kept tucked away. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Okay…is there anything I can do?”
“Yes.” Shep looked up and nodded at the mess of clothes I’d strewn all over the couches when deciding what to wear. “Pack.”