CHAPTER THIRTEEN
DECLAN
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Stepping out of the shower, I grab the towel and dry myself off, giving a cursory glance in the mirror. Wrapping it around my waist, I step toward the sink and lean my hands on the counter.
“Fuck,” I glance up. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
I shouldn’t have slept with Stella.
I don’t regret it, but I shouldn’t have done it. It’s been four days, and we’ve had sex about fifteen times, give or take, because we can’t keep our hands off one another.
It’s the best sex of my life.
Worse, the protective feelings I started with have only deepened to a mild, possibly unhealthy, possession.
I can’t let her marry him.
But life keeps reminding me that she doesn’t belong to me and never will. Last night a huge black box arrived with a Marino logo on the top. It was like someone threw a glass of cold water in my face.
Sobering.
It was so huge I had to carry the damn thing into the penthouse where I placed it on the dining room table and glared at it.
When Stella skipped downstairs, the glow I gave her paled. We both stood side by side, staring at the box.
“What is it?” she asked.
Your future, I nearly said, because not once in the past few days has she said the words I’ve hoped to hear; I’m not doing it.
“What do you want it to be?” I asked, my voice clipped.
“A machine to a different reality,” she whispered back.
I turned, taking her hips. “Everyone has choice, sweetheart. Simply make it.”
Her face fell as she studied the carpet.
“I’ll be outside,” I’d said, unable to watch her go along with this after spending night after night in my arms.
When I returned an hour later, the box was opened, and I saw white lace and silk. The asshole had sent her a wedding dress.
Call me sadistic if you want, but I moved closer and with a single finger moved the opened lid of the box gently to the side and cursed.
It wasn’t just a wedding dress.
I lifted the small items and almost threw the thing over the side of the building. He’d also sent lingerie. Crotchless panties lay before me, taunting me.
I turned to find Stella in the doorway of the hall.
Tear lines streaked her face as the anger I was feeling vanished.
“Shit.” I crossed the room and pulled her into my arms, where Stella crushed her face into my chest and gripped my shirt, sobbing.
Her entire being was shaking.
I scooped her up, carried her into the more formal living room and sat with her on my lap.
She held onto me like I was her lifeline, crying gently.
Scattering little kisses on her forehead and cheeks, I gave her the time she needed. I was also buying myself time. I didn’t trust what I would say.
In two days, she was marrying Tony Marino.
Did she realize this wasn’t just about her anymore? I might have no right to claim a woman like Stella Voss—a woman who essentially pays my salary—but I have.
She’s mine.
I’m not giving her up. I just don’t know how to fix this. But I fucking will.
Holding her in my arms when she falls asleep late that night, my cum marking her thighs after her tight pussy had strangled my cock, I spent hours considering what her motivation might be.
Money seemed like an obvious one, but knowing her, I didn’t feel that fit. Fear was the more accurate one.
I’d tried to get the facts out of her, but she refused to talk. “Stella, I know you don’t want to be with him. Let me in.”
“Sign the NDA and I can tell you.”
I couldn’t. In doing so, it would cut me off at the knees and restrict how I could help her. So, I did what any Navy SEAL would do.
I called my team.
Quickly dressing, I get ready for the video call we set up. Then head into the living area where my computer is waiting. I grab a bottle of water and sit down, then fire it up.
Ryder knocks on my door, just in time.
I let him in and we both grab a chair in front of the screen, man spreading as two bulky guys do.
“The line is secure, go ahead,” Josh says when his face appears on screen, referring to the BHS video conferencing tool Travis created.
“Thanks for meeting with us.” I run a hand through my still wet hair. “I’m concerned about Stella and the reasons for her marrying Marino.”
Josh slowly runs his tongue over his bottom lip. I can see his mind ticking. “Cole told me it was a shit show during the meet.”
That’s an understatement.
“The boys dealt with it well.” Ryder sips the coffee he carried in with him. He would’ve read the report we filed, but I don’t know if I dealt with it well.
I am glad they thought so.
It means my job is safe for now.
“Before we continue, answer me one question.” Josh slightly tilts his head; eyes focused on me. “Is this personal?”
I stay completely still, blink a few times, then answer. An answer that could very well lose me my job. But I’m not a liar.
“Yes. And no.”
“I appreciate your honesty. Care to explain?”
“Ms. Voss—Stella—and I are attracted to one another. I care about her. But even if I wasn’t, seeing a young woman of twenty-five being married off to a man like Tony Marino still wouldn’t sit right.” I shake my head. “Not after what we’ve seen, Josh.”
I don’t need to spell it out. Over the years, we’ve been exposed to the worst of humanity, seen women and children harmed in ways that would make most people question everything.
They should.
Josh nods, closing his eyes momentarily against the memories. “Understood.”
Beside me Ryder murmurs his agreement, having spent years as a Delta Force operator. “What do you think is behind the arrangement?”
I let out an audible sigh. “Honestly, I don’t know. There seems to be no historical connection between the two families—Travis has been doing some digging for me—and as much as Marino has mafia boss vibes, I’m assured he’s not one.”
Josh is quiet. Which means he has something to say and is considering the implications. I’ve seen him doing this when out in the field.
I wait.
Ryder waits.
This is how high-level operators work; fully aware. Patient. Thinking before speaking or acting.
“Tony, the Blade Marino, is an arms dealer and on the FBI radar,” Josh shares, and my gut sinks further.
He’s even more of a piece of shit than I thought.
More to the point, what the hell does a man like Victor Voss have to do with an arms dealer? Her father may not be a pillar of society and is a tough as nails businessman, but he’s not a criminal.
“You’re right to be concerned,” Josh continues and then sighs. “So, let’s play this out. Why do you think Stella would agree to marry Marino? Has she given away anything?”
“Someone’s life is threatened.” Ryder crosses his arms and leans back in the kitchen chair. “Does she have a lover or friend missing?”
Lover?
Fuck that.
If Stella was in love with someone else, I’d know about it. She wouldn’t have looked at me twice. If there’s one thing I know about her, it’s that she’s loyal.
“No. And if it’s a friend, it’s not her best friend. She and Charlotte talk daily.”
I’ve also heard her talking to her mom on the phone, and they don’t seem close. She definitely isn’t on good terms with her father.
The tension between them says the father is involved somehow.
I share my thoughts, and Josh starts tapping.
“Does she have a kid?” Ryder asks.
“No.” I frown, considering it further.
I saw no children’s bedroom in the penthouse or toys, photos, and so on. I’m not going to say it out loud, but I think I’d know after making love to her all week. Her body would show signs.
A split-second image pops into my head of her pregnant with my child and a flock of birds starts flapping their damn wings inside my chest.
What is that?
“The father is involved.” Josh chews his pen.
“There’s one more thing,” I say and get their full attention. “The day I started, Stella asked me to sign an NDA so she could share more information. I refused.”
“Then jus—” Ryder starts, but I hold up my hand.
“This thing is as tight as an asshole. Once I signed it, I wouldn’t have been able to raise my concerns today.”
“That, and it would conflict with your employment agreement.”
“Correct,” I say to Josh.
“Well, fuck.” Ryder runs a hand through his hair. “She’s running scared.”
Josh leans back. “How do we get her talking?”
“We have two days until she marries him, and I’m not confident we will be allowed to be present or have access to the venue. I can’t let it happen, Josh. Aside from it being illegal—”
“She’s twenty-five—”
“She’s being blackmailed...or coerced,” I argue.
The room goes silent.
Not because they disagree with me, but because they know I’m right, and we are stuck in a gray area. If Stella wants to go ahead with it and refuses to tell us what’s at stake, we can’t do anything.
Legally, we can’t stop her.
“What do you want to do?” Josh lowers his brow. “Because the only idea I have could put her in danger, and she’ll resent you for it if someone she loves gets killed. Worse case for us, we piss off a bunch of mobsters. Not my first rodeo, but I’d rather not make enemies of them all.”
Ryder lets out a soft snort.
But I’m remembering the tiny piece of lace that Marino sent the woman I’ve been tasked to protect—and pleasure—and seeing red.
Marino is not touching her.
He is not claiming her as his wife.
Not on my watch.
“Tell me.” I stare Josh right in the eye. “Tell me the plan.”