“I’m going to watch over her,” Galen says, easing back a little.
“You don’t have to do that. You’re injured.”
“So are you.” He sweeps hair off my brow. “We’re going to take it in turns.” He places his lips on my mouth, kissing me like I’m a porcelain doll. “Theo is waiting for you in his bedroom. Go get some rest.”
I kiss Mom on the forehead, making Galen promise they’ll call me if she wakes or anything happens during the night. Saint and Caz are downstairs, he explains, keeping watch in case Sinner returns.
He left immediately after the showdown in the basement, and we’re all on edge, waiting to see what he’ll do next. There’s no way he’ll let me get away with pulling a knife on him or stabbing his second in command, but I don’t regret it, and I’d do it again if it meant freeing Mom from being raped.
I knock on Theo’s door before entering, finding him sitting up in bed, in a pair of sweatpants, with his tablet on his lap.
“How’s Giana?” he asks, immediately putting his tablet aside and sitting up straighter, fixing troubled eyes on me.
“She’s…” I burst out crying as I come unhinged. I’ve been so strong all week, not giving in to my turbulent emotion, fighting my grief, but I can’t contain it anymore.
Theo jumps off the bed, bundling me into his arms, holding me as I cry against his naked chest. He runs his hand up and down my back, offering comforting words, encouraging me to let it all out.
“Sorry,” I mumble sometime later when my tears have stopped. I swipe my fingers under my eyes, collecting the moisture there, before swiping at his damp chest.
“Nothing to be sorry for.” He takes my hand, leading me to the bed, carefully placing me down against the headrest, before he joins me.
“The dead guy downstairs. Was he the guy Saint planted to watch Mom?”
Theo nods, confirming my suspicions. “He must’ve tried to intervene, and he paid for it with his life.”
I hope that’s how it went down, because I dread to think what Sinner would do if he knew Saint planted the guy in the house to watch over Mom. The fact Saint is still breathing suggests Sinner doesn’t know, and I’m grateful for that small mercy. I hate that the guy died trying to protect Mom, and it’s selfish to feel relief that the secret dies with him, but I won’t pretend otherwise.
There is so much needless death in the world The Sainthood inhabits. Not that Sinner would see it like that. It’s all part of the job, and he places no value on human life, making him the deadliest of enemies.
I rest my head on Theo’s shoulder as his arm circles me. “Are we stupid to think we can win? That we can beat him at his own game? He’s completely unpredictable, and that makes me nervous as hell.”
“Sinner should never be underestimated,” he agrees, smoothing a hand down my hair. “But neither should we.” He tips my chin up so our eyes meet. “The key difference is we know he’s a formidable enemy, whereas he thinks we’re under his control and that we’re not a threat. His arrogance will be his downfall.”
“I hate feeling helpless. It feels like everything is crashing down around us.”
He kisses my temple. “I understand why you feel like that, but we’re not going to let things fall apart. We’re making solid plans, and it will work.”
“We need to get her away from him,” I say. “I can’t watch this any longer, and if we don’t do something, he’ll kill her.”
“He won’t, Lo.” Theo caresses my cheeks with his thumbs. “He needs her to keep you in line. He won’t kill her.”
“He’ll just beat her to within an inch of her life and let his buddies fuck her until she bleeds.” A heavy weight settles on my chest, and pain ricochets through my skull. I squeeze my eyes shut, fighting the maelstrom blowing through my mind.
“We’ll figure out a way to protect her.” He kneads my shoulders. “You’re so tense, sweetheart. Let me run you a bath, and I have something else I think will help.”
“Okay. Sure.” Because I need something to distract me from taking my Glock and heading out into the night to hunt Sinner down.
Theo runs me a scented bath, helping me step into it before he walks away. I rest my head back against the ledge, closing my eyes, wondering how the fuck I’m supposed to choose one of my guys to marry, knowing it’s got to happen, because there is zero doubt after what went down in the basement.
Even marriage won’t protect me, at least not forever. Outwardly, Sinner can’t lay a finger on me, and in the short-term, he’ll have no choice but to negate his second initiation task; however, he’ll look for any opportunity to corner me and take what he wants anyway.
We can’t stay here after we’re married, but how can I leave Mom alone with that monster?
The door creaks as Theo slips into the bathroom. He’s shed his sweatpants, and he stands before me in his birthday suit, looking thoroughly fuckable and completely gorgeous. His hair is down, hanging around his face, and I long to run my fingers through it, to get lost in him. My libido wakes up, and I sit upright, leaving space at the end of the tub for my man to join me.
“Thought you could use this.” He climbs into the tub, passing the lit blunt to me.
I rarely indulge, but I so need to get out of my head right now. “You know me well.” I accept the blunt, pulling a few long drags, drawing the heady scent deep into my lungs.
We pass it back and forth in amicable silence, and it doesn’t take long for me to feel the effects. Water sloshes as I crawl toward Theo, grinning as I straddle his lap.
“You feeling good, babe?” He runs his hands up my body, his fingers brushing against the underside of my breasts.
“I am, but you know what would make me feel really good?” I purr, leaning down to nip at his earlobe.
“My cock buried deep in your pussy?” His smile is knowing as his fingers tweak my nipples, and both buds harden at his sensual touch.
“Ding, ding, ding. Gold medal for the winner,” I tease, as I lift my hips, grip his hard cock, and position myself over it.
Theo holds my face, kissing me with his lips and his tongue as I slide down over his shaft. We moan as my cunt grips his dick, and I smile as I run my fingers through his gorgeous hair. “Love you,” I whisper, rubbing my nose against his.
“Love you too.”
I ride him, slowly at first, keeping my hands on his shoulders to control my movements. The weed has removed the pain from my ribs, and I’m wondering why the fuck I didn’t smoke earlier in the week. Theo grips my hips, helping me to move up and down on his throbbing length, while he face-plants my chest, licking and sucking my tits as I bounce on top of him. When we’re both close, I get on all fours, and Theo slides inside me from behind. He thrusts inside me in one fast move but slowly eases back out so I feel every inch of him gripping my inner walls, and he does it over and over, driving me crazy with lust.
His fingers find my clit while he holds my hip with his other hand, and we orgasm together, moaning and writhing, like two people intimately acquainted with one another.
After, he lifts me out of the tepid bath, patting me dry and helping me into one of his T-shirts. We curl up in bed, and it doesn’t take my overwrought brain long to fall asleep.