Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 154595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
“It’s a rule to follow if you don’t want to get fucking killed,” Sampson said loudly.
Gray scowled at him. Now this asshole was just pissing him off. “Nobody is touching Maeve. I believe I’ve made that very clear.”
Maeve’s cool hand touched his cheek. How could she still be cold when it was so hot out? He didn’t know but he thought that he might need to insist she wear gloves all the time.
“You’d kill for me?”
“I believe I’ve already said that.” He wasn’t sure why it would come as a surprise.
“So you have,” she said in wonder. Then she started to giggle. She laughed until tears ran down her cheeks. “Oh my God.”
“Are you all right?” he asked. Was she becoming hysterical? Had everything hit her at once?
She wiped at her cheeks. “I was worried that you’d be out of your depth. That this guy would hurt you. I thought I had to protect you.”
“I’ve told you that you don’t, girl. I can take care of you.”
“I believe you.” She stared up at him. “And to think I was worried that once you learned about Alejandro that you’d run a mile.”
“Maeve,” Sampson warned. “Should you tell him? What if he tries to use your connection to Alejandro to get close to him?”
Gray glared at Sampson. “Are you accusing me of using Maeve?”
Sampson met his gaze steadily. Brave, but stupid. “We don’t know you.”
“But I do,” Maeve said. “Gray is the man I love and you’re going to have to come to terms with that, Sampson.”
“I’m just trying to protect you.”
“I know, but I don’t need protection from Gray.”
“You didn’t even know what his job was!” Sampson pointed out.
“No, but he doesn’t know everything about me, either. And I know he’d never hurt me. And going against Alejandro in any way would hurt me.”
“Who is this Alejandro?” Gray demanded. He was starting to get a bad feeling about this.
“The men we have working security were sent by a friend of ours,” Maeve explained. “Someone who has ties to the criminal world. Someone we don’t tell many people about because they might try to use us to get close to him.”
Alejandro . . . surely she didn’t mean . . .
“Are you talking about Alejandro De Leon?” he asked hoarsely.
“You’ve heard of him then.”
“Heard of him? Jesus Christ, Maeve. He leads a huge criminal syndicate. He’s one of the most dangerous men in the country.”
“And probably the wealthiest too,” Maeve added.
“Maeve,” he said warningly.
“He’s married to one of our best friends,” she told him.
“Catarina De Leon is one of your best friends?”
They all nodded.
Gray started swearing. He couldn’t fucking believe this. Fucking Alejandro De Leon. His name was enough to make grown men ill.
And she considered him a friend?
“Wait. So if Alejandro De Leon is a friend then why not go to him? Why did you come here?”
“Um, well, because I love Cat and Alejandro, but his help usually comes at a price.”
He frowned, not liking that. “What do you mean? He’d make you pay? You’d owe him a favor? What?”
What kind of favor would Alejandro De Leon ask from her? Yeah, now he was glad she hadn’t gone to the criminal kingpin.
“Oh, nothing like that,” she said. “It’s just . . . Alejandro is hugely protective. And you’d think he’d use that all up taking care of Cat, but he feels that way toward all of us as well.”
“Not really all of us,” Sampson said. “You and Immy.”
“Because you’re female.”
“Hmm and I’m a Little.”
But not Immy? That surprised him.
“Alejandro would probably have kept me. He’d have explained that he was keeping me safe and then he’d wrap me in cotton wool and never let me out. Until he found someone he deemed worthy of me.”
Okay, so far he was liking De Leon.
“You didn’t want that?” he asked.
“Uh, no. I love Alejandro, but he’s kind of nuts,” Maeve said bluntly.
Gray just managed not to wince. “Let’s not say that to his face.”
“Oh no, I’m not stupid.”
Gray sighed. He couldn’t believe all of this. And he wasn’t sure he was going to treat her any differently than De Leon. Except he was the one she’d be marrying. “You know that I plan on doing what is necessary to protect you, right? I wasn’t just talking shit before. I’d sacrifice the entire fucking world to keep you safe.”
Immy sighed, staring at them dreamily. “So romantic.”
“Immy, God,” Jenner groaned.
“What? The grumpy mafia king and the sweet, sunshine girl. It’s a great romance story.”
“I’m not a mafia king,” he told her.
“But he is grumpy,” Maeve added with a small grin. But she was still staring at him like she was seeing him for the first time.
“You okay, baby?”
“Yeah. I was just thinking that you are totally and utterly perfect for me.”
31
Yep, she was aware her friends were giving her looks like she was nuts.