Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 25958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
He clung to me, his skin cold and clammy from fear. And I fucking hated it. I was meant to protect him, and I’d almost fucking failed. Where the goddamn hell was Bento?
“I thought they were going to kill me,” he said, his voice cracking and thick with tears.
I shook my head and gripped the back of his neck, pressing my forehead to his. “He’s goddamn lucky I didn’t order every single one of his men to be slaughtered,” I snarled. “No weapon gets pointed at my boy. None.”
The fucking fear I felt in that moment that someone’s finger would slip on their trigger, that a bullet would pierce Anurak, had been a living, breathing thing in that moment. The only reason I hadn’t put a bullet in Emmanuel’s skull right then and there was because someone would have shot Anurak after. And that wasn’t a goddamn situation I could fathom.
I would go fucking feral and tear everyone apart before putting a bullet through my own skull. I knew it without a single fucking doubt.
There was no me without him.
“Who are those men?” Anurak asked, clinging to me. He was beginning to shake less, and his teeth were no longer chattering. It still didn’t stop me from wanting to go outside and slaughter everyone for making him afraid. This was his safe space. This was his fucking home. No one should have been making him feel unsafe here.
“Men who will no longer be allowed on this property or anywhere near you after today,” I swore. Cupping the side of his neck, I pressed my thumb into his jaw and tilted his head back, covering his lips with mine again. He sank into me, his trembling ceasing. “You are my entire goddamn world, Anurak,” I growled into his mouth, “and I swore to keep you safe. I will always keep you safe.”
He nodded and kissed me again. Our lips moved together soft and slow, in a rhythm as steady as a flowing stream. The front door opened behind me, and Alfonzo roughly cleared his throat. Reluctantly, I pulled back from Anurak, turning my head to look at my second in command.
“Yes?” I snapped, pissed at being interrupted.
“Everything has been taken care of. I wired the money to Emmanuel for you. He extended his apologies for his men’s actions.”
“Apologies will never be enough,” I said. Alfonzo inclined his head in agreement. I gripped Anurak’s hand in mine and led him toward my office. “Have Bento come see me,” I ordered. Alfonzo gave an affirmative from behind me before I heard his footsteps retreating.
Anurak fell into step next to me, his fingers linking through mine. “What’s going to happen now?” he softly asked.
“You are going to sit in my office with me until I feel okay enough to let you out of my sight again. And I’m going to have a talk with Bento.” I pushed open my office door and led Anurak over to the couch. He sat down and immediately tugged his blanket around him. I dropped a kiss to the top of his head and rounded my desk, taking a seat just as Bento knocked on the door frame.
“You called, sir?”
“Yes.” I beckoned him inside. He stepped further into the room. I leaned forward and linked my fingers together on top of my desk. He swallowed thickly. “When Anurak is awake and I am not with him, you are his fucking shadow, do I make myself clear?” Bento nodded once. “He just had several guns pointed at him, and had one of Emmanuel’s men slipped, my boy would be dead. And if I lose Anurak, Bento, I will burn this whole fucking world to the ground, do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal clear, sir,” Bento said.
“Good.” I waved him off. “You are dismissed. Do not let this happen again, or it’ll be my bullet in your fucking skull.”
Bento turned and walked back out. Anurak frowned at me. “You can’t kill him. He probably didn’t even know I was awake—”
I held up a hand, and he immediately stopped talking, his teeth clacking together as he snapped his jaw shut. “Perrito,” I forced my voice into a calmer one for his sake, “while I like Bento and he has worked for me for years, your safety is not a fucking game. I will not let it be treated as such. He knows the rules of being your bodyguard, and he knows what is expected of him. He had one slip-up. He’s lucky I didn’t break his goddamn fingers, but without his fingers, he is worthless to both you and me. He’s getting a second chance.” I met my boy’s soft eyes. “I assure you, he won’t fuck up again.”
He frowned at me like I’d disappointed him, and it made my chest feel like it was caving in. “You can be really mean sometimes.”