Chapter Twelve
“That was intense,” Emma said.
Gideon locked the door.
She watched as he went to his drawers along the far wall and pulled out two guns.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m being extra cautious right now.”
“Why?”
“The Savonas are in our house. There’s five of them.”
“And?”
“And, I don’t trust them. You never trust the enemy.”
“Are you wanting to go and camp outside Tamsin’s door?”
“Jacobs is taking the first shift.”
“I was kidding,” she said.
“I know and it was so cute, but this is serious. I love my sister.”
“I love Tamsin too. You don’t think this is a little … intense?”
“I do. We’ve got to talk at some point. My brothers over our father. He is crossing the line with Tamsin. Can you believe he’ll make her move cities? She loves this place. I don’t see that happening any time soon.”
Emma waited as he loaded and prepared each gun.
Taking the band out of her hair, she turned her back toward him. “Will you help me out of this dress?”
“Yes.”
He put the guns down and walked toward her.
The moment his fingers touched her skin, she closed her eyes, relishing the contact. He lowered the zipper down, and helped her push the dress from her body. His hands wrapped around her, lips on her shoulder. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“It’s not fine. I’ll deal with him.”
“He’s too dangerous for you to deal with. We have to be careful about this, smart.”
“I will. I’ll fucking kill him.”
She turned in his arms, wrapping hers around his neck. “No, you won’t.”
“Why not.”
“Because … you can’t.”
This made him pause, and she hated how much she knew about his father. It wasn’t like she went out of her way to find stuff out. It was always just there, readily available. All it had taken were a few little sneak peeks for her to find out everything she knew.
He cupped her cheek. “You know things.”
“I do.”
“Tell me what you know.”
“Maddox has some kind of bounty on his head. I don’t know if it’s called a bounty, but he has a thing in place where, if it’s found that he’s died in any other means other than natural causes, there’s an instant price of over ten million dollars on that person’s head.”
“That’s a lot of money,” he said.
“Your dad has a lot of enemies.”
“How did you find this?”
“Special files. I stole the key and checked. He also has files on all of you and your women. Apart from you and Tamsin. He didn’t know who your woman was.” She didn’t doubt he’d made up a file.
“So he can’t be killed.”
“He can be killed. You can’t be the one to do it.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t want you to die, Gideon. I like having you around.”
“You like having me around. Am I like a pet?” he asked.
She sighed. “I don’t know. We’ve become, like, a team right now. I fuck up and so do you.” She forced a smile.
The truth was, since returning to the Denton household, she’d felt like her days were numbered. The look in Maddox’s eye confirmed it.
“You know, he used to be a great father. Always hard and demanding. He’s changed.”
“Power does that to a person.” She cupped the back of his head, holding him close. “You can’t kill him, Gideon. I don’t want to live without you.”
“Just say the words.”
They were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She knew she loved him. There was no doubt. He’d somehow gotten under her skin and into her heart. She couldn’t turn her back on him, not now, not ever.
“I’m not going to say the words to you, until I know you won’t hurt yourself.”
She kissed his lips, pulling his head down so that she could.
He groaned, capturing her ass and leading her back. They both ended up naked and in the en-suite bathroom.
There was a gun near the sink, and she even saw one next to the toilet. So many weapons. She wished it was strange to see them, but that would be a lie. They were a normal part of her life.
Guns.
Violence.
He cupped her face. “I love you, Emma. So fucking much. You drive me crazy. I will never do anything to hurt myself. I want to live a long life. To have kids with you.”
“Soon,” she said.
“Just say the words,” he said.
“Soon. I promise. Soon.” If she said them and he got killed, she’d never forgive herself.
She may have apologized to the women and told them it had been all words with no intention of hurting them, but it had all been lies. If anything happened to Gideon, she would unleash a fury they didn’t even know existed inside her.
After all, she was a Colton, and part of that blood lived within Gabriel. They shared the same mother, the same bond. They were not ones to be screwed with.