Stolen Life (Beauty in the Stolen 2)

I squint as I try to call up the image, still having difficulty picturing her as a delicate girl in pink frills with a gun. “What kind of guns?”

“Everything.” She shrugs. “Rifles, pistols, and revolvers.”

Impressive. “I take it you had game on the farm.”

“A few antelope. We bought them from the Pilansberg Reserve when they needed to reduce their population.”

From the way her eyes light up when she talks about it, she loved the farm. “Were you happy there?”

“Happiest childhood a girl could ask for. Dad always wanted a boy. He taught me to drive and shoot and do the so-called boys stuff Mom disapproved of, but I was a tomboy anyway. My dad said in the end I was better than a boy.”

My heart softens. “I bet.” I jut my chin at the tray in her lap. “Finish your soup. I’ll go make you some fresh tea.”

“Don’t go,” she says quickly. When I pause, she adds, “I don’t want tea.”

I brush a tendril of hair from her face. “What do you need?”

“For you to stay.”

I go around the bed and get in next to her, careful not to make the tray in her lap topple over.

“Ian?”

“What is it, baby doll?”

“You do know we’re long past the point of people thinking I mean nothing to you.”

Pushing up on one elbow, I play with her hair. “Meaning?”

“Everyone in the village knows why I’m here. News spreads fast in these small communities.”

I twist a strand around my finger, making the curl bounce as I let it go. “Is that what they said?”

“You can’t hide it. You can’t pretend I’m nothing.”

Regret fills my gut for many things—that I have to expose her, that I can’t continue to hide her from my enemies, and that I had to hide her in the first place. “I know.”

“If you’re going to keep me safe, you have to show me respect in front of your cronies.”

I raise an eyebrow at cronies. If not for the seriousness of the situation, I would’ve grinned. “I don’t want to risk you, Cas.”

“You’re risking me more by showing your business partners I’m not worth the dirt under your shoes. They respect you because they fear you. They’ll respect me if you respect me. You just have to trust in your ability to protect me. As for the rest, I can take care of myself.”

She’s right. Everything she says makes sense, but I focus on the underlying meaning of her words. “Does this mean you’re giving us a shot?”

“I already told you I want to give it a try. It’s your turn to make an effort.”

Warmth spreads through my chest. She’s willing to accept my life and all the dirty baggage and danger that come with it. There’s nothing I can give her in return to make up for the sacrifice.

“Whatever you want,” I say.

Her answer is simple. Sure. “You.”

The warmth turns into a pleasant glow. The simple fact of having her here has already made me happy, but now that happiness grows into something even bigger, a force larger than life. It takes on a shape and a life of its own. It becomes the pillar of my foundation. If I’m ever to lose her, the whole structure resting on that foundation will come tumbling down.

“You,” I agree. The pact couldn’t have been stronger if I’d cut our palms and mixed our blood.

“Oliver won’t be a problem for us if you don’t let him become one.”

I still have reservations, plenty of them, but I’m committed to making this work. Which reminds me. “What were you going to tell me earlier?”

She frowns.

“When you called me, I was negotiating terms with Oliver. You wanted to tell me something.”

Her eyes grow large. Her tongue trips over the words as she says, “With everything that happened tonight I almost forgot.”

“Slow down.” Fresh concern burrows in my gut. “If something is wrong, you should say so from the word go. I thought you just wanted to chew my ass, and as much as I looked forward to having that sexy voice of yours chewing off my ear, I didn’t want Oliver to know about my weakness.”

She gives me a wounded look. “I won’t call you about trivial things.”

“No.” I drag a hand over her hair, needing a constant point of contact. “I want you to call me about trivial stuff. I want you to call me whenever you like. I won’t cut you short again, baby doll.” She’s taking her rightful place by my side. “That’s a promise.”

She laid down her conditions and fought for what she deserves. I can only respect her more for that. She’ll get what she wants. She’ll be my woman, and all the world will know it. Even if claiming her publicly fills me with dread, I’ll make sure every man alive knows whoever lays a finger on her is dead.