Cuffed by His Charm (Dirty Little Secrets 4)

By the time I reach her, McKenna’s on her side with Tommy pressing her into the floor. I can only assume every pair of eyes in the room are narrowed on us, but my eyes are on McKenna, only her. “Remove your fucking hands,” I warn Tommy.

Silence falls, and it’s in that silence I hear McKenna’s soft whimper. “Now,” I growl, exhaling the long breath controlling the fury burning my blood. If she weren’t here, my fists would have taught Tommy never to touch what’s mine, but she is here, and I need to get her to safety. That’s all that matters.

A tense moment passes, then Marcus chuckles. “She’s not your thing to play with, Tommy. Release her.”

Tommy rises, returning to his spot behind his boss. I stare at him, wishing we’d met in a back alleyway, just the two of us, as I gather her to me. I rise with McKenna in my arms, her cheek on my chest, and I catch Marcus’s gaze. There’s something there in the depths of his cold black eyes. Something that tightens my arms around her, flaring my desire to protect her. Something that promises danger.

McKenna

By the time, we get back to Gabe’s, the small mark beneath my eye from Tommy’s arm has become a red circle that I can’t stop poking. My head’s pounding when I move straight to the couch, hearing Gabe shut and lock his front door behind me. I take the pillow on the couch and place it on the armrest, and then proceed to drop myself onto the couch and gently toss my arm across my face, blocking out the light. I shut my eyes against the deep throbbing behind my eye, never intending to move ever again, when suddenly I hear soft breathing next to me.

Before I can drop my arm, Gabe says gently, “Here, take these, my little warrior princess.”

I sit up, find him standing there, expression serious, eyes pained. “What are these?” I ask, examining the pills he’s placing in my hand.

“Tylenol for the pain and vitamin C to reduce how easily you’ll bruise.” Then he grabs an ice pack wrapped in a towel off the coffee table. “This will help with the swelling.”

“I take it you have experience with shiners.”

I accept the glass of water he’s offering and toss the pills back, chasing them with the cold water, when he adds, “Before O’Keefe’s became what it is, I couldn’t afford bouncers, so I dealt with the rowdy bunch that drank too much.” The side of his mouth arches playfully, chasing away some of the tension in his eyes. “There was a good year when my face was permanently bruised.”

“Now that is a shame,” I comment, handing him back the glass of water.

“Why is that?” He places the glass on the end of the coffee table and then moves to sit on the other edge, right in front of me.

“Because it’s such a pretty face.” I smile then cringe as the bite of pain blasts across my eye. “Ow, bad idea. No smiling.”

Gabe’s brows pull together, confliction racing across his expression. He leans forward and swipes the hair off my face, gesturing to the ice pack. “Put it on. Twenty minutes, no less.”

I gently apply the ice pack, keeping one eye open and on Gabe across from me. He’s leaning his elbows on his knees, his gaze is so focused on me that I can’t help but wonder what he’s thinking.

“Is this the time you reprimand me?”

He frowns. “What you did back there was stupid.”

Maybe not my finest moment, but . . . “He knows where Evan is, Gabe, and he was fucking playing with me.”

“I don’t disagree with you, but we were greatly outnumbered in there. We’re dealing with violent people, obvious criminals, McKenna. You’re goddamn lucky I didn’t kill that guy or we’d be in a very different spot right now with bars across the doorway.” He stared at me, eyes intense. “Do. Not. Ever. Do. That. Again.”

“But . . .”

“Ever,” he says, voice low, eyes narrowed. “Tell me.”

“Okay, fine, I won’t ever try to pile drive the bad guy again.” I sigh, seeing that his concern is due to fear. “Hell, I don’t even know what I planned on doing. It’s not like I could have hit him or anything. My temper just got away with me, and I acted on pure impulsivity.”

“I understand that completely,” he says softly. “But if either of us is dead at the end of this then what was the point of it all?” He pauses then shakes his head, obviously frustrated. “We need Ryder to give us something to make Marcus talk. He wants something, I don’t doubt that.”

“Then why didn’t he ask for it?”

“That, I’m afraid, I don’t know.”

Before I can either scream in frustration or break down in tears, Gabe’s phone rings in his pocket. He takes it out, looks at the screen, then presses the speakerphone. “Ryder, you’re on speakerphone. Kenna is here, too.”

“McKenna is why I’m calling,” says Ryder. “Are you okay?”

I blink my open eye. “How do you know I’m not all right?”

Gabe gives me a little smile, obviously knowing things I don’t, when Ryder replies, “We tapped into Marcus’s security cameras and watched the incident.” He pauses, then says, “Alex has just joined us now.”