Riley (Shattered Souls MC 4)

I squeeze her fingers as I pull her hand to my mouth. I place a kiss on each of her knuckles before resting our joined hands on my lap. “I know you’re nervous.”

“Of course, I am. You could be killed or arrested,” she says, keeping her focus outside.

“I could be, but I won’t. I will kill him long before he even suspects anything. I promise you. Plus, there will be no one there and there are no cameras. I won’t be arrested. Trust me, baby girl. This isn’t my first time,” I say.

She slowly turns her head to me and blinks slowly. “You’ve killed a federal agent before?”

I laugh as I turn onto my street. “No, I mean it’s not the first time I’ve had to kill someone.”

“How many people have you killed, Riley?” she whispers, widening her eyes.

“I don’t know, a couple,” I say, pulling into my driveway. Fuck, I can’t wait to be back home in my comfortable bed.

“Do you even feel remorse? I mean you act like you are just going to grab something for dinner. You’re going to kill a man and it seems you’ve done it so often that it doesn’t even affect you,” she says, pushing open the door.

She tries to pull her hand away and I tighten my hold on it. I pull her closer to me and grab her chin in my other hand. “You can paint me out to be a cold, heartless asshole all you want, baby girl. The truth is I did what needed to be done. Kill or be killed. I refuse to die, so I need to be the one killing.” I press my lips to hers, nipping her bottom lip before kissing her rough. I bite her lip, dragging my teeth across the sensitive flesh, looking into her bright green eyes. I can see them shining even in the dark. “I will always protect what I love.”

She kisses my lips quickly before pulling away. “I know you do.” She turns before she hops out of the van and I get out with her.

“What are you doing?”

“You think I’m going to let you go inside without checking to make sure it’s safe?”

My fingers link with hers as we walk toward the door. I open it, keeping one hand on the gun in my waistband and let go of her hand. I flip on the light and look around.

“Stay here,” I order.

I go down the hall and check every room. The closets are clear, under the bed, the shower, everything. Once I get back to the living room, I check each room, even so far as checking the backyard to make sure no one is there. When I am positive I am leaving her in a secure place, I wrap my arms around her.

“You’re safe here. Make sure you lock the door behind me,” I whisper, tightening my hold on her.

“Please come back to me.”

“Always, baby girl. Always.”

I kiss her cheek and walk out the door. When I hear her lock it, I walk back to the van. Knowing this is about to end gives me a sense of renewed energy. He won’t suspect a goddamn thing.

The drive to the warehouse goes faster than usual and when I pull in, I see him waiting. I laugh as I watch him nod his head. I park next to him and hop out, leaving the door open. This needs to be quick.

“I’ll be honest, Mr. Giddens, I didn’t think you’d actually show up,” he says, lifting an eyebrow.

I light a cigarette and grin. “I’m a man of my word. I think I’ve proven that enough.”

“Where’s Gillian? Let’s get this shit going,” he says.

I nod toward the back of the van as I blow smoke in his face. “She’s in the back. She’s nervous, so I told her we’d give her a few minutes.”

He laughs as he pushes off his car. “I’ve given you both more than enough time.” He begins walking toward the back of the van and my heart races.

“Hey, agent asshole!” I yell.

He turns around and I fire off four shots, hitting him once in the shoulder and three times in the chest. He lets out an agonizing scream as he clenches his chest, falling face first onto the pavement.

My pulse is racing and my ears are ringing. I keep my gun pointed at him as I slowly approach him. He’s lifeless on the ground and I grin as I get closer.

“You fucked with the wrong guy, you dirty piece of shit,” I growl.

Orange lights catch my attention and I snap my head looking behind me. Fuck, it’s security. They drive through the parking lot of the warehouse a couple times a night to make sure no shady shit is going on. This is so much worse.