The doubts in my heart burn to ash as he kisses me, the truth of his words resonating through me. Yes, we’ve only been intimate for a few days, but I don’t care. For months, I’ve been watching him, dreaming of him, needing him. “Shane, I love you too.”
He kisses me again, leaning me back in his arms to lay along the bench seat before covering me with his body.
Shane kisses down my neck, and I lift my head to give him greater access. He groans into the soft skin at the curve, sucking to refresh the mark he’s already given me as he grinds the ridge of his dick against my core. “I want to take my time with you, Maggie. Worship every inch of your skin, but I don’t want to risk anyone seeing us here. Let me get you somewhere safe for the night so I can make love to you.”
I look up at him and pout, wanting more, wanting him now. But he’s right. We’re too exposed here and I feel like I just found the real Shane. I can’t lose him.
With one last fiery kiss, I nod and we wiggle back into our seats, buckling up. “First thing, though. We’re getting that arm bandaged.”
Shane looks at his arm, chuckling before nodding. “Okay. We’ll find a pharmacy or something. Just . . . I love you, Maggie. I promise to keep you safe, no matter what happens.”
I take his hand, interlocking our fingers, my tiny hand engulfed by his giant one. “I love you too. I know you’ll keep me safe. We’ll do this together.”
He dips his head, handing me the phone. “Call Allie. Don’t answer any questions or give her any indication about where we are. Tell her to set up a meeting tomorrow at noon at the club. She needs to meet us at the front door with one guard of Dominick’s choosing. Once we’re inside, it’s Dominick’s show. Whatever he feels is warranted, as long as he listens to us.”
I bite my lip, suddenly nervous as we’re at the point where the poop hits the fan. “Is that smart? Shouldn’t we try to limit the guards, give us a fighting chance if things go awry?”
Shane shakes his head, sighing. “If he wants to kill us, it won’t matter if there are two guards or ten. Better to let him feel in control about as much as possible, because we’re going in with a big favor to ask and demanding that he put the one weakness he has, Allie, at risk at the same time.”
I take a steadying breath, turning the phone on and dialing Allie’s number, glad I have it memorized. Allie’s voice is hesitant when she answers the unknown number. “Hello?”
Good, she’s not dancing yet, or maybe she’s not dancing at all after the shooting. “Allie, it’s me, Meghan.”
It feels strange to use my fake name again, but it’s all Allie’s ever known, and it’s like a firecracker to her. “Oh, my God, Meghan! Are you okay? What the fuck happened to you? Where are you? Are you with Shane?”
She’s shooting questions rapid-fire style, and I can’t even answer one before the next starts. I try to reassure her. “I’m fine. I’m with Shane. Are you okay?”
Her voice is calmer now, but still tight and probably a little worried. “I’m fine too. I was freaked out for a bit, but I’m okay now. The club just went on like business as usual. I don’t think the customers on the floor even realized what happened.”
I don’t think I realized how scared I was that Allie wasn’t okay until I heard her voice, getting stronger and steadier as she speaks. Tears of relief fill my eyes, and I lean my head forward, holding in the sniffle as best I can. “Good, I’m so glad you’re okay.”
Shane waves his hand in a circle at me, indicating I should wrap this up. I guess it’s got something to do with tracing the call, or maybe just because we need to get going. His arm has to be burning like fire. “Listen, I need your help with something.”
“Of course, anything,” Allie says immediately. “I’ve been worried about you.”
“Look, there’s a lot going on here that you don’t know,” I say, wishing I could tell her. “It’s sort of safer if you don’t for now. I need you to trust me and do exactly as I say, okay?”
Allie’s voice tightens, and I can hear her tapping her phone with a thumbnail. “You’re scaring me. What’s going on?”
“I need you to set up a meeting with Dominick for us. Tomorrow at noon, at the club. There’s stuff that Shane and I need to talk to him about.”
“Why not just call—” Allie says, but I cut her off, needing to rush this.
“You need to be there to meet us at the front door. A guard’s fine if Dominick feels it’s warranted, and he can have as many guys there as he wants. We’re coming in to talk, and he needs to hear what we have to say, for everyone’s sake. If he asks, tell him it has to do with Sal. Got all that?”
Allie sounds confused, but still sort of put together. “Yeah, tomorrow at noon with security. But what’s going on?”
“We’ll explain everything tomorrow. I need you to be there, so you’ll hear everything,” I tell her, instantly hoping she’ll want to still be my friend after my lies are laid out for her. “This is important, Allie. Please, tell Dominick he needs to listen.”
“I’ll set it up. Whatever you need,” Allie says. “But you promise me, you’re not doing anything stupid?”
I have to laugh. We’re light years past stupid. “You know me, Allie. I just take after you, my friend.”
“That’s what worries me,” Allie says, laughing a little herself. “Okay, well . . . see you tomorrow?”
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I promise, my voice cracking a little. “Check ya later, babe.”
I have to hang up before she can reply, the knot in my belly cinching tight. I’m scared now, and it’s not the primal, instinctual fear that I’ve felt for the past few days. This is deeper, both body and mind, and part of it is that, of all the silly shiz, I’m going to disappoint my friend.
Shane wraps a hand around the back of my neck, pulling me toward him and laying a soft kiss on my forehead. He understands, and he’ll be here for me. “Good girl, Angel. Let’s roll some miles.”
Chapter 20
Shane
The house isn’t exactly a mansion in Bel-Air, but compared to the past two nights, it’s a glorious luxury. A two-bedroom house in a nice suburban subdivision. It’s an FBI safe house, and it feels good in a lot of ways to use it. It means that all our cards are on the table and that I don’t need to hide from her any longer.
She might’ve semi-accepted the car switch without an interrogation, but having a random house stocked with all the goodies we could need would’ve raised too many questions I couldn’t answer.
I’m glad we’re being totally honest with each other now, because beyond all this craziness, I really have fallen in love with this brilliant, tiny, innocent woman.
It didn’t take sex, or looking back, even a single kiss to start falling in love with her. It was in the snippets of conversation, in the looks that we’ve shared. It happened when I was willing to go as far as needed to protect her. It was when I was willing to beat a man within an inch of his life for threatening her, and when I was willing to defy a mob boss to keep her safe.
Sex? Oh, I’m not turning that down with my naughty little Angel—never will. It’s been more intense, more satisfying, more meaningful than any I’ve had before. But I loved her even before that, and I think she loved me before that too.
I pull the truck into the garage, dropping the mechanical door and locking it tight behind us before we enter the house. Inside, it’s small and tidy, neatly decorated in stuff that’s used but clean and kept prepped and ready. I know without even looking that in the kitchen will be a freezer of basic frozen stuff and some microwave meals, and the pantry will have boxed goods. Nothing fancy, but we’ll be able to eat.
“Won’t the neighbors wonder about us?” Maggie asks, looking around. “I mean, that there are lights on and stuff?”