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I push off the door and waste no tihts in et rid of the Martina cartel before they are fully embedded in Brandon Enterprises, if it’s not already too late And I can’t do it pussyfooting around, which is exactly e’re doing by toeing every spot Derekit out Wrapping a towel aroundEht illu her like this, peaceful and sweet, punchesthe bedroo on the light That’s whenon the floor, in a corner

"Fuck," I whisper, deciding right now that this will be the last day I don’t see a long row of her clothes in ood one: her clothes, next to mine Her clothes in our closet She isI have yet to ensure The warmth I feel at her presence in my life beco now, not later

Spurred into action with this thought, I dress in a gray pinstriped suit and a pale gray silk tie, and I open the door, light floodingon the bed, the blanket tucked under her arms, with her phone in her hand "Did you hear from your brother?"

She sets the phone on the bed and twists around to look at me "No call, but I was afraid aze sweeps over me, her eyes hen they find et used to waking up to you looking like that every day, Shane Brandon"

"And I could get used to waking up to you naked under the blankets," I say, e that she’s exactly that way now "Which," I add, "means we may be late to work more often than not And since this can’t be one of those days, I’ives a loud growl and I laugh "Sounds like I need to feed you anyway"

"My stoht?"

"We were hungry for other things," I res I did to her before I let her sleep, and want to do to her now "I’d better go take care of the business I got up to attend before I make you breakfast" I stand and start for the door, about to exit when I hear, "Shane"

I pause at the doorway and turn to look at her "What a to say to your father?"

"You don’t have to say anything You can quit"

"What a to say to your father?" she repeats, clearly dis"

"Any word fro today"

"I need a drink, but since I can’t handle my booze, and it’s far too early, can you make sure breakfast includes chocolate?"

"Chocolate," I confir away, I head down the stairs, hating that I have to subject her to ames, when I really want to pull her out of Brandon Enterprises, which siht now Aside fro as she’s in ht ht and safe Or safer And I adht in the midst of a whole hell of a lot of darkness has been like a lifejacket I need more than I want to be true But would I have taken our relationship up a notch this fast had Seth not ht,It’s then, staring at the drip, that I answer the question with a resounding no I would not have, but not because I didn’t want her here like every wo sure I could keep her safe, so it’s pretty fucking ironic that she’s here now because her farab my cup of coffee, sweeten it, and set it on the island counter I drag a barstool up to the counter and sit down, opening my laptop, to quickly order breakfast That done, I have three things I want to Google: the Geh I won’t, out of caution), the Martina family, and superstar pitcher Brody Matthews I start with Adrian Martina, the ht be Brody’s demise, and mine too, for that matter, if I don’t shut him out of Brandon Enterprises

Twenty -filled croissants waiting on Emily, and I’m not pleased hat I learned about Adrian He’s not the typical gangbanger stereotype you think of in jeans and bandana, with a gun in his back pocket and an ier He went to school in the States Graduated from Brown University with honors Dresses better than itiarded as the heir to the Martina cartel, and right arht to have killed at least a dozen people with his own hands Andmy freshly shaved jaw, I make another cup of coffee, pull another barstool into the kitchen for Eears to Brody Matthews, and a search brings up several articles that confirs that simply don’t compute with the man I’vestraight to the point "Oh King Oh Master, my boss and leader Why have you called ?" She fir you breakfast the entire year I’ve worked for you, what’s wrong?"