Chapter Nine
Priest wasn’t going to stick around long. The safe house, although high-end, was a prison. No windows and concrete block walls surrounding them. He felt like a caged rat. Before Cleo showed up in his life, he had a routine at home and enjoyed sleeping in his own bed. Now this was the second night he’d be spending on a sketchy mattress.
Would he be able to keep Cleo safe here?
The tension between them grew, and he knew she’d try to bolt the moment she tasted freedom. He couldn’t force someone to love a monster like him, but he also couldn’t stand to give her up. Did he even deserve love after the life he’d lived? He scrubbed a hand over his face as he sat on the edge of the bed. He hated feeling like this. When he stood up to explore the room, the first drawer he opened was full of feminine supplies, so he knew this room had probably been reserved for Cleo.
Whatever.
She’d made her choice, and it didn’t include him.
He took a shower, so many thoughts running through his head. Ever since Boss had given him that name, he’d been occupied non-stop. Priest had been waiting a lifetime for answers, and it was so close now he could taste it. He needed time to investigate, to hunt, but right now Cleo’s safety was taking precedence over everything.
Who wanted Cleo dead? It wasn’t because she was a witness. That ship had sailed. It was because he’d killed that cop, the fucking son of a boss. Which boss? Was it Bianchi? Had Boss already researched the bloodline? Priest couldn’t imagine he’d send his own son to clean up a mess and pop a witness.
And why target Cleo when it was obviously him who’d done the kill? They knew damn well because the tracker pen in her purse had been in his house. Why was he still breathing? Why waste resources on a little girl with no history?
But she wasn’t a little girl at all. She had tits that made him want to sit up and beg. He envisioned her curvy figure in vivid detail, the way she’d moaned when he fucked her last night, and the way she looked at him with those big blue eyes, hoping for protection. So far, all he’d done was put her in harm’s way.
He’d barely gotten dried off, only his boxers pulled on, when his bedroom door burst open.
“What the—”
Viper and Bain waltzed into his room. They didn’t look sweaty and disheveled like he’d felt when he showed up at his blip on the map.
“Boss’s idea,” Viper said, doing a sweep of the bedroom.
“How’d you get here?” Priest asked.
“Chopper,” Bain said, sitting on the edge of his bed to check his clip.
Priest ran both hands through his hair, only realizing he was half naked by the way they glared at him. He tugged on his pants and a t-shirt. He was strapping on his holsters when he began to question them again. “Why did Boss send two of you? He’s already stuck me with that a-hole Harb.”
“Things are going to get hot and heavy real soon,” Viper said. “Your girl isn’t all she seems.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“Didn’t you call Boss? You were supposed to call him when you got here,” Bain said.
No one had told him shit, but his curiosity was definitely piqued.
“Someone fill me in.”
“A lot of men want her dead.”
“I got that part. You think I’m here for my pleasure?”
“Well, some want her to live too. And Boss isn’t exactly friends with either side,” Viper said. “Regardless, a shitstorm is on its way here.”
“How’d they find us?” There was no way the driver of that second car had managed to traipse after them through that godforsaken jungle.
“Boss gave them a fucking invitation,” Bain said. “We brought food. I’m going to the kitchen to eat.” He left the room. Viper shrugged and followed behind him. Those two had a long history together. Priest had no ties to anyone but Cleo.
They’d left their women, Pepper and Scarlett, to help him babysit Cleo. This was embarrassing. He never should have allowed Boss to hook him up with Harb. They should have left that brother in the night and made their own way. Priest could protect her better on his own.
Right now, she was barely talking with him, and he wasn’t sure what his next move should be. He didn’t have experience with relationships. None of this was even supposed to happen.
Priest made his way to the kitchen. Not only did he need answers, even if he had to call Boss, but he was hungry. As he walked down the hall, he smelled the food coming from the kitchen. First, he’d eat, then he’d find out what everyone else seemed to know.