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But Otto and I both knew this was different.
She was here.
Friends with Raven.
And the girl had come running to me, not because she thought I was some obscure, faceless lifeline, but because she’d known she’d be safe in my arms.
And that was exactly where I wanted to keep her.
“I have no idea who it is, but I know enough to know she’s afraidof someone. Apparently, she’d gotten the same sense she might be being followed earlier today, and that’s when she came into the shop.”
“Came into the shop? That’s putting it mildly, River. That girl was in straight-up distress.”
I sighed. “Know it.”
“And?”
I didn’t hesitate when I said, “And I took her back to my place.”
Disbelief gusted out of him, and his tone lowered in concern. “You took her back to your place and not to the motel?”
It was against protocol. So against it, I deserved to get my ass beat. But there’d been no stopping myself from making that choice. Knowing there’d be no letting her out of my sight until I knew she was safe behind the walls of my house.
“You know I can’t just roll up there without a plan,” I defended.
“Oh, I think you had a plan, River, and I’m pretty sure that plan was to get that sweet little thing all to yourself.”
“Like you don’t go around getting attached.” My words were barbs.
He scoffed. “I get attached because I’m worried about them. Because I care. Because I want to be sure they get on with their lives and they have the resources to do it. I still follow the rules and I follow them to a T, and I’ve never once dipped my dick in any of them.”
“She came to me, not to Sanctum.” I flexed my hand with the stacked Ss tattooed on the back.
Sovereign Sanctum.
My gut twisted. The rules were there for a reason, and I was the one who’d written them.
“Sounds to me like you’re making excuses,” he said.
Maybe, but they were still valid.
“She doesn’t know anything about us. Who we are. Besides, I don’t know what she’s up against.”
“And you’ve taken it upon yourself to find out?” It was a partial accusation.
“Yeah, you could say that.”
On the other end of the line, I could feel Otto warring, unsure of what to say. Finally, he exhaled and muttered, “Just be careful, man. Youknow what we have riding on this. You start straying from the purpose, and the waters get muddied. It puts all of us in a precarious situation.”
“Know it. I am being careful.”
Nah, I was being fuckin’ reckless, but I couldn’t admit that.
“So what’s your plan?”
“Going to call Cash. See what he can dig out.”
“Without her knowing?”
