Page 109 of Coveted By Cupid

“Turn around,” I mutter under my breath, desperate to know if I’ve finally found her.

As if she can hear me, the honey-haired woman turns toward the window. She glances out into the night, as if she’s waiting for someone to arrive and checking to see if they’re coming down the street. She pauses long enough for me to see who she is.

It’s Vanessa. I’ve found her.

My shoulders slump with relief for a moment before I shake with rage.

How dare she move in with him? The man is pure filth, soiling her with every touch. She’s supposed to be mine, only wanting my touch.

It’s temporary, I remind myself. She won’t be with the biker for long.

Once Kirill has done a number on her, she’ll be begging me to take her back. It’ll be my arms she runs to, my love she’ll take comfort in. She’ll want nothing to do with the biker or any other dangerous man, knowing full well what wicked men are capable of.

Vanessa turns away from the window, disappearing deeper into the apartment and taking my mangled heart with her.

With a faint smile, I softly say, “Wait for me, Vanessa. I’m coming for you.”

The sound of excessive chewing rudely interrupted my peaceful moment.

Riley sits on the ground beside me, chomping obnoxiously loud on her gum and grumbling complaints about our accommodations. She’s been as helpful as a wet tissue since we arrived in Loveland, doing the bare minimum in helping me track down Vanessa. Riley spends most of the time either watching me like a lovesick puppy or doing things intentionally to set me off when I continue to ignore her, like smacking her gum like a cow chewing cud. She’s bored, but my threshold for tolerance is peaking with her.

“Do you mind?” I say, recoiling from her in disgust. Annoyed, I motion at the clubhouse with an edge of agitation. “I’m trying to concentrate.”

She sighs as if she’s tired of my antics, rising from the floor and practically wrapping herself around me until she’s close enough that I can feel her hot breath on my neck. Riley either doesn’t care that I hate being near her, or she’s clueless to how much I resent her for getting me involved with the Black Market Railroad and for being the reason I strayed from Vanessa. Regardless of which one it is, she doesn’t seem to care as long as she gets what she wants.

“How much longer are we going to sit here spying on the bikers? We’ve been at it for hours.”

“Until we find an opportunity to grab Vanessa.”

She rolls her eyes. “We don’t even know if she’s with the MC.”

“We do now.” I point at the building across the street from us. “I saw her at the window on the third floor.”

A flash of annoyance crosses Riley’s features. She rips the binoculars out of my hands, bringing them to her eyes like she needs to see it to believe it.

“Fuck,” she mutters. Sighing, she hands back my binoculars. “How the hell are we going to get her out of there?”

“Not sure yet, but I’m brainstorming.”

Her gaze is hot on the side of my face. I don’t need to look at her to know she’s pissed at me. “Be honest with me. Why are you bothering with her?”

“You know why,” I mutter, ignoring her as best I can as I look through my binoculars, watching bikers come and go down the alley of their city block.

“Unbelievable,” she says with a harrumph. “You’re pining for a woman who left you while I’m the one still by your side, waiting for you to make me yours.”

Not this again.

More than once I’ve told Riley I’m not interested in pursuing anything with her. I had sex with her in a moment of weakness, and I’ve regretted my choice since. I’ve tried letting Riley down gently before turning downright nasty with my rebuffs. Yet, here we are having the same exhausting conversation again. Riley is deluding herself into believing my answer will change in her favor.

Perhaps I need to point out the obvious barrier stopping Riley from obtaining what she wants. It may be the only thing I can say to break through to her.

Setting my binoculars down, I face her with a deep sigh, knowing what I’m about to say will hurt her. “Riley, it’s never going to happen. Even if I wanted you—which I don’t—it would never work between us.”

She flinches, my cutting words slicing at her heart. “Don’t say that. We could be happy together.”

Needing her to understand her predicament, I take her hand in mine, squeezing it gently. She looks at me with expectant, tear-filled eyes.

“You could never be mine, Riley. You belong to Kirill.”