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I could text him back and tell him no. But if I had learned anything from Lucille, it was that with a little courage, anything was possible. So, with that in mind, I spent the afternoon shopping. I had a trip to get ready for.

An hour before Duncan was due back, I had Jeffrey drop me off at the hotel. I walked up to the desk, gave the attendant my name, and she handed me a key to his suite.

Once inside the elevator, I took a deep breath. I could do this. I could walk away from something I wanted, having faith that what I needed was better.

The elevator stopped, and the ding sounded before the doors opened. An older couple joined me. It preceded to stop on every floor, letting people on and off until it finally stopped at my destination.

When the doors opened, I looked down the long hallway. It seemed so much longer than it had last night. Maybe because last night I was excited about entering. Enthusiastic about the possibilities of being with Duncan.

In the sober light of day, things were very different.

My feet stood frozen to the floor as I considered what I was giving up. When the elevator dinged, it pulled me out of my head. Regardless of my decision, they both ended with me being in that room, face-to-face with Duncan Murphy.

Gosh, that sounded ominous.

I stuck my hand out, preventing the doors from fully closing, trapping me once again in my indecision. I took a step forward. Then another. And another, until I stood in front of his door.

Holding the electronic key over the handle, I heard the whir and click of the lock disengaging. Pushing it open, I stepped into the room and looked around. The maids had been through, cleaning up and putting everything back where it belonged.

There were no remnants of the breakfast I ate alone. Someone had neatly folded the cashmere blanket, replacing it on the back of the couch. The plush robe hung back in the closet.

And they had made the bed.

New, clean sheets replaced the disheveled ones we’d slept tangled up in. There was no scent of him lingering in the air. Just the smell of disinfectant used to wipe down the hard surfaces.

Just a few hours ago, while I was arguing with myself, a cleaning crew came in and erased any evidence of our night together.

I sat down to wait for him, knowing I was about to do the same thing.

Chapter Fourteen

Duncan

“We know you’ve been talking to Tyran,” Callum said as Aran, one of his guys, hit Garritt in the kidney. His pained cry kept him from answering right away, causing Aran to lash out again.

I stood against the wall, arms crossed over my chest and observed how Callum worked to get the information we needed. Like me, Callum kept his hands clean. Preferring to have the boys under him doing the heavy work.

There was a time we all had to do it. It was how you proved yourself.

“He called me, I swear. I didn’t tell him nothing,” Garritt cried.

Garritt Mahoney was a pussy. He had gotten where he was off his father’s and grandfather’s coattails.

Nolan Kelley rose men to power he could control. And Garritt was someone he could control. Now with Callum in control of New York, things would be different. Callum was someone we could work with.

Sal had offered New York to me. That was before we knew Tyran had betrayed him. It didn’t matter, though. I had turned it down flat. Boston was my home, and it always would be.

That had my thoughts wandering to Freyja.Mo bandia.She’d said she was open to wherever the universe took her. A smile cracked over my face as I thought about the way she’d worded it.

The universe!

As if that had anything the fuck to do with it. Her gypsy style of clothing and the way she talked led me to believe she was one of those women who believed the stars had to align before they could make a fucking decision.

I knew I was asking for trouble getting involved with her, but I didn’t care. She was fucking gorgeous, and she made my dick hard. At fifty-two years old, that was all that really mattered.

Besides, she said she only had six weeks. I’d have gotten my fill of her by then, anyway.

“Boss.”