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Toni regarded Prince for a moment, as if deciding whether or not he believed him. Then he dipped his chin, quickly, sharply, before turning his eyes back to me.

“Are you coming with us?”

I opened my mouth, but looked at Ashe, who offered me an encouraging smile and a nod.

“I can pick you up later, if you like,” he grinned. “Maybe just swing by the apartment?”

He meantbreak into my apartment, I knew it by the way he smirked. But I wasn’t quite sure I could correct him in front of my brothers without another almost-murder happening. So I rolled my eyes, pushing him off the seat so I could stand.

“Thanks again, guys,” I rounded the table to pull Prince in for a hug—which he stiffened at. Freddie was even worse, and almost fell off his seat just to try and avoid the gesture.

“Cya later, Captain,” Bull accepted my cuddle immediately and without argument.

Ashe watched with a contented smile, his arms crossed.

“ByeHenny.” I pinched his cheek roughly, shaking him a little bit, just to be a dick.

He glared down at me while I did it, an amused sort of irritation in his eyes flashing that made me excited for whatever punishment he was coming up with in his head. He caught my wrist in his big hand, holding it still and snaking an arm around my waist.

Ashe was being more respectful than I knew him to be, probably because of my two large brothers and even more intimidating sister-in-law standing close by, and his hands never wandered.

But he did press a kiss to my cheek, close enough to my ear so he could whisper, “You’re just begging for my hand around your throat, aren’t you Princess?”

I pressed my thighs together, praying that he couldn’t feel just how much it was true.

23

ASHE

I hadto stand there and watch as Toni dragged Zarina out of the clubhouse like she was in big trouble.

Of course, the logical part of my brain knew that it was all a part of our plan to keep up the facade of our rivalry, just in case our theory about Theo was true.

But still, the primal, neanderthal part of my brain saw how Antoni’s hand was wrapped around Zarina’s tiny bicep, yanking her forward like a ragdoll, and everything in me wanted to snap his fingers off.

But she played the part beautifully. Tugging against him. Swearing at him. Fighting every step of the way.

We’d agreed not to meet tonight, and as much as me and my cock were mad about it, it was a good idea.

Toni would lock her away in his house, like a princess in a tower, under the guise that she would be sitting in a corner and thinking about what she did wrong. A fitting punishment for a Santino who dared speak to a Redliner.

This way, if The EA was tracking us, they wouldn’t be able to put together the connection. But even if Theo was just a desperate loser acting alone, at least he wouldn’t be able to get near her without someone knowing about it.

Toni had asked for 24 hours.

Prince had agreed, and I set a countdown on my phone.

After all the sneaking around, all the secrecy, all the stolen moments, I was done. Everyone who mattered knew about us now, and there were no reasons left why I shouldn’t be near her.

I wanted to be in her sunshiney presence. I wanted to be around her. I wanted to be close to her, to follow her around all the time but without hiding. I wanted to enter her home through the front door, and not have to worry about leaving before the sun rose.

So I did my best to stay busy.

I worked on my bike for a while, and then I went to the studio to finish up some custom pieces. A few walk-ins came in through the hours of the early evening, which helped me take my mind off the little heiress that I couldn’t help but think about.

I felt Jess’s presence behind me, hovering and watching while I hunched over my light box and finished the outline for a floral piece a young girl had requested.

“Pretty,” she said simply after a while, dragging a stool over to watch a little more closely.