Page 43

Ellie

Seeing Ha-joon at the police station to make sure my father was handed off the right way shocked me. When I heard him threatening the man I was still—and maybe forever—afraid of made me feel safe in a way I couldn’t describe.

And then he tried to get me a way to have even more closure which thawed my icy heart and fear of being with him.

But it was time to step in and not act like a scared daughter. I moved closer to the woman and extended my hand. “Ellie Reed-Miller. Biologically his daughter, but now he’s legally renounced me. Given the bile he was just spewing, there’s concern he won’t try to sell me but get revenge.”

“You’re not worth revenge,” Kenneth snapped.

“Anything from your mouth isn’t to be trusted and you’re out of your head,” I drawled.

“That was clear from the moment I heard you were planning an incestuous relationship with me to get around your curse to only have daughters.” I raised an eyebrow at his shocked face.

“I’m not hiding why I ran from your madness anymore, Kenneth. The shame isn’t mine .”

“Certainly not, and clearly getting away from this scum was the best thing for you and our world given how much we need ASH,” the woman said before pulling out a card and handing it to me.

“If you give that to your attorney, I can touch base with them and provide updates. I’m taking lead on all of the coordinating and prosecutions.

Where he’ll be serving time first especially. ”

I took the card and nodded that I understood. She didn’t deal with the victims nor wanted to so she could focus on her part of the job. “So it will be a lot of prison time? The crimes aren’t just his normal gambling and drunken antics?”

“No, he has much more than that.” She nodded to someone else and I was handed a file.

“That’s what we were going to share with Atlanta PD for the pat on the back of the criminal they caught.

I’m sure they’re fine with making a copy for you.

I hate to be curt, but our warlock has been opening a lot of portals today. ”

“Yes, of course. I apologize for the delay. I needed to see myself that he was gone.” I thanked them again and stepped over by Ha-joon while the handoff was finished. He seemed surprised that I reached for his hand and then accepted mine, kissing my hair.

I let out a shaky breath when Kenneth was gone and the portal was closed. I turned to the officer who seemed to be in charge.

He didn’t even make me ask. “Let me get a copy of all of that for you, Ms. Reed. You might not want to read it today.”

“Wondering might keep me up but maybe not all of it,” I accepted, handing him the folder.

Ha-joon came with me inside and it wasn’t even five minutes until I had my own copy. We both thanked them and then he talked me into taking his vehicle home and we could get mine in the morning. He’d already checked with the station and they were fine with me parking there overnight.

Wonderful. I was feeling shakier than I’d like to admit.

We got closer that night. Not physically, but… Ha-joon was deeper in my life and heart. Maybe I’d been fooling myself that he hadn’t been and just this new explosion in my life made it glaringly obvious.

Either way, it was clear that I needed him in my life. I wanted him there. I couldn’t picture him not there.

And with so much else going on, I was appreciating how amazing he was. How he was really there for me and I could rely on him.

Which was maybe why my jealousy kicked up a notch? Or it felt like now that I needed him, he could be taken away from me at any moment?

Or stress. I could have just been stressed and I was losing my ever-loving mind . Who the fuck really knew?

All I did know was that his fan club was getting on my nerves even more than normal. We were becoming closer and closer, and they needed to seriously back the fuck off before I drained too many women in my hospital.

I didn’t blame them for drooling when he came in shirtless from his running club all the fucking time.

He looked delicious especially when the guards now got them with the hose when they ran by since it was so hot out even in the mornings.

Like… I got it . I knew he was even hotter naked and doing dirty, naughty everything.

But he was mine.

Drool from a fucking distance.

Friday morning I’d had enough of it and his normal groupies tripping over themselves to offer him a bottle of water or whatever they made for his breakfast this time. There were ten of them who didn’t even go on the run and just waited for him.

So yeah, I snapped.

Again.

Well, almost.

I was walking over to him to make it clear who he belonged to and swat flies away, but at the last second I stopped, realizing what I’d almost done.

Without his consent.

At work.

He’d turned towards me when I was still ten feet away with an array of emotions in his eyes, on his face, and in his aura. He frowned when I froze and took the last step towards me. “Tell me what I’m scenting is real.”

“I think I just almost lost my mind and did something unforgivable,” I mumbled, blinking up at him and wondering what happened to the Ellie who never cracked. The one who had iron armor and steel in her veins.

Him. Part of it was him and being supported instead of always pushing it down or pushing it to the side.

“I consent,” he whispered, catching on where my head was. His gaze darted from my eyes to my lips. “I consent. Yes, please—you were going to, right?”

“Yes,” I breathed, unable to lie or brush him off.

“But you stopped,” he hedged. “You changed your mind?”

I wasn’t sure how he meant that, my brain a bit of static that I’d been about to throw a fit. “Yes, I can’t just—jealousy isn’t the reason to do it.” I frowned. “You deserve better than—”

“No, I don’t,” he interrupted, moving a bit closer. “Do it because of whyever, just do it.” He seemed to think better of that. “Do it and don’t regret me.”

That broke through my swirling everything. “I wouldn’t regret you. I just—this wasn’t the way.” I looked past him at the women giving me death stares to leave him alone so they could keep flirting.

“I think it’s bloody perfect,” he argued, but then seemed to realize that I wasn’t going to. “Do you give me permission?”

My gaze snapped back to him. “What?”

“Give me permission, Ellie,” he breathed, his voice laced with a begging tone that broke me. “Say yes and let me finish what you started.”

“Yes.”

His arm moved around me, and right there in the huge main atrium, the damn wolf gave me a kiss in greeting. It was soft and quick, but clearly a damn kiss. He moved his forehead to mine. “Best Friday morning ever. What should we have for dinner?”

The whispers were already starting and I swallowed loudly. “I think I’m going to need that funny brownie in your freezer after the bomb we just set off.”

The damn wolf just laughed. He threw back his head and laughed before kissing me again.

Well, we were out and official now. Not sure it was the right way to do it, but at least now he might have fewer annoyances throwing themselves at him.

Probably not.

The End