Page 74 of His Lair

My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out, seeing a message from Louie.

Louie:

In your office. Where are you?

Me:

Basement with Lailani. Be up in a sec.

Louie:

You took her to the basement? You sure you’ll make it back alive? Last I heard, she hated you.

Me:

She’s moved in with me. And she’s marrying me. Pretty sure she’s not going to kill me.

Louie:

Or she’s going to marry you first and then take all your shit after she kills you.

“Louie thinks you’re going to marry me before you kill me just so you can take all my shit.” I laugh as I recite the message to Lailani.

“Louie is an idiot. I wouldn’t need to marry you to steal your shit, Sammie. It’d be easier to hack your accounts,” she replies casually.

It’s scary how nonchalant she is about all this. I’m still wrapping my head around this version of Lailani, and the fact that I find this version hotter than the sweet, innocent girl I thought I knew. Don’t get me wrong. I love every version of this woman. All of her. But it is an adjustment, getting used to her being so… ruthless.

“You’re right. He is an idiot. But right now, that idiot is waiting for me in my office. I have to go up,” I tell her.

“Okay, give me a sec.” Lailani starts tucking the guns and knives into her clothing, hiding them with ease. “I should go and check on my father.”

Once she’s concealed everything, we step back into the elevator and I press the button for her father’s floor. “I’ll catch up with you later.” I lean forward and press my lips to hers. “I love you.”

“I love you. Stay alive,” she says as she steps out into the hallway.

“You too.”

When I finally make it to my office, both Carlo and Louie are there. “You took her to the basement?”

“I wanted to make sure she had enough on her to protect herself today.” I shrug.

“Don’t assassins usually have their own armories?” Carlo asks.

“The good ones do,” Louie adds.

“Shut up,” I grunt. I wonder if she does have one. And where is her actual home base? She’s only got a little apartment in the city… Where was she living before she came to town? Fuck, there is so much I still don’t know about this woman.

“What’s the plan for today?” Louie asks. “Are we stopping this sham of a wedding or going along with it?”

“Going along with it,” I tell him. “I want to see how this is meant to play out. What the fuck does Santiago think he’s going to get?” The Santiago family hasn’t made a move against us for a while now, but I’m not surprised they are popping up out of the blue. It’s kinda their style.

“Okay.” Louie and Carlo nod at the same time.

“What’s this I hear about you having a lair?” Emmanuel walks into my office like he fucking owns the place. I really need to talk to Lailani about keeping some things between us.

“Is there anything my fiancée doesn’t talk to you about?” I ask him.

“Your fiancée? Well, she didn’t mention that. She did tell me how much she loved your dick once, though.” The asshole shrugs. “So I’m guessing not many topics are off limits.”