Page 18

CONAN

A s we pull onto the highway, I keep an eye on her in my rearview.

She’s handling my baby like she was born in the driver’s seat. I expected no less. If she can manage this beast, she’s safe in any of my cars.

The fact that she chases the thrill with speed?

Makes me harder than I should admit.

I push down on the accelerator, engine roaring beneath me. Fuck, I need to get myself a Shelby. Just so I can race her.

I hit dial on Rowan’s contact and bring the phone to my ear.

“You managed to send a text yet, shithead?” he answers, already mocking.

“You want my fist through your head later?” I snap.

“Nah. I gotta keep my face pretty for my date later.”

“Date… you mean a brawl in a strip club?”

I slow for a red light, Hallie pulling up beside me with that goddamn smile that knocks the air out of my lungs.

“I might meet a woman while I’m there.”

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. To take your virginity?”

“Fuck off. I’m not a virgin. Ask Reggie!”

I scoff. “And why would he know?”

He clears his throat. “We—uh. Share sometimes. Chicks dig twin action.”

I scrunch my nose. Sharing? Let alone with one of my brothers? That’s a bloodbath waiting to happen.

“Interesting overshare. Anyway, change of plans. I’ll meet you two there. Make sure you’ve got enough guns.”

There’s a beat of silence.

“Should we tell Declan and Finn?”

“No. Finn told me to look out for Hallie. I’m just doing my damn job.” Lying’s starting to come easy when it comes to her. But I’m not lying about the intel. I just need his address. I’d rather end him with no witnesses.

“Fine with me. Just don’t fucking kill him if he is there. I can’t contain your rage. And the dead can’t speak.”

I chuckle. He’s not wrong. I gotta keep my MMA license clean and hear what the bastard has to say before I break his jaw.

“You make me sound psychotic.” I pause, then slam my foot on the pedal to see if Hallie keeps up. “Also, you’re wrong. The dead can speak. We just have to blackmail a medium or whatever.”

“Fair point. And no, you’re not psychotic. That’s Finn. You’re more of a… short fuse. You wear your emotions on your sleeve. On the plus side, that means you’ve got them.”

“Right. Thanks for that. Did you train to become a shrink recently, Rowan?”

“Nah. I just know psychos. You kinda have to when your fucking twin is one.”

It’s always the quiet ones. Finn and Reggie prove that. Silent. Deadly. Monsters, but ours.

“Well, we wouldn’t change our brothers, so we live with it. I’ll meet you at the club at seven.”

“You got it, Con.”

I cut the call and signal left, heading down the gravel road to my solace.

As I roll into the unit, Hallie pulls up beside me. From the outside, it’s nothing, just another industrial shell. But behind that steel door?

It’s my kingdom.

I get out, stride to her door, and pull it open.

“M’lady.” I offer her my best mock curtsy as she slides out.

Fuck. She looks good behind the wheel of my car.

“So. What’s this place, then?”

I tap my nose. “Come on.”

I unlock the metal door and shove it open.

My busted Bugatti stands on the lift in center stage, a monument to obsession. Ever since I got behind the wheel of one in Russia, saving Charlotte from her douche ex-husband, the first thing I did on my return was buy this.

“You fix them up yourself?”

I nod, hand on the small of her back as I guide her in.

“This is awesome.”

She turns left and gasps.

My collection. My pride.

“Is that—?” She rushes to the one-of-a-kind gold-plated Aston Martin.

“Yeah, that’s her.”

She spins to face me, eyes wide. Mouth parted.

“Okay. Which is your favorite?”

I move to the only car under a cover and yank it off.

“Shut up. The Ford GT40? What is it, like 1960s? It’s immaculate, Conan. Oh my god.”

That pitch in her voice, like pure delight, it swells something in my chest I don’t want to name.

“She was my dad’s. Had her shipped over after he died. Did a few fixes. She runs like a dream.”

“That’s incredible,” she breathes. “A proper car. You have taste, sir.”

“That I do.” I bite the inside of my cheek.

“So. Mechanic by day, fighter by night? What else don’t I know about you?”

Everything. That I’m born into a mafia family. That I’ve killed for sport and family. That I ran an underground ring before I was legal. That I live in a repurposed chocolate factory with a secret sex club hidden inside. That I want to bend her over the hood and make her scream my name.

Or maybe… I want her to run. So I can chase.

I shake my head. “Not much more to tell.”

She steps closer, air crackling between us.

“Lies. There’s way more under the surface with you.”

“I guess you gotta work on removing the layers, darlin’.”

She bats my chest, and I catch her wrist.

Fuck, I want to taste her again. But I resist.

“Wanna see the rest?”

“There’s more?”

“Hmmm.”

I lace our fingers and lead her through the back.

My gym. My war zone. A steel cage center stage. Ice bath. Sauna. No distractions. No excuses.

“So you never need to leave this place?” she asks, eyes taking it all in. She pulls her hand away and wanders toward the rear door.

“What’s in here?”

“Bodies.”

“Ha-ha.”

“A bedroom.”

She tries the handle. Locked.

“Only special people can unlock that.”

Beyond it, the woods. My second hunting ground.

“Right.”

Her shoulders dip as she walks back to me.

“Special people? You mean like the instructor today? Would you let her in there?”

That spark in her eyes? It scorches me.

“Hallie,” I warn.

My chest tightens.

“I don’t want to fuck her.” Blunt. Raw. But it’s the truth.

She sucks in a breath.

“I don’t care if you do.”

Liar. My heart races and my palms start to sweat.

“I didn’t want her to flirt with me. I was never going to entertain her.”

The words fall out too fast. Too honest.

She twists her fingers together, her eyes locked on mine.

“You can do whatever. I’m not stopping you,” she whispers.

I want her to stop me.

I want her to be as desperate for me as I am for her.

“I followed you to that class because I wanted to see you.”

She bites back a grin, and some small relief pulses in my ribs.

“Right.”

Fuck. I’m flustered.

And she’s acting unbothered?

Except I can read every tell—the dilated pupils, the heat rising up her neck. It’s a mask. She’s hiding behind it.

“Hallie.”

“Yes, Conan?” she teases, head tilted.

I step closer.

“I find it hot when you try to hide how much you want me.”

She glances up through her lashes. “I want you, do I?”

“You’re the one who grabbed my ass to stake your claim. You’re down bad for me, trouble.”

“Am not.” Her chin tips in defiance.

“The hunt hasn’t even begun, baby.” I press my nose to hers.

She has no idea.

The thrill of the chase is my fucking religion.

Our silence is electric. I’ve never felt more alive.

“You can’t chase something that isn’t running, beastie.”

A dark chuckle rumbles from my chest.

“Philosophical.”

Her gaze flicks to my mouth, and I back away.

Soon. She’ll run. And I’ll catch her.

But right now?

Right now, I just need her safe.