Page 24 of Savage Promises (Quinlan Empire #2)

Shane

A storm brews in my chest watching the notifications of a dating app installed on Lennox’s phone ping and ping and ping.

Men want her. I told myself I wouldn’t overreact.

But listening to Mara and Lennox through one of the bugs I installed at Echelon and hearing her laugh about being set up with strange men snapped me in half.

I should’ve confronted her earlier tonight at Neve’s game. Cleared the air before she went back to work. Lennox is mine, even if she doesn’t know it yet. And I’m done playing games.

I leave my brownstone with Creed on my six after one of the junior guards retrieved my car from the garage around the corner.

From the backseat, I tell Creed, “Get me to Echelon. Right fucking now.”

“10-4, boss.”

At this hour the bridge is empty, but every cable we pass ticks down the seconds I’m away from Lennox. We reach Astoria and the familiar streets don’t offer their usual comfort. Not when I’m about to explode.

The Sentinel’s engine roars as Creed glances at me through the rearview mirror. “Five minutes until we reach Club Echelon, boss.”

“Not good enough. Floor it,” I growl, my eyes scanning the streets for her car as we approach the club.

At just past two a.m., Lennox might be long gone. Already on a date. Already in a man’s bed. The knot in my chest tightens. With just a suggestion of a dating app from Mara, the thing got installed, and now Lennox thinks she can find someone else.

Not happening .

The white stone facade of Club Echelon comes into view. The usual twirling Hollywood-style lights out front are shut down, and the building is in the shadow of darkness. But a streetlamp catches movement near the alley that stretches behind the club.

A man is dragging someone. A woman, who is putting up a fight and losing. The gleam of dark shiny hair I’d recognize anywhere knocks the breath from my lungs.

Lennox.

My heart slams into my ribs as I see her struggle in the guy’s hold.

“Stop the car!” I shout, and before the vehicle comes to a full halt, I’m out, screaming to Creed over my shoulder. “Call Connor. Tell him to drop whatever he’s doing and meet me here.”

I sprint across the empty road, but a car comes out of nowhere, nearly hitting me. I dart to avoid it and barrel toward the alley.

“Hey!” I roar, my voice echoing off every brick in the building.

The bastard spins around, dropping Lennox. I slam into him, knocking him to the ground, and leverage my weight on him, pinning him with my foot on his neck.

Down on her hands and knees now, Lennox blinks up at me with tear-filled eyes. “Shane?”

“Get out of here,” I snap at her. “Get into your club. Where the fuck is Liam?”

“Getting my car.” She sits there on her knees frozen, watching me, like she wants to watch me hurt this guy.

The man beneath me curses, trying to get out from under my hold, but I bend down and deliver a savage punch to his throat.

Then another to his face. Again and again, on and on.

Adrenaline surges through me, drowning out everything else around me.

The image of Lennox’s fear-laced grimace and her arm in his filthy grip fuel every blow to this animal’s head.

I don’t stop. Not until his body goes limp beneath me, his blood pooling onto the pavement.

“Shane!” Creed grabs my shoulder, pulling me back.

I stagger to stay on my feet, my chest heaving, my knuckles stinging.

Lennox is still on the ground, trembling. Her terrified eyes dart from my shirt and hands covered in blood, to the lifeless man at my feet and back to me.

She saw everything .

I’m shaking with rage. As much as I want to hold Lennox, I can’t. But she won’t take her eyes off me.

Connor arrives moments later. “What the bleedin’ fuck happened?” he asks me, his voice low and dangerous.

“He attacked Lennox. I caught him.”

“Caught him? You wrung the life out of him, Shane.” Connor bends over to feel the guy’s pulse. “Faint. He’s not dead. Want me to finish him off?”

“No, no don’t,” Lennox chokes out.

“It’s not up to you, lass,” Connor says grimly.

I haven’t killed anyone in a long time. I don’t remember the last guy whose life left his eyes by my hands. My brothers and I were savages working for the O’Rourkes. But it was never personal. This was personal.

“Give me your heat,” I say to Connor. “Creed, get back in the car.”

When my guard leaves, Connor removes the untraceable ghost gun from his chest holster and hands it to me.

Holding it, I lower myself to Lennox. “Are you all right?”

She eyes the gun in my hand with a look of confusion. Not fear. Her father and brother kill people, too. “He caught me from behind. I could have fought him off. He was drunk.”

“I wasn’t willing to risk that,” I say and reach for her hand. “Come with me.”

I help her up and bring her to the man lying on the ground in a pool of blood, his last breaths a death rattle. “Do you want to do the honors?” I whisper into her ear.

“Shane...”

I bring my arms around her, position the gun in her hands, and together, we aim the barrel at her attacker.

“Do it, Lennox. Put your finger on the trigger. Do something with all that rage you feel. It can be our kill.” Pressed into her back, I feel how she’s shaking. “Do it. Do it with me.”

Her index finger rests against mine, hovering over the trigger. With just a squeeze, she belongs to me. Because I’ll have this murder to hold over her.

“But he didn’t hurt me,” she murmurs. “Not really.”

“He would have. I know the type, baby.” I push my growing erection into her ass.

She groans and her head sinks back into my shoulder. “Shane.”

“Do it,” I hiss. “I’m right here, baby. It’s okay.”

Her finger presses against mine slowly at first but then, bam ! Thanks to the silencer, the slug fires from the barrel and zips into the man’s chest, cleanly, no blood splatter. That’s how I designed the thing.

The guy’s body jerks, but it’s not a kill shot.

I move Lennox’s arm to aim at the guy’s head. “One more for good measure, love. To make sure he can never hurt anyone else. You’re strong, Lennox. He could have dragged some young drunk girl back here. Someone who couldn’t defend herself.”

“Neve,” she whispers, and three more bullets pump out from the gun, right into the guy’s skull.

I whisper in her ear, “Good girl. ”

Connor steps over to the guy. “That’ll do it.”

“Four shots. I’ll say that did it.”

Connor watches me hold Lennox who’s shaking. “I’ll call Rhys and we’ll take care of the body. Get out of here. Take care of her .”

“Aye, I will.”

Lennox flinches away from me. “What? How will you take care of me?” Her tiny show of fear cuts deeper than anything else tonight.

“Come with me,” I say, my voice low, but there’s no mistaking the command in it.

She doesn’t argue and her legs wobble as she follows me. I steady her with a hand on her back. Her skin is cold beneath my touch.

I leave my brother waiting for the enforcer team to clean up my mess, while I steer Lennox to the front of the club’s main entrance. Liam Riley leans against Lennox’s car smoking a cigarette.

He takes one look at us and gasps. “Holy shit. I thought you went back inside, Len. What the hell happened?”

“She was attacked.” I should punch Liam in the face for not protecting her, but I’ve scoped out the routine here.

A bouncer brings her car around each night while she waits inside. That loser in the alleyway was emboldened by alcohol and got lucky to catch Lennox in between eyes on her.

“Get in your car, Lennox. I’m driving you home.” I open the passenger door and not arguing, she gets in. “Riley, you didn’t see shit. Remember your loyalty.”

He pulverizes his cigarette with his shoe and zips up his jacket. “Always, Quinlan.”

I find Creed has my car idling behind the Benz. “Follow me,” I call out to him. “I’m bringing her to The Sterling.”

“Aye, boss.”

Inside the SUV, I grab Lennox’s thigh inappropriately.

Her silence is broken by a soft wheeze. “Shane... Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet.” I pull her toward me and crash my mouth down on hers.

I’m turned on by the kill for her. With her. How brave she was thinking she could fight him off. Lennox opens for me like a lock with a well-worn key. She drinks in my kisses and I’m wrenched back in time to when I tasted her last.

She kisses me how I want to be kissed. And I bet she’ll fuck me better than any woman ever has. Because she was made for me.

And I was made for her.

I pull back, breathing hard.

“You saw me commit a crime,” I finally say, my voice rough. “I saw you commit one. And you just kissed your sister’s fiancé.”

Struggling for a breath, she says, “And? What does that mean?”

“It means you belong to me. I own you, Lennox.”

Her eyes go wide, unblinking. “How can you own me?” she whispers.

“I need to ensure your silence.” I peel away from the crime scene, Creed following in my Sentinel.

“How?” The wheels turn in her head. “Shane, what’s going on? What are we doing?”

“You’ll see.” I stroke her thigh. “Just relax. We’ll be at the hotel in a few minutes.”

Her eyes slip closed as her head leans against the passenger window. The spire to The Sterling can be seen from several blocks away and with no lights and sirens on my tail, I relax, too .

Creed idles with my Sentinel in front of the hotel and I park behind him.

I step out of the Benz first then jog to the passenger side to help Lennox out.

I decide not to go inside the hotel because I’m covered in blood for one, and I won’t embarrass my sister or my brother-in-law.

But mostly, I don’t trust myself right now to be alone with Lennox in that villa.

“As of tomorrow,” I say, my tone leaving no room for argument, “you’ll have a guard and a driver.”

Her lips part, but she doesn’t protest. Seeing that man’s hands on her is still fresh in my mind.

“Tomorrow...” Lennox’s gaze darts from me to the lobby. “What about tonight?”

Christ, she wants me. But if I go into that villa, I will fuck her.

I might be able to live with that on my conscience.

There is nothing I want more than to have Lennox’s legs wrapped around my hips while my thick cock pounds her cunt all night.

She’d mewl like a cat in heat for me. I don’t give a shit what anyone thinks, but I won’t burden her with the guilt of betraying her sister when we are so close to the wedding.

My focus narrows in one direction. What I need to do to make this right. For everyone.

“Go to bed, Lennox.”

“But?”

“I need you to stay strong. Things are going to get very dark.” After a valet takes her Benz to The Sterling’s garage, I kiss her on the forehead. “Go to bed, my love.”

I step back from Lennox standing in front of the hotel, the lamplights casting a darkened silhouette over her body. After I get into the Sentinel, Creed drives off.

Holding a bruised knuckle under my chin I mutter, “Oh yeah, baby. Things are going to get very, very dark.”