Page 160 of Scandalous Contract

She snuggled even closer to me. Another yawn escaped her, and it wasn’t long before she was snoring. I lay there, listening to her light snores. She was still tired, but I was fully awake and unable to go back to sleep. I wanted her to be awake with me. I wanted to talk to her. I loved talking to this woman.

But I wasn’t rude enough to force her to stay awake with me just because I already missed the sound of her voice. Easing her off my arm, I moved her over to her pillow and tucked her in. Before leaving the bed, I kissed her forehead.

I climbed off the bed, clad only in my boxers, and strode into the kitchen to get a bottle of water. I’d just stepped into the living room to watch a little television when something caught my eye, a ray of light sweeping across the far wall.

Headlights.

I moved toward the window, quiet, cautious, and looked through the blinds. Sure enough, there was a car parked in front of Stefanie’s house, just idling there with its engine running. No one got out.

It was too dark for me to see inside the vehicle, but I had an idea of who was inside. My jaw clenched. Stepping away from the window, I stalked down the hall and eased the bedroom door open.

Stefanie was curled up on her side, fast asleep. But she’d rolled onto my pillow. I smiled. Even in her sleep, she was fucking adorable with one hand under her cheek as her snores filled the air. She was sleeping peacefully.

Trying my best not to wake her, I stepped over to the chair in the corner, pulled on the pants I’d worn earlier, and headed back to the living room. I checked under the couch and pulled out my gun. After turning off the alarm, I opened the door.

The second I stepped onto the porch, the car took off, leaving me standing there, staring after it. I didn’t move. I stood there and watched until the car disappeared around the corner. Then I pulled out my phone and called one of my guys.

“Dude, do you know what time it is?” Rashad answered on the first ring, voice rough.

“Yeah. I’ll pay double for your trouble,” I told him.

He sighed. “Alright. What’s up?”

“There was a car parked outside my woman’s house. Black sedan. As soon as I stepped out, it took off. I need to know who it was and where they live.”

“You get the plate?”

“Too dark. But I’ve got security cam footage.”

“Send it over. I may not be able to get anything unless the camera is positioned just right. If I can’t get anything off your footage, I’ll try to hack into other cameras in the area. It might take me a minute.”

“I think I know who it was,” I said, heading back inside and locking the door behind me. “I need to know where Hudson Howard was tonight. Look into his whereabouts for me.”

“Didn’t you already give him a warning?”

“Apparently, he’s braver than I thought,” I said as I turned the house alarm back on.

“You want me to send someone to trail him?”

“No. Just find him. I’ll take care of him myself.”

“You come from a family of motherfuckers who stay ready to kill. Why do you always want to do shit by yourself?”

He sounded just like my father. My father was always saying,why go at someone alone when you have an entire Cattaneo army behind you.But in my mind, if a man couldn’t handle shit on his own, then he wasn’t a real man. If I couldn’t protect the woman I loved, then I didn’t deserve her love.

“My family has my back when I need them. But I don’t need them for this. Let me know what you find on the car and on Hudson’s whereabouts.”

I hung up and stood in the foyer, still staring at the locked front door. I didn’t like the way that car lingered. I didn’t like that it left the second I showed my face. Hudson had been quiet lately. Too quiet.

If that was him, or someone he sent, he was already making the mistake of thinking he could come anywhere near Stefanie without me knowing. He wanted a problem? Fine. I’d give him a problem.

Now, I really couldn’t sleep. Though I knew Rashad wouldn’t be calling me back anytime soon, I still paced the living room, hoping Hudson would come back. Hoping he’d try to get inside.

And when he didn’t come back, I almost went to him. I knew his address. I knew where his family lived. I knew where he worked. I could get to him before he considered coming near Stefanie again.

But I couldn’t leave her side without knowing where this fucker was. For all I knew, he could still be close by. I walked back into the bedroom and stared at my heart outside my chest, sprawled across the bed, snoring, without a care in the world.

This woman was everything to me. This summer had been the best summer of my life. However, it was coming to an end. But fuck the contract, because I could tell Stefanie loved me just as much as I loved her.