Page 89 of The Hitman's Prince

“Jacob first,” Orion agreed.

We left the apartment, left the chapel, and headed for the parking lot. I hadn’t brought my car, my phone, but Orion had thankfully picked up my keys on the way over.

“You ruined your phone,” he said, unlocking the car and climbing into the driver’s seat.

“I wanted it to be convincing.”

“I was convinced,” he said, turning to me once I’d buckled myself into the passenger seat. His expression was stoic, every line around his mouth tense. “I was convinced until I wasn’t. Don’t ever do that again.”

His seriousness could have won awards, would have made lesser men tremble, but I loved him whole, moods and fears and pleasure and all of it.

“Are you giving orders now, pet?” I raised my hand to his throat, and I would have sworn he leaned into it my grasp. I tightened my fingers around his neck until I could feel his pulse beat against my fingers, slow and steady, and entirely unafraid.

“Just this one,” he said.

“Just this one.” I squeezed, pulled him in close and slanted our mouths together. He was hungry for a kiss, and so was I, but the clock was ticking down on thepeople I loved and we’d already shared too many precious moments together in that church. I wanted him and I wanted all of them.

I wanted to finish this, once and for all.

“Drive, Orion.” I gave him one last press of my palm against his throat, one brush of my lips against his. “Get to the priest before it’s too late.”

Chapter 66

Caspian

Iknew Jake was in the office, knew his dad was in there as well. Daren and I had run into his father on the way out, which resulted in Daren getting a black eye and his father getting pistol-whipped until he lost consciousness. Not ideal by any stretch of the imagination.

“Is that the Glock I got you for your birthday?” Phillip Moore asked.

“When I turned thirteen.”

“I knew it was only a matter of time before you showed up.”

“Is that so?” Jake asked.

We’d heard the whole conversation. There’d been so many things said…my father had planned to marry me off? To Vince? The irony was almost too much for me to handle, his machinations having got me closer to the thing I wanted most than my own actions had. Unfortunately, nothing he ever did came from a place of good will or good intent. It was better this way.

A chair skittered back across the floor and I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. Daren had given me a gun since I hadn’t left the house with mine. I was supposed to be holed up at Thorn Hill like a damsel in distress, but no thank you. Just because I hadn’t arrived prepared didn’t mean I wasn’t ready to fight for the man I loved and the life we deserved.

“What are you going to do about it?” Jake asked next, and Daren winced, knowing the question was a taunt.

“What I should have done in the first place. Presley and I were stupid to think you or your cousin deserved to inherit anything we’d built for you.”

The door to the office was cracked open, and I stepped away from the wall in time to see Phillip raise a gun, to slide his finger off the barrel and onto the trigger. I didn’t think. I didn’t wait. I mirrored the action and fired. His shoulder jerked forward and he crumpled into a heap on the floor. Daren swore and shoved me out of the way, racing into the office before I could even regain my footing.

“What are you doing here?” Jake asked.

I scrambled to my feet and stepped into the office, hand shaking so badly the gun rattled against my thigh.

“Caspian?” Jake’s voice was beyond shocked and he looked down at his weapon, then mine. “Did you…?

“He did,” Daren answered, turning and plucking the gun out of my hands like it was a flower. He tuckedit into his pocket and gave a soft kick to Phillip’s ribcage. He groaned, rolling onto his back. His face was ghostly pale, the pool of blood spreading beneath him like wildfire. Far more than Vince had bled when I’d shot him, I thought, which felt odd, but…

“He was going to shoot you,” I said, and Jake closed the space between us in a flash, wrapping me up into his arms with so much force, my toes left the ground.

“What are you doing here?” He set me down and took my face into his hands, checking me over for injuries not knowing he’d find none. Daren had kept his word and kept me safe.

“I couldn’t just leave you on your own,” I said. “You and Orion and Vince all on your own while I just waited it out in a comfortable bed in a comfortable house.”