Page 62 of The One Night Match

CRUZ

If I thought having Riley out of my sight was hard before, now it’s straight up impossible.

My obsession with keeping her safe is getting worse with every hour that passes.

We got lucky today.

Riley walked away with a bump to the head and a few stitches, while Lexi has a badly sprained wrist. But they’re both shaken, even if they’re too stubborn to admit it.

“Are you listening to me?” Colten asks, his attention flicking up from the screen of his laptop.

“Sorry.” I rub the back of my neck. “What were you saying?”

“Dennis and Vernon are secured in the safe house a few blocks from the office. Davis and his team are split between here and there, but they can get us another team if we need it.”

I nod. “Keep it on standby, but for now, we’ll keep everyone close to home. Go to Mom’s place and pack up her and Lexi’s stuff and bring it here. At least a week’s worth. Same for you. I also want Ben and his wife moved into the pool house until this is all over.”

He meets my eyes over the top of the screen. “I’ll make a few calls about security and then head out.” He pauses to tap out amessage on his phone. “And you need to get all those beds back from storage.”

I bark out a laugh. “Let’s not get too hasty.”

Colten closes his laptop and shoves it under his arm, throwing a look over his shoulder at Lexi. He’s just as hesitant to leave her as I am Riley.

“I’ve got her,” I say softly.

He looks back bashfully but gives me a quick nod before disappearing toward the front door.

Our patients are curled up in our bed, Mr. Whiskers lapping up every second of attention between them.

“How are you feeling, ladies? Do you need anything to eat or drink?” I cross to the bed and drop a kiss to the top of Riley’s head. I won’t feel completely settled until she’s in my arms, but for now I need to check in with the rest of the organization, watch through a metric shit ton of video footage, and at some point I need to go deal with the traitors at the safe house, something I will be putting off until I can leave the house without my skin crawling.

“We’re fine, Cruz. You don’t need to hover.” Riley smiles up at me, her eyes bright with amusement.

“I’m not hovering.”

“Oh, you’re totally hovering, big brother.” Lexi laughs. “But it’s kinda cute, so please, carry on.”

I roll my eyes. “I have to go do some work, but when Mom gets here, I’m going to have her cancel the ball.”

“What?” Riley gasps.

“You can’t do that!” Lexi argues.

I sigh. “I have to. There are too many things that can go wrong at an event with that many people, and I won’t risk your lives just so we can throw a party.”

“Mom’s going to lose her shit,” Lexi says.

“A small price to pay for you both to be safe.”

“Cruz James De Luca, you cannot cancel Riley’s ball. It’s a tradition. It’s been around for generations, and the family will not fully accept her until it’s taken place.”

So it turns out, Mom isn’t as on board with this as I thought she would be. I figured if it meant keeping Lexi and Riley safe, that she’d be all for it.

I was wrong.

“I know that, but I’m not risking my wife’s safety for an outdated tradition. She could have been killed today. We have no idea who’s involved or what they’re planning, and therefore it’s not happening.” I cross my arms across my chest.

I was a defiant teenager, like most boys are, and considering how things went down between me and my dad, I bet you’re thinking he was the hard-ass parent, but you’d be wrong.