Page 129 of Undeniably Corrupt

“What?” I ask, peering down at her, before I take her hand and lead her into the house.

“Get Shien there. You knew he was coming. That’s why you said that stuff.”

“I meant it, Angel. Every word. I would have let him kill mebecause I wasn’t going to let him hurt you or Hazel, and instinctively, part of me knew he didn’t want to do that either. He as much as said so. I was the liability. He would have killed me but let you live despite his better judgment because he could hold Hazel’s life over your head. I think killing Cassian stole a piece of him. Why else would he allow you to live after what you overheard of his crimes?”

She thinks about this as I take her upstairs and into my bedroom and bathroom. I remove her clothes piece by piece and start the shower, turning it to hot.

“You know, I often wonder that. Why kill Cass but keep me alive?”

“Whatever piece of him that couldn’t help but be human and love you is what saved you. And while I want him to spend the rest of his life in prison, I will always be grateful for that part.”

“Vander…” She trails off and shakes her head, and I take that uncertainty in her mind and lead us both into the shower, letting the water wash it all away. I massage shampoo and conditioner into her hair and rub her in my body wash. She has scrapes on her knees and shoulder from when I took her to the ground, and her right hand is a little swollen from punching her father. I kiss each of them and keep her close. Whatever it takes so she knows she’s safe and cared for and eternally surrounded by me.

She’s quiet, her mind too busy attempting to work the impossible through. It’s not over. It’s sort of the beginning in a lot of ways, depending on how her father tries to make this go. If he’s smart, he’ll plead it out. If he’s dumb, he’ll fight it, and I’ll make sure he spends his entire life in a maximum security prison in seclusion.

There isn’t a system on the planet I can’t infiltrate, and the world is run by computers.

I tuck Liora into one of my shirts and bring her backdownstairs. She needs to eat something before she sleeps. Shien texts me to say that they’re going to need formal statements from us tomorrow along with the video footage, but to make sure to remove where Liora beat the shit out of him and that there’s no sound.

I smile at that. No sound means no one knows what I do or how I was a part of anything. I’m simply Liora’s boss. Her boyfriend. The FBI wants to take the prize and the glory with this, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s all theirs.

I have what I want.

The girl who stops me after I sit her on the barstool and pulls me back to her.

“I’m not hungry.”

“But you need to eat.”

“I just need you.”

“Baby, you’ve been through a trauma tonight and?—”

“Don’t make me feel weak. Don’t treat me with kid gloves. Make me feel bold and powerful and fucking epic. Please, I need to feel like I can walk through fire and hell in the same breath and come out whole on the other side.”

“You can,” I tell her. “You don’t need me to make you feel that way. You do it all on your own.”

She blinks at me as that realization crawls over her. “You’re right. I do. I am that woman, aren’t I? I have been all along.”

“Yes. Undeniably. And I’ll walk through both fire and hell by your side while I do whatever it takes for you to see that and believe in that for yourself.”

“Prove it.” She grasps the front of my shirt and jerks me toward her. “Show me what it feels like to be safe and fearless all at once with you.”

EPILOGUE

This girl. My fucking girl.

I dip and take her lips with mine, kissing her so she knows I meant what I said, but also to reassure myself. I’ve never been more scared in my life than I was tonight. I thought I was going to lose my girl. I thought Shien wouldn’t make it back and that not only was I going to die, but that Liora was too.

In the end, it was his ignorance as to who Shien was and the deal we’d made with him that cost him.

“Better?”

“Almost,” she replies. “You’re too tall.”

I grin against her lips and step closer, eliminating the already narrow space between us. The counter digs into her lower back, and I see the slight catch in her breath. My hands find her waist, and without warning or effort, I lift her onto the countertop. The surprise in her eyes quickly melts into something darker, more urgent. The counter is cool beneath her, and I watch goosebumps rise along her thighs.

We’re eye to eye now, her legs dangling on either side of me. I lean in but don’t kiss her. Not again. Not yet. Instead, I breatheher in. The scent of my body wash clings to her skin, mixed with something that is uniquely Liora. Her fingers find the collar of my shirt, tugging me closer until our foreheads touch.