Page 12 of While She Sleeps (The Hunter and The Thief #1)
CHAPTER ELEVEN
ORION
A sking to see Ember again is a risk for a lot of reasons.
The first being that by showing an obvious interest in the girl, that asshat Lucas is going to know she means something to me.
The second is that I’m not ready to drag her into my orbit yet. There are things outside of my control that I must get in order before I can bring her into the fold and claim her as mine.
And the third is that I don’t know how long I’ll be able to sit in the corner without needing my hands on her.
I’m a man known for patience. I’ve had to have a lot of it to get to where I am.
But there’s something about my little flame that makes it hard to remember why I need to be patient.
She makes me reckless, and that’s not something I can afford to be right now.
But I can’t stay away anymore.
The months of patience I’ve had to this point have been hard fought, but I need to have her in any capacity I can manage.
I slide my car into an empty parking spot behind our main warehouse, where I conduct most of my business, before double-checking the cameras.
At this time of night, there shouldn’t be anyone here, which means I can forgo the mask.
But I’m not willing to risk it. I’ve gone too many years without anyone knowing my identity. I’m not about to fuck it up now.
Once I’m sure the only person in the building is Killian, I slip out of the car and use the side door to enter the warehouse.
There are pallets in the center of the huge space and a forklift parked beside them.
It’s a new shipment of fentanyl that’s just arrived from the Middle East, but I want to check the quality before we start distribution.
I haven’t gotten to where I am today without knowing to be wary of new suppliers.
I find Killian in the small control room that overlooks all of our warehouses across the city, his eyes locked on one screen in particular. “Hey.”
He doesn’t bother looking up from the screen, sparing me but a grunt in acknowledgment. “Where have you been?”
I chuckle and fold myself into the spare chair by the door. Only he can get away with talking to me like that, and he knows it. I answer to no one, but Killian is as close to a friend as I have, making me much more likely to answer his question honestly.
“I was at The Velvet Room,” I tell him honestly, which finally tears his attention from the screen.
“You were at a strip club?” he asks incredulously. “What the fuck were you doing there?”
I consider my answer for a beat before deciding I’ve already come this far. Why not go the whole nine yards? Killian may not have an interest in getting a woman of his own, but he knows I’ve longed for a queen for years and has helped me anytime I needed it to make that happen.
There’s a chance Lucas will become suspicious by how often I demand to see her, and that means she’ll soon need another layer of protection that I can’t offer by myself.
“I saw Ember.”
His eyes widen, and he turns the chair to face me, seemingly forgetting about whatever he was watching before I walked in. “I thought you were going to wait a while longer before claiming her.”
“I am. But after I was done at her apartment, something told me I needed to go check on her to make sure Lucas did as he was told, which he didn’t, mind you. He had her working the VIP section with two assholes pawing her.”
Killian bristles, and if I weren’t so mad at the memory, I’d smirk.
Lucas may not be directly attached to the skin trade, but he walks a line neither of us is comfortable with, especially when his sister was taken by the Lounder Cartel a few years back, an organization we helped to dismantle without anyone ever knowing we were involved.
That reminds me, I should check in on Ayvah and make sure that asshole, Storm Saint James, is treating her right.
Although I believe Ayvah would have made a good queen, and I was thoroughly fascinated with her, I think things worked out how they were supposed to. Because there isn’t a single doubt in my mind that Ember is my future. She just doesn’t know it yet.
“I requested time with her in a private room so I could get her out of there.”
“You did what?” he snaps. “Orion, it’s too dangerous for her to see you right now.”
“She didn’t,” I placate him. “I had all the lights off, and we just…talked.”
He stares at me for a beat before a startling laugh escapes his throat. “You talked?”
“We did.” I nod. “It likely wasn’t the worst idea I’ve ever had. At least I had the chance to make sure we’re not totally incompatible before I make her mine.”
Killian shakes his head, a smirk tugging at his lips. “You’ve got it bad, man.”
I don’t bother denying it, not when we both know my obsession with this woman has been getting progressively more unhinged as the months have worn on.
“Are you seeing her again?”
I nod. “Tomorrow night.”
“Lucas is going to know something’s up.”
“That’s why I’m telling you. I need you to keep her safe when I can’t.”
If it were anyone else, I would expect an argument, but Killian nods his understanding.
He knows how much she means to me, and he doesn’t want me to suffer the way he has, even if he’ll never say that to my face.
Our peculiar little family will soon grow by one. We just have to get Ember on board with it.