“And that means exactly what?” I asked.

  A knock at the front door interrupted us, and I started to sit up, but he held me to him.

  “Levi will get it,” he said, his arms tightening around me.

  “Levi is here?” I asked, my cheeks turning bright red. I’d been screaming Gage’s name just a few minutes ago.

  “He brought me last night,” Gage explained.

  I heard male voices.

  “That’s probably Wilder. I should go explain why Levi is answering my door.”

  His hold on me was like a vise grip.

  “Gage?”

  “Levi can handle it.”

  I reached up and cupped the side of his face. His jaw was clenched tight.

  “He helped me when I needed it yesterday. He’s my friend, and I owe it to him to let him see that I’m okay.”

  His nostrils flared as he held me.

  “Let me do this, and then we can talk some more—in bed.” I was bribing him.

  Slowly, his hold on me eased, and I smiled, pressing one more kiss to his lips before getting up and grabbing my robe and heading toward the bedroom door.

  My apartment door was open, and Levi was standing at it, just like Gage had said. He turned his head in my direction and looked relieved.

  “Ah, there she is. You can see she’s alive for yourself,” Levi said, stepping back as I walked over to the door.

  Wilder’s eyes scanned me before he locked on my face. “Are you okay?”

  I nodded. “Yes. I’m all better. Thank you for your help.”

  He glanced behind me.

  “There were two of them last night,” he said to me, then scanned the area behind me like he was looking for Gage.

  “The other one is in her bed. You just missed her screaming his name over and over,” Levi drawled.

  “Levi!” My face was bright red.

  He shrugged. “Dude thought we were gonna hurt you last night. Pushed Gage too far. I’m just reassuring your friend that you are being taken care of properly.”

  I winced at his choice of words, then turned back to Wilder. He looked angry. I’d never seen Wilder angry. It was shocking.

  “I’m sorry about him.”

  Wilder narrowed his eyes. “You’re sleeping with that psychopath? Did he tell you that he put a gun to my head?”

  Levi made a tsking sound from behind me, but I didn’t look back at him this time. I was trying to figure out what I had just heard.

  “A gun?” I asked, not sure I had heard him right.

  Wilder nodded.

  A hand was on my waist then, and I tensed. I hadn’t heard Gage walking due to the carpet cushioning his steps. He pressed a kiss to the side of my face.

  Wilder’s eyes widened, as if he was scared. Had Gage seriously held a gun at him?

  “You saw her. You can leave now.” Gage’s tone wasn’t normal. It had a darkness to it.

  Wilder looked from him to me.

  “You got two seconds,” Gage said coldly.

  “I’m fine. Thanks for checking on me,” I told him, then went to close the door quickly before this escalated.

  Levi started to clap. “That was handled like a fucking pro. Damn, if you’d handled shit like that five years ago, things might have gone down differently.”

  “Gage, did you point a gun at Wilder?” I asked in disbelief.

  Gage shook his head. “No, baby, I pressed it against his forehead. I didn’t point it,” he replied as if this were a normal conversation.

  “You did what?” I asked.

  He smirked. “After I licked your pussy and had you come all over my face, I warned you about this. Me.”

  I shook my head. “No, you did not mention anything about guns.”

  He ran his knuckle down my face as he tilted his head slightly. “The monster that consumes me. Takes over. The insane jealousy. I explained this to you. That wasn’t a fairy tale, baby.”

  I ran my hand through my hair. “Being jealous is one thing. But that … what if you’d accidentally killed him?”

  He chuckled. “I’ve never accidentally killed anyone. Everyone I’ve killed, I meant to pull the trigger.”

  I needed to sit down. I felt light-headed.

  “She’s gone pale,” Levi said.

  Gage wrapped his arms around me and brushed his lips against my ear. “I warned you many times that I was dangerous. Your uncle warned you.” He licked along the outside of my ear. “I’m cruel, unstable, deadly.” He ran the tip of his nose along my neck and brushed my hair back. “And I’m fucking obsessed with you.” He pressed a kiss on my neck. His warm breath caressing my skin. “For you, I’m willing to try and be better. I didn’t kill him last night. The son of a bitch wants what’s mine, and I let him live. You’d be sad if he was dead. And I don’t want you sad.” His hands grabbed my butt, and he jerked me against him. “I want you happy, satisfied, and taken care of, but only by me.”

  My heart was racing as I placed my palms flat against his chest and tried to push him back. I needed air.

  What he’d just said …

  I shook my head, and he didn’t budge as I pushed against him. The knife wound, the broken leg and ribs. Someone could have shot him. A completely new panic started clawing at me. This life, what he did, he could die. I could lose him. He’d been beaten and stabbed.

  “I can’t breathe,” I said, looking into his eyes as they watched me.

  “You don’t get to back out now,” he said gently. “We’ll go back to that bedroom, and I will give you mind-blowing orgasms until you’re clinging to me, begging me to never leave. I’m not letting you go. You’re mine.” He reached up and tucked my hair behind my ear.

  “He’s not lying about being better. Five years ago, Wilder would have been dead,” Levi said from where he now sat on the sofa.

  “Stop saying that,” I said, not wanting to think about death.

  “Let’s go,” Gage said, placing his hand on my back and nudging me toward the bedroom.

  “Why do you kill people?” I asked, fighting against him.

  My uncle couldn’t have known this.

  Gage held my face with both his hands. His thumb brushed against my skin. “It’s what we do if needed. Not for fun.”

  “When … why is it needed?”

  He pressed a kiss to my lips. “Many reasons. The family has to protect what’s ours.”

  I closed my eyes. He made it hard to concentrate. “Gage, this doesn’t make sense.”

  “We’re the Southern Mafia,” he whispered against my lips as if he were telling me something sweet. Then, he pressed another kiss against them before using his tongue to lick the swell of my top lip.

  Mafia. There was a Southern Mafia? The Hugheses? That was why they were powerful? I let it slowly sink in and realized that it made sense. He was serious. And Uncle Neil had known about this.

  “Let’s go back to your room.”

  Panic and fear were starting to take over, and my eyes flew up to meet his. “Why? What are you going to do?”

  “I’ll start with eating your sweet pussy again,” he said, placing a hand on my back and pressing me to move.

  I stumbled forward.

  “Then, I’ll fuck you until you know exactly who owns that pussy.”

  “Gage, stop.”

  “No,” he replied.

  “I need a minute. To think about all this. Adjust to it.”

  He stopped and pushed me against the wall. “You can’t do that with my head between your legs?”

  I inhaled sharply, angry at myself for being turned on by that. “No,” I said, but it didn’t sound convincing.

  He started pressing kisses all over my face. “I love how you taste,” he murmured. “I’m craving more.”

  “Gage,” I said, placing both hands on his chest to push him back. “Look at me.”

  His eyes were hooded as he stared down into mine.

  “I just need to let it all sink in and find some sense in all this.”

  “I won’t let you go,” he repeated.

  I closed my eyes, wishing this weren’t a completely twisted mess. “I don’t want you to.”

  His eyes looked as if he was searching for a lie on my face. “You swear?”

  I nodded, realizing that I was in love with him. That was the only reason I could honestly say that I didn’t want out. How could I want him and all the insanity that came with him if I didn’t love him? The man had crushed me yesterday, but he’d apologized, and I had been putty in his hands. It scared me that I thought I might be able to forgive him anything if he asked.

  His mouth covered mine, and he kissed me like I was his source of oxygen and he couldn’t get enough.

  Thirty

  Shiloh

  “I’m not rushing things, but I got some shit to do. Kye is waiting on me,” Levi said, standing up.

  “She needs time. You can go. I’ll call when we are ready,” Gage replied.

  Levi shook his head. “I’m not fucking leaving you here. She doesn’t know this side of you yet. Someone has to watch your crazy ass until she understands what sets you off.”

  If it was jealousy, then we would be fine.

  “I don’t think there’s any cause for concern if we’re in this apartment,” I told him.

  Levi smirked. “You have no idea. One text from your neighbor, and this crazy son of a bitch doesn’t need a damn gun to do damage. He’s trying, but that don’t mean he’s got it handled.”

  Gage scowled at Levi. “You can shut up now. You’re freaking her the hell out.”

  I was already freaked the hell out.

  Levi shrugged as if it was something that had to be said. “Maybe she needs to make a list,” he said.

  Gage glared at him. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  Levi held up my notebook and a napkin that had been on the table. “She makes lists. This napkin is a list of Netflix shows she wants to try in order. The notebook has lists—from what she needs to get accomplished that day to a list with questions about her past. You should answer them.”

  “Levi!” I yelled. “Stop looking at my stuff.”

  Gage grabbed my chin and pulled my gaze to his. “You make lists?”

  I sighed, then nodded. “It helps me get organized.”

  “You never made lists before. I like that.”

  I shook my head. How did he get in my head so easily? I couldn’t stay focused.

  Maybe it was best if they left. Both of them. Some space and time for me to figure out how all this fit now. “I’m fine here. I’ll call you later,” I started, and Gage turned on me, his eyes narrowed.

  “You trying to get me to leave?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “I just … I’m fine here. Levi needs to go and—”

  “Levi can fucking go,” he said as his hand wrapped around my arm. “I’m not leaving without you.”

  “Gage, I live here.” I stated the obvious.

  He shook his head. “Not anymore.”

  This we hadn’t talked about.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You said you didn’t want to leave me.”

  I threw my hands up. “Meaning I want to be with you. In a relationship. I didn’t know that meant move in with you.”

  “Yep, I need to stay. I’ll make a list of the reasons why for you,” Levi said from across the room.

  “Baby, you’re mine. With me all the time. In my bed. In my fucking shower. In my lap. Mine.”

  I stared up at him. “That’s not healthy.”

  “No shit,” Levi called out. “I’ll add that to the list. It’s number fucking one.”

  Gage grabbed my chin. “I need you.” The desperate look in his eyes made me feel helpless. “Please don’t do this to me.”

  I wrapped my fingers around his wrist. “You want me with you all the time? You’ll get tired of me. I’ll be in your way.”

  A soft, almost-pained smile crossed his lips, which made my heart ache. “That’s not possible. Just you. It’s always just you.”

  I sighed, wanting to rub my chest to give it some relief. This man was a lot. “What about my apartment, my job?”

  He shook his head. “You can’t keep that job. It’s not safe anymore. I’ve got enemies. The family has enemies. You have to stay with me.”

  Just when I thought I could accept something, he threw a new obstacle in the way.

  “I want to work, Gage.”

  He nodded, looking slightly panicked. It wasn’t something I was accustomed to seeing.

  “I’ll get you a job within the family. Trinity cooks and cleans the house. Madeline works at the stables. There will be something you can do.”

  Who was Madeline, and what stables? The Hugheses’?

  I felt light-headed again. Pinching my temples, I tried to figure this out. How to make this work.

  “Can I have time to ease into this?” I asked. “This is picking up where we left off for you, but it’s upending my life and changing it overnight.”

  He looked so hurt that I wanted to fling myself into his arms and agree to anything. But I couldn’t do that. I had to keep my sanity. One of us needed it.

  “Don’t make me sleep without you.” His voice was pleading.

  “Okay,” I said, trying to find a happy medium here. “How about I keep my apartment and we try me working and then staying the night with you every other night?”

  He scowled. “Every night.”

  “Gage,” I sighed. “I can’t just move in with you. I don’t know you that well. We’ve not spent a lot of time together. This has been the most unstable back-and-forth … whatever it’s been. We aren’t ready for that.”

  “If you only knew,” Levi said from the sofa.

  “I’ll stay here,” Gage said.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Levi groaned.

  “Gage,” I started, but he shook his head.

  “NO. That’s me compromising. I’ll let you work at the office for now. We will stay weeknights here and weekends at the house.”

  “But that’s not how you date someone, Gage,” I argued. “That’s the next step. The one between dating and marriage.”

  He grabbed my waist and closed the distance between us. “We aren’t fucking dating, baby. We skipped that step.”

  I laughed. No kidding.

  “Shiloh, this is all I can do,” he said, lowering his forehead to rest on mine. “Please.”

  All my good sense. All my list-making. All my planning and being sensible. It all evaporated.

  “Okay,” I agreed.

  He closed his eyes.

  “Leave, Levi,” he said roughly.

  “This is a fucking bad idea,” he said.

  “It’ll be fine,” Gage told him.

  “You sure you can do this?”

  He opened his eyes and looked down at me. “It’s what she’s willing to do for now, and I’m not sleeping without her.”

  My stomach fluttered.

  “Call before he fucking snaps, not after,” Levi told me.

  I turned to look at him. “What do you mean?”

  “He burned down a fucking house over you once,” Levi said. “That’s gonna be number two on the list.”

  Gage tensed and turned to Levi. “GO!”

  “You did what?” I asked, wondering if I should pack my things and just go with them.

  He turned back to me. “Long time ago. Things are different now.”

  “I fucking hope so,” Levi said as he reached the door.

  I waited until the door closed behind Levi before asking him, “Why did you burn down a house?”

  Gage lowered his head and pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “Someone touched what was mine,” he said softly. “I need to fuck you now, baby.”

  Thirty-One

  Shiloh

  “Seems you forgot to mention something to me,” Uncle Neil said, walking out of his office to address me.

  I stopped pulling files and looked at him. “What?”

  Lately, a concerned frown seemed to be permanently etched on his forehead when he looked at me. “I was going to go to Gage’s house to cut the leg cast off and put on a brace today. However, it seems he is coming here because he’s not at home.” Uncle Neil paused and studied me.

  “Gage is getting his leg cast off?” I asked.

  Uncle Neil nodded. “Yes. As you know, I have most equipment at their house since it’s not uncommon for them to need my services.”

  Because they’re the Mafia and you didn’t tell me. I could throw that in his face. He hadn’t mentioned that.

  “Shiloh, why is Gage Presley staying at your apartment?”

  I was going to have to deal with this eventually. Might as well start the first week of the relationship.

  “Because I won’t stay at his house,” I replied with a tight smile, then went back to looking for the patient files we needed. “I assume I should also pull Gage’s file?”

  “No, it’s not in there. I keep their files … elsewhere.”

  I looked back at my uncle. He was waiting on me to say more.

  “Why do you do that, Uncle Neil? Why can’t their files go in here?” I asked, knowing exactly why he didn’t keep their files where anyone could access them.

  He narrowed his eyes at me. “Shiloh, if you know why, then I need you to admit that. Because I am struggling right now with the fact that you are my niece and your safety trumps all else.”

  My aggravation with him eased. He wasn’t supposed to tell me—or anyone for that matter. Telling me would put him and me in danger—or in other circumstances where I wasn’t with Gage, it would.

  He blamed himself for putting me in a very bad position. There was no way for him to know younger me had been the one to start this. Not him.

  “Yes, I know who and what he is. What they all are. And I am safe. Trust me,” I assured him.