Page 42 of Deceitful Oath

“Al says two of the lookouts on the boats are down,” he relays back to me. “Give them a few seconds to get the other two before you go running in there.”

I roll my eyes but hang back, listening for more shots. More figures come running out of the warehouse. Three, four, five.

Fuck, they’re going to get away. I need at least one here and alive.

I slink around the corner, pressing my entire body against the metal siding, and aim my gun low. When the sixth man sprints out the doors, I shoot. He crashes to the ground, screaming and clutching his leg.

Perfect.

I look back, nodding at Vince. “Get that one, whoever the hell he is, and bring him to the basement.”

Vince nods, shoving his phone between his ear and his shoulder again. He pulls back around to the rear of thewarehouse, dragging me with him. I keep watch, my eyes roving from side to side, my gun at the ready.

He finally gets the all-clear and motions for me to follow. My guys are gathered out front, five bodies in front of them. The guy I shot down sits tied up, bleeding from his thigh, just inside the doors.

“The lookouts?” I ask, walking between the bodies. I don’t recognize a single one of them, but that doesn’t mean much. They could be cheap hires for someone who doesn’t want to be known.

“We got them all,” Al says, walking over to me. “The live one won’t talk.”

He gestures to the guy inside the warehouse. I pat him on the back, chuckling darkly.

“He’ll talk to me,” I counter. “They all do. Throw him in the basement.”

***

Two hours and zero answers later, I’m frustrated as hell when I climb into my car and head home. I check my phone and see a message from Lux.

>>I have a little surprise for you. Will you be home before I leave for work?

I glance at the clock, it’s just a little after two. I quickly type out a message and pick up speed. Not even ten minutes later, I walk into my entryway to the most amazing smell.

“Lux?”

“In the kitchen!”

I head toward the smell and the promise of Lux like a bloodhound. When I round the corner, I stop dead in my tracks.

“Hi, Wolfie,” she grins at me. I take in her golden waves, rosy lips, and sparkling eyes. My gaze lowers to her bare shoulders,the curve of her hips, those long tan legs. She’s holding a spatula, doling roasted potatoes out onto two plates.

She meets my eyes, her grin growing at the shock and awe she must see in them.

“What?” she pouts, setting the pot down and walking over to me. “Were you joking about the nudist colony thing?”

Lux is naked in my kitchen. Lux cooked lunch naked in my kitchen. I nearly pass out.

She wraps her arms around my neck, pressing herself against me. I’m instantly hard, even after my frustrating shit day, my body jumps at her command.

“That’s incredibly dangerous,” I whisper into her hair, running my hands up and down her back. “You should have at least worn an apron.”

“Oh, I did!” she pulls away from me, skipping back to the kitchen island and grabbing a checkered apron. A laugh explodes out of me. She shoots me a cheesy grin, and I laugh harder, tears dripping from my eyes.

She’s like a pornographic Betty Crocker—what an image.

She convinces me to ditch my clothes and we take our seats at the dining room table. I have no idea where she got candles, but she lights them, winking at me.

“What’s the occasion?”

“Life,” she answers simply, popping a potato in her mouth.