Page 37 of Lawless
“Ready?”
“Well, I was going to do my makeup, but if I don’t have time then…”
“Don’t be a smartass,” he chides as I march past him.
I might have left JD behind, but in his absence, it’s nice to keep his humor alive.
“Were you planning on leading the way, or am I meant to guess where I’m going?”
“Knew this was a bad idea,” he mutters under his breath as he trails behind me, slipping out of the suite when I open the door for him.
He overtakes me before marching to the other end of the building.
Should have guessed that she’d be as far away from me as possible.
She might have invited me here, but I’d be an idiot to think it’s because she trusts me or that I can actually be of any help.
The only thing I can hope is that my reputation precedes me better than hers does. All I remember of her is being her husband’s pretty little shadow.
“They teach you manners in Harrow Creek, right?” Angel asks as he unlocks the door that I hope leads to his boss.
“Barely, but I’m sure I can manage.”
Without waiting for him to go first, I surge forward, proving my previous statement wrong.
My rushed steps soon come to a stop when I find a woman standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows wearing a suit that’s a white as the furnishings and fits like a glove. Her red hair shines in the evening sunlight, giving the look a softer feel. But don’t be mistaken, she might have soft curves and delicately styled hair, but even from behind, she oozes power.
“Good evening, Ms. Rivera,” I say, my voice cold as it echoes around the silent suite.
She doesn’t react or let me know that she’s heard a word until she suddenly spins on her killer heels and pins me with a look that would make most men cower.
I don’t think I’ve ever learned anything so fast in my life, but I know right there and then that Luciana Rivera is not someone I want to mess with.
I also realize that she’s just the person I need on our side for what’s to come.
11
JD
Ijust about managed to hold myself together until sunset.
But the second that ball of flames disappeared behind the hill that overlooks Harrow Creek, all the hope drained out of me.
When I stepped out of the shower earlier with skin prickling and red from the temperature of the water, I told myself that they’d all return. That I was freaking out for nothing.
Reid had a plan. A plan I trusted.
I knew the plan.
We’d been over even the tiny details of it over and over again. Even after Alana and Mav showed up, we went through it.
Mav might have thought he’d pushed me aside, but that wasn’t the case at all. Reid found ways to ensure I was fully up -to-date. And none of those new up-to-date plans involved them disappearing on me.
Reid wouldn’t allow it. That motherfucker is overprotective on a good day.
He hides the fucking knives from me, for fuck’s sake.
He’s not willingly going to leave me alone to…