Arran’s Obsession (Body Count, #1)

“Genevieve’s next address is in enemy territory.” Shade named a gang-owned street.

My blood iced over. “Not happening.”

Gen peered between us. “I’m only going there to deliver food. What’s the problem?”

“On a street I can’t go without causing an incident.”

Her cheeks reddened. “The system won’t let me bypass a delivery that I already accepted. If I don’t go, my work is over. Jon will fire me.”

I shrugged, not hating that plan.

She glowered then grabbed my arm, dragging me away a few steps from my boys. “This is important to me. I told you why, and I’m not quitting just because you have enemies.”

I spread my arms out. “What am I supposed to do, let you walk down a road I know is dangerous?”

“You don’t let me do anything, it’s my choice. And the place is only dangerous to you, not me.”

“You’re my woman.”

“Are we public in the city? Do all the gang members know my face? No, they don’t, so there’s no problem.”

“You don’t know that. You’re part of me now,” I bit out. “What don’t you get about that?”

Her spine stiffened. I stood taller, too. Yet again, we were in a standoff, neither willing to give way. Even though I was right.

“I can take care of myself,” she decided.

“I’m better at looking after you than you are.”

Gen’s lips parted. “Oh really.”

“You walked out in front of my car after stepping into the road with headphones in. That was on the way to work, wasn’t it? Then you ended up in my violent game like a lost little lamb.”

“You’re such an asshole.”

“Never denied it. I’m not above throwing you over my shoulder and taking you home.” My jaw was so tight it could crack.

Her gaze darkened to something menacing. Sexy as hell, even if that hadn’t been her intention. “Try it. See what happens.”

Cautiously, Jamieson approached. He held up his phone with a map on the screen. “Shade and I were just checking it out. The address is barely a hundred feet down the road. I’ll take Genevieve, as no one will know my car, and the two of ye can wait at the end. No territory encroached, plus you’ll have full visibility of her.”

Gen turned on the heel of her brand-new All Stars. “Perfect. Then I don’t have to sit in the car with this jerk either. Not that he’s wanted to all evening anyway.”

I was the jerk. Got that. But her tone told me my distance had hurt her. Fucking hell. I hadn’t wanted to sit a car apart. It was necessary so she didn’t hear my conversation.

“Opinion?” I asked Shade.

He raised a shoulder. “So long as we can see her, it’s lower risk, but if it ends up in a rumble, I’d be down. I could do with the exercise.”

Gen growled annoyance. “I’m not asking permission from any of you. Drive me or don’t. I can walk it by myself otherwise.”

Fucking infuriating woman.

Shade and Jamieson waited on my reluctant nod of agreement, and Jamieson and Gen got into his car, leaving me and my enforcer to follow.

We crawled through the city traffic, and I gripped the steering wheel like I could wring its neck.

Shade spoke in my ear. “If she’s this stubborn about ye keeping her safe, how is she going to react when she finds out what you’ve done this evening?”

Music on Jamieson’s end of the line told me our comms line wasn’t live over his car’s speakers. Gen had commandeered those with her playlist.

I rolled my shoulders, not answering and keeping a watch on the outline of her chatting happily to Jamieson in a way she wouldn’t with me right now. I’d been on the phone for the best part of two hours, making an unexpected purchase. Another would be delivered to the warehouse tonight, ordered while Gen slept.

The first purchase was in Genevieve’s interest, the second in mine. In both cases, I couldn’t predict her reaction, despite her love of security, as she’d termed it.

Entertaining himself, Shade continued. “For that matter, she’s going to lose her shit when ye tell her about tomorrow night’s mission.”

That surprise was fully my and Shade’s wheelhouse. Removing a predator from the streets, even if it was in another city.

“Or, she’ll be happy,” I argued.

“Brother, you’re dreaming. If she finds out after the fact, she’ll be furious. The man killed her ma. She deserves to be the one holding the knife, metaphorically speaking.”

He might be right, but I wasn’t ready to concede. I needed blood. We hadn’t yet found her old man, so this was a good alternative. “Fill me in on preparations.”

Shade had already explained how Convict had found Jordan Peters from the basic details I knew. He was still living the same life as a wannabe gangster, dealing coke. He also had a fifteen-year-old girl living under his roof who no one believed was a relative. Convict had been working his ass off watching him, establishing his patterns so we could do what we did best.

Shade was an expert at catching people to order. Knocking them out with a dose of something illegal. Ending them if needed. I was ready with the motive, delivering justice for Genevieve’s pain and her lost mother.

The problem was, I was utterly and completely fucked over the woman.

She could ask anything of me and I’d do it. Deliver it. Fucking kill it if it looked at her wrong. She’d challenged me on considering her a possession, and I wasn’t about to deny it.

What she didn’t know was exactly how badly she had taken possession of me in exchange.

Ahead, Jamieson signalled right, entering a wide street with a graffitied shop on the corner marking the start of Four Miler territory. The drug runners. The very people Gen’s father had gone to for reasons best known to himself. He wasn’t here, but she intended to walk straight up to one of the residences.

I pulled over, fighting a war inside myself to take her out of there. But Shade was right. I’d torch our relationship if I forced her hand.

“I made her vulnerable,” I said into the line. “I’ve made her a target.”

Shade’s voice returned. “Women are always targets. She’ll take on your enemies but also your friends, too.”

For this battle, I wasn’t sure I could just sit back and watch.