Chapter Nine
“What a fucking night,” Carver muttered in annoyance, tugging off his bowtie. He watched two of his guys zip up the shooter in a body-bag. Good thing the entire museum had emptied out by now. He had the local cops in his pocket, so he had a few more minutes to get his business done before they swarmed the place. He added, “Johnson, Maddock, take it via the back door. Coppers will be here soon.”
“Sure thing, boss. We’ll make sure no one finds it.”
Carver turned to Jake and clenched his jaw. He reeled in his temper though, but he couldn’t wipe away Yasmin’s frightened expression as Jake convinced her to exit the museum. Introducing her to the world was one thing, but this? If he could turn back time, he’d make sure she’d never experience something like this again.
“Mario just updated me. She’s back in the apartment, safe, and he has an entire team watching the building,” Jake said just as Sal joined them.
“I’ve had a conversation with one of the security guys posted here. Seems like Holcomb bribed one of them to enter thorough the kitchens,” Sal said.
Holcomb used to work for him and had been in charge of weapons shipments until Sal found out he’d been skimming from the top. Not only that, but Holcomb had a violent reputation and threw the family name around, thinking it would protect him. Carver had seen only red when the fucker drew his gun, pointing it right at Yasmin. He didn’t regret dealing with the scum personally.
“This is going to be a mess, isn’t it?” Sal asked as Jake left to talk with some of the men.
“Not anything we haven’t dealt with before,” he muttered. Fuck. This kind of thing was unavoidable in his line of work, but it was Yasmin’s reaction he worried about. She finally saw the dark side of his world. How would she react? Any normal person in her situation would change their minds and try for the nearest exit.
“You’re thinking about her, aren’t you?” Sal added.
He cracked his knuckles and gritted his teeth. “She shouldn’t have been involved in this.”
“Carver, from what I’ve seen, your woman’s tough. She ain’t going to faint after seeing this.”
Sal had a point, but she might change her mind about staying with him after witnessing tonight’s events.
“I’m heading back home. Update me if Holcomb worked alone or if he had any other associates,” he said.
“Will do, boss.”
****
Carver returned to the apartment at two in the morning, nodding to Ernest, who stood watch outside.
“It’s been quiet inside, so she might have fallen asleep,” Ernest reported. “Good to see you’re unharmed, boss.”
He opened the door, expecting to be greeted by silence, but he spotted Yasmin looking out the windows by the living room, dressed in nothing but one of his big shirts. Possessiveness ran through his veins. To think if he reacted any slower, she might have been seriously hurt. Carver clenched his jaw. Maybe Holcomb died too soon, but it had been the right decision.
Carver couldn’t afford to be messy, because it happened in a public space and plenty of people had seen them. Yasmin turned. Seeing him, tears filled her eyes and she ran towards him. He easily caught her, closing his arms around her waist. Her kissable bottom lip trembled. She was genuinely worried for him, he thought, startled. Carver didn’t think he’d ever experienced that before. Everyone else in the organization either looked up to him or feared him. They expected him to make all the hard decisions without flinching, to be a monster incapable of emotions all the time.
Concern was new, and maybe he’d live the rest of his life knowing his angel was too good for him.
“I was so scared,” she whispered.
“I’m fine, see?”
He let her touch the bullet hole on the left of his shirt. Yasmin fingered the torn fabric, then the bulletproof vest underneath. She let out a sigh of relief. Carver tipped her chin and kissed her slowly, taking all the time in the world. She gripped his shoulders, rubbing those tempting, generously-sized tits against him. Yasmin automatically parted her lips, and he thrust his tongue down her throat, tasting her. Heaven.
Carver pulled away, smiling as she panted. He offered her a hand, and she took it, a silent question in her eyes. Carver led her past the living room and back to their bedroom. He watched her slip into their bed, before tugging off his jacket, then the vest and his shirt. Yasmin said nothing as he stripped down to his boxers and joined her in bed.
She snuggled against him, a little ball of warmth as he circled his arms around her waist and pressed his chest to her back. Carver nosed his way to the nape of her neck, planting a tender kiss there.
“I never thought I’d ever be in that kind of situation,” she said with a shiver.
He lifted the comforter over them, understanding she’d truly been spooked.
“Incidents like that, they’re unavoidable in my line of work.”
She breathed. “I know that, it’s just, it feels like I’ve been living in some of fairy tale these past few days. Tonight was an eye-opener.”
He rested his hand on the curve of her waist. Tempting and easy as it was to slip his dick into her pussy, he knew she needed him to listen. She took her hand and twirled her fingers with his. Why did it feel like she was about to ask him for something he wouldn’t like?
“Carver, I need…” She paused, as if considering her next words carefully.
“What is it, angel?”
“Time alone. Tomorrow, I’m going out.”
His automatic response was refusal. After tonight, he didn’t want her wandering around the city alone. Jake or one of his guys would tail her, but the thought of her exposed left him shaking with fury, all the muscles in his body tensing up. She turned in his arms and took his hands, kissing them.
“Don’t assume I’m leaving you, I just need time for myself.”
“Tonight, you could’ve died.” His voice came out harsher than he intended.
The old him, the monster that everyone thought he was, would’ve made sure she wouldn’t be able to leave the apartment. He’d chain her to the bedpost, to make sure no one harmed a single hair on her beautiful head. Being with her the past few days however, gave him new perspective. Restraining her would only make her resent him, and hate never led to anything good or pleasant.
Keeping her as his prisoner wasn’t his intention at all. How could he, when she held his heart captive? Slowly but surely, she was changing him, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“I understand the danger—”
“No, you don’t,” he interrupted, gritting his teeth. “I’ll always have a target on my back.”
“I—this, it’s not just me and you. You’re the kingpin and I get that, but it’s still a lot to process. I don’t want to fight, Carver. Please, give me this.”
He buried his face into her hair, fighting the urge to deny her wish. Carver could easily do it, had all the resources and power at his disposal. If she ran, it wouldn’t take him long to track her down.
“This is hard,” he managed to grit out, gripping her shoulders. The way he held her, he might leave bruises in the morning, but she didn’t complain.
“Hey,” she began, taking his hand, spreading his fingers out and positioning it over her left breast. “This heart is yours. Trust me.”
He let out a harsh laugh. “Trust is a luxury in my world, but I’ll make an exception for you.”
“You would?”
“On one condition.”
She groaned, as if anticipating his next words. “Jake?”
He nodded. Carver didn’t add he’d post two, maybe three, other men in case Holcomb had other allies. Holcomb had never been much of a thinker, so he doubted it, but when it came to her, Carver wouldn’t take chances. Carver only hoped if she ever did come to a decision, it didn’t involve leaving him because he doubted he could ever set her free.