Chapter 9

9

TEAGAN

Two Months Later

D ozing in a lounge on the terrace, still in my bikini from the sailboat jaunt Tobias took us on this morning, I sense my man hovering over me seconds before his mouth pressed against mine.

Sighing contentedly, I loop my arms around his neck and let him deepen the kiss as the seconds pass, humming in pleasure as his tongue sweeps inside. Tobias ends the kiss by nipping my bottom lip, but instead of pushing things further, he stands up straight, leaving me right where I'm lying.

"Hey." I pull my sunglasses down to look up at him. "I thought that was going somewhere."

He raises an eyebrow. "Greedy little thing, I think I gave you plenty out on the water."

Even after staying with him for over two months now, I still blush a little thinking about what he just did to me. "Oh, fine. Where are you going, then?"

He shoves his hands in his pockets. "I have to head into the office for a few hours. The chef is making you a late lunch, but I won't be able to stay. But we can make up for lost time tonight."

"Promise?" I let my voice go deep and sultry.

"Fuck yes, I do." He kisses me one more time, groaning as he pulls back. "You're hard as hell to leave, you know that?"

I laugh, leaning back to finish my nap in the sun, missing him already but knowing he'll be back for me soon enough. Life has been…amazing. Delicious and indulgent. It's better than I ever could have imagined, and it's safe to say that I'm head over heels in love with Tobias Terrazas. And I think he loves me too…even if we haven't said the words out loud.

Soon, though. I let a hand drape over my stomach. I'm a week late on my cycle, and I'd definitely like to exchange declarations of love if I'm going to have to tell him I'm pregnant here soon. The thought fills me with butterflies. It all just feels too good to be true.

Tobias will tell me he loves me, I know it. Any day now.

Half asleep, I don't hear my phone ring the first time, but I do the second. Without opening my eyes, I grab the cell and hit the answer button by memory, holding it to my ear. "Hello?"

"I didn't think you'd answer."

My blood runs cold and I'm instantly awake, sitting up ramrod straight. "Ricky? Why the hell are you calling me?"

"Because I'm on my way to my dad's house, and there are pictures all over social media of the two of you out and about together. Really, Teagan? My fucking dad?!"

"I'm hanging up," I tell him, and I almost do before he stops me.

"Wait! As gross as it is that you're dating him, I bet he hasn't told you the truth about his past, huh?"

I pause, curiosity getting the better of me. Tobias is notoriously tight-lipped about what he did before he opened his security agency. Who better to fill me in than Ricky? But on the other hand, even talking to him is a betrayal of sorts to Tobias.

"You have one minute," I tell him. "Go."

"My dad was a gun for hire. A killer, Teagan. If you don't believe me, I'll show you?—"

"Security will never let you in, Ricky," I snap, heart racing and nausea turning my stomach. "Thirty seconds."

"Fuck! Fine! In the back of his closet, there's a picture of an oak tree, framed, about as big as a sheet of paper. Behind it is a keypad. The code is my birthday—0323. You'll find the truth there."

I don't listen to another word. I hang up immediately, breaking out in a cold sweat despite the hot sun. I've always been afraid that Tobias was involved in something shady years ago, but a gun for hire? Like…a hitman? There's no way that's possible.

But I have to know for sure.

I run through the house to our bedroom, heading to the back of the walk-in closet and pulling the picture of the oak tree away. There, just like Ricky said, is a keypad, and I enter the code with shaking hands.

A portion of the wall—a hidden door—slides away, and one by one, the lights in the long storage room flick on.

Every wall is covered in weaponry. I feel faint, stumbling backward and to the bathroom, refusing to look at the gun room anymore. I make it to the toilet just in time, doubling over and vomiting in the bowl, tears streaming down my face.

Tobias, my Tobias, was a violent killer. I'm in love with a killer.

What am I going to do?