Chapter 24

twenty-four

. . .

Bishop

I could still feel echoes of her cunt fluttering around my fingers as she righted her dress. Her cheeks were flushed from the orgasm I'd just given her, and the scent of her arousal was all over me. I hated that we had to go back to the party. That I couldn't toss her over my shoulder and take her to my bed. I wanted her bound and pliant. Ready for me to sink deep inside her and make her scream again.

"You keep making those sweet little whimpers, siren, and I'm gonna lose sight of why I can't sink inside you right here."

"Why can't you?"

This woman was fucking trouble. She made me forget the real reason I was here. How much danger I put her in just by getting close to her.

She's already in danger. Cross saw to that.

"Believe me, I want to. I want nothing more than to see my cum dripping down your thighs and know you're mine. But something tells me that won't go over well with this crowd. You're on everyone's radar tonight, and not just because you're so fucking stunning."

Her eyes were hooded as she swallowed, and I resisted the urge to collar her throat with my hand. She was bringing out every dark urge I had, the ones I'd long thought buried. I didn't just want to fuck this woman, I wanted to own her. Completely.

That thought, more than any other, terrified me.

I was too broken.

She'd never want me if she knew the truth about my past. About the things I'd done.

My scars.

I shuddered, pushing away from her and stiffening as I caught a hint of cigar smoke in the night air. We weren't alone. I'd been so wrapped up in her that I'd gotten fucking sloppy.

"Get behind me and stay there, siren."

"What are y?—"

"Don't argue." I turned to face the figure in the distance, putting my body in front of hers, completely shielding her. Out of habit, I also performed a quick mental check of my weapons, making sure they were still in place. "Make yourself presentable for polite company, pretty girl. We have to get back. You've got people waiting on you."

I could sense her confusion and the flicker of hurt my abrupt shift had caused. It made me feel like a bastard, but only for a second. I'd rather her think me an ass than let someone sneak up on us in a vulnerable moment.

Offering her my arm, I kept her as far away from our observer as possible, my attention tuned in to his movements while I led her toward the doors.

"Does Cross know you're plucking his sweet little bird?" Dominik Volkov said, his voice wholly unwelcome.

What the fuck is he doing here? The Russian crime lord rarely went anywhere without an army of sycophants to shield him. He was as elusive as a damn ghost, yet here he was. Alone. In the middle of a fancy party for ranchers, of all places. That could only mean one thing. He was making a play. A big one.

Fuck.

I had to get her out of here. But before I could do anything, River stiffened in my arms. But not from fear. Anger poured out of her as she twisted around and snapped back.

"Excuse me? Do you see a fucking cage? I am no one's anything."

"A gilded cage is still a cage... sparrow. "

"Who the fuck are you?"

Dom pushed off the wall and sauntered up to us. I instinctively moved in front of River, but the stubborn woman wasn't having it. She slipped past me and got right in the Russian mob boss's face. My hand went to my gun, ready to take the asshole down if he so much as touched her.

He smirked and let out a patronizing laugh. "My mistake. Such fire in you. I see you aren't a sparrow after all. That's good. I prefer a phoenix. Rare and beautiful, even in their destruction."

She huffed. "You forgot fictional."

"You're going to be fun, aren't you, Ms. Adams?"

He reached out as though he was going to brush a lock of hair away from her face, but I snagged her by the elbow and tugged her against me. "We'd best be going. Cross will be looking for you."

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Phoenix."

"Pity I can't say the same," she said through a fake-ass smile.

I pulled her away without saying anything. And Volkov remained silent only long enough to let us take two steps before his voice floated after us.

"See you around . . . Special Agent Bishop."

Static filled my ears as everything around me slowed. I'd already picked an escape route and was calculating how long it would take us to get clear of the garden before someone came out and discovered his body when I spun back around, hand reaching into my jacket for my gun.

But the bastard was gone. We didn't refer to him as a ghost for nothing.

"Special Agent?" River whispered.

"You need to forget you heard that."

"Sterling, what did he mean? Don't lie to me."

Before we returned to the ballroom, I pushed her into a darkened corner and got in her face, needing her to understand how imperative it was she keep my secret. Her life quite literally depended on it. Not even I could keep her safe if she let it slip in the wrong company.

If Cross didn't kill her, my people would. We were too close to breaking this case wide open. They might be the good guys, but there was no way they'd allow a woman to ruin years of undercover work. What was one more body in the grand scheme of things?

For the greater good was the only mantra that mattered, and it excused all manner of sins. I knew that better than anyone.

"I can't promise I'll never keep things from you, River. My life is filled with secrets, and there's nothing I can do about it. But there are some things it's safer for you not to know, and this is one of them. Stay away from him. He's dangerous and will use you to get to Cross."

"I don't matter to Cross. He wouldn't give a damn." The hurt in her voice echoed in her eyes, and all I wanted to do was reassure her that she was worth everything.

"That's where you're wrong." I backed away from her and sighed. "Now come on, we need to get inside. I'm sure you're missed."

She stopped me before heading inside with a featherlight touch. It took everything in me not to flinch. "Just tell me one thing, Sterling."

A sharp nod was all I gave her.

"Are you in danger?"

The answer to that wasn't one she really wanted. The fact that she asked told me she already knew it anyway. So instead of making her worry, I decided to reassure her instead.

"Siren, I am the danger."