Page 72 of Shadow Of Sin

But tonight, Wolfe Molloy holds me close, like he can’t bear to let me go. His heartbeat thrums under my ear and his fingers draw lines on my skin. And it’s perfect.

Bliss like I’ve never known.

Safe used to mean locked doors and checked deadbolts and a knife on the nightstand.

Now it means him.

Somehow, I’m not terrified by that anymore.

But maybe I should be.

CHAPTER 16

WOLFE

What the fuck is up with my brain?

It’s six in the morning. Eva’s face is pressed against my chest. Her dark hair is everywhere, her breathing is slow and even, and I haven’t moved in forty-five minutes because I don’t want to wake her up.

And for the first time in as long as I can remember, my brain is quiet. Actually quiet. Not the forced quiet I get from heavy metal music, or basketball, or three hours of deep code work. This is real quiet. Like someone found the volume knob I’ve been looking for my entire life and turned it all the way down.

Her skin is warm, her heartbeat humming. My hand rests on her hip, and I’ve been tracing the same small circle with my thumb for probably twenty minutes, the same rhythm I tap against my leg except now it’s on her and it means something completely different.

Last night was…

I don’t have a word for it. She asked me in the moment, and I didn’t have one then either. I’ve had sex before. But it was mechanical. Physical. Something my body did while my brain observed from a distance, completely separated from the act.

Last night my brain wasn’t observing. It was gone. Completely offline. Every sensation hit me raw…her hands, her mouth, the sounds she made, the way her back arched, the heat of her skin under my palms. No filter. No distance. No pattern to analyze or file away. It was just her, everywhere, all at once. So much her and not nearly enough.

My brain has never tapped out like that before. Not during sex. Not during anything.

I’m still processing the shut down when my phone buzzes on the nightstand.

My chest tightens. Who the hell is texting me this early?

I reach for the phone slowly, careful not to disturb Eva because I’m not ready to let her go. My hand tightens around the phone as I stare at the text.

Call me. Now.

So much for not wanting to let her go.

I ease out of bed. Eva mumbles something and pulls the pillow over her head but doesn’t wake up. I grab my sweatpants off the floor and take the phone to the kitchen.

“What happened?” I say.

“The Back Bay building,” Ronan says, his voice tight. “It was hit last night around two in the morning.”

My stomach drops. “Fuck.”

“Someone got past the security system. They knew the rotation schedule, the access codes, and which nights run a skeleton crew instead of a full team. They hit the loading dock entrance, cleaned out the data room, and set a fire to cover it. Adriana’s team got there, but it was too late.”

I let out a deep sigh. “Any injuries?”

“One night guard. He’s at Mass General with two broken ribs and smoke inhalation. He’s okay, though. “

I lean against the counter and rake a hand through my hair as my eyes roam the kitchen. The Cheerios box is lined up with the edge. Eva’s knife is next to the coffee maker. Her jacket hangs over the back of a chair.

“Renaldi’s calendar,” I say. “That’s how he knew which nights had less security coverage. Eva pulled that data three weeks ago.”