Adrian placed the papers in his hand on my desk. “I’ve already organized all of the hitmen. They’re in the conference room awaiting your command,” he told me.
Fuck, Adrian worked fast. Not that I minded though. He was damn good at what he did.
I stood from my chair and flipped through the paperwork. Fuck, Emmaline had been all over the damn state. No wonder change never seemed to bother her that much. She was so fucking used to it by now that it was like second nature for her to adjust to new surroundings and a new lifestyle.
“Let’s go,” I ordered as I moved around my desk, my papers in my hand. Emmaline was coming down the stairs from the third floor where our bedroom was when we got to the stairs. I handed the papers to Adrian, quietly instructing him to head on to the conference room, that I would follow him in a couple of minutes.
“Hey, little one,” I greeted, nodding once at Jaxon who was behind her.
She smiled up at me. “Hi,” she leaned up on her tiptoes to press her lips to mine. I groaned low in my throat, dragging her closer to me, my hand sliding down her back to the curve of her ass as I plundered her mouth, tasting every square inch of it before I released her.
Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes wide and bright, her lips swollen. I ran my eyes over her. She was wearing a pair of skinny jeans with some black ankle boots and a simple, black, long-sleeved shirt. “You look fucking amazing,” I admitted, loving the way her jeans hugged her thighs and ass. She had gained so much weight already, and I was enjoying all of her new curves. Her cheeks burned hotly at my compliment. Fuck, I loved her sweet innocence. “You on your way down to eat lunch?” I asked her.
She nodded. I reached up and tucked some of her white-blonde hair behind her ear. “If you can wait for me, I’ll be in the dining room in about fifteen minutes, give or take a couple, and we can eat lunch together.”
She beamed up at me, her beautiful, brown eyes brightening with excitement. “I can wait,” she assured me. “Go on and do whatever you need. Just come find me in the garden.”
“Will do, little one.” I gripped her chin and pulled her lips up to mine for a slow, sensual kiss. I brushed my thumb over her cheek before I looked up at Jaxon. “Nothing happens to her,” I ordered.
“I’ll protect her with my life,” he assured me.
I lightly smacked Emmaline’s ass, making her squeak in shock as her entire face flamed red. I grinned at her. “I’ll see you in a little bit, little one.”
I strode down the stairs, heading for the conference room. When I stepped in, the entire room fell silent as everyone stood from their seats, their hands clasped behind their backs, their eyes straight forward.
One might think I had a fucking army, which I guess, in a way, I did.
“At ease,” I called as I closed the door behind me. Adrian handed me the paperwork as I walked up to the head of the table. “Eyes on me,” I ordered. Every set of eyes in that room turned to look at me. “I have an abnormally big assignment for you all, which is why every single one of you is in this room right now.” I walked around the room, placing two people in front of each of the men. I placed Mrs. Banner’s picture in front of Adrian, specifically wanting him to find her and bring her to me alive since she had obviously done something horrible enough to Emmaline that she had flashbacks from it. “The people in front of you, I want dead by five this evening,” I ordered. “I don’t give a fuck how you do it – just get it done. I want proof when you report back to me. Get rid of the bodies. These people do not get traced back to us, am I clear?”
I received a round of affirmatives. I nodded once. “Go. Everything you need to know is on your paperwork.”
Everyone filed out of the room, leaving just me and Adrian. He arched an eyebrow at me. “Let me guess – alive?” he asked, picking up Mrs. Banner’s file.
I nodded once. “I’ll be with Emmaline the rest of the day. I’m going to send Jaxon with you since your shoulder is still healing. Let me know when you’ve got her in the basement.” I told him. “She put Emmaline through the most shit. I want to personally deliver her to Hell.”
He grinned. “You’re a sick, twisted man, James.”
I shrugged. “Shit happens.” I opened the door. “Where do you want me to send Jaxon to meet you at?”
“Garage,” Adrian told me.
I nodded once and slipped from the room, heading to the garden to spend the rest of the day with my woman until Adrian and Jaxon brought the Banner woman to me.
~*~*~
Emmaline giggled as I tried shoving another chocolate-covered strawberry in her mouth. She pushed my hands away, her laughter ringing through the garden. “James, I’m so full!” she exclaimed. “Please stop.”
I nuzzled her neck, rumbling against her skin. Her breath hitched in her throat. “Keep on with those cute little giggles, and I’ll make you full alright,” I rasped, sucking lightly on her skin before I backed away from her.
I grinned at her flushed face and took a bite of the strawberry before I leaned forward and kissed her, licking all of the chocolate off of her lips from where I had tried to get her to eat another strawberry. She moaned as she reached up to lace her fingers in my hair, tugging lightly on the strands as she opened her lips beneath mine, allowing me to deepen the kiss as I laid her back on the blanket we were on.
“James,” Adrian called.
I growled as I slowly pulled my lips from Emmaline’s, looking over my shoulder at him in annoyance. He nodded once at me. “It’s done.”
I nodded once at him before I stood up, forcing my needs back as I held my hand out to Emmaline. “Come on,” I told her. “I want to show you something.”
Her eyebrows pulled together in confusion as she placed her hand in mine, allowing me to pull her up from the blanket. I linked our fingers together and led her inside with Adrian trailing behind us a couple of feet. “What’s the surprise?” she asked me.
“One you’re definitely not going to be expecting,” I told her, knowing this would be the last thing she would expect from me, though she should have. I promised her I would fucking make everyone who ever hurt her pay. I intended on keeping that promise.
I’d already received proof from all of my hitmen that everyone I had ordered a hit on was now dead, the bodies magically disappearing as if someone had sprinkled a little pixie dust on them and wished them away.
My men were good at what they did.