Sweet Retribution (Ruthless Games, #2)

by Callie Rose

“I don’t want them back.” I reach up to cup his face with my hand, tracing the chiseled lines of his cheekbone and jaw. “They’re yours. I’m yours.”

“What?” I cock a challenging eyebrow at Gabriel, leaning forward to rest my elbows on the table. “You’ve never seen a tattoo before?” His gaze jerks up to my face in surprise, and when he sees the sardonic smile on my face, he blinks. Then he laughs. “You’re funny. I like that.”

“I’ll never want anyone but you, Rose,” he whispers. “I’ll worship you. I’ll protect you. And I’ll kill anyone who tries to hurt you.”

When I finish, Marcus’s gaze cuts to Theo quickly, and I look up just in time to see Theo nod. Ryland gives a short nod too, and I realize that something was just decided among the three of them without a word ever being spoken. “Take the Maserati,” Theo tells them. “I’ll take Ayla in the Bentley and meet you. The safe house on Avondale.”

“What was that? What’s happening? Why are we meeting them at the safe house?” He turns toward me, the fingers of one hand still gripping mine as his other hand comes up to cradle the back of my neck. The tenderness in his eyes is a stark contrast to the hard lines of his face. “I told you, Rose. You have us now. And we protect what’s ours.”

Theo’s grip on me tightens a little, pulling me closer on his lap. “You’re the strongest fucking woman I know, Rose. I wish my mom was more like you.”

“I wouldn’t care if he was Luca’s fucking brother,” he murmurs quietly, drawing my attention back to his face. His hazel eyes burn with conviction as he gazes down at me. “He deserves to pay for what he did.” “What the fuck?” Jordan sounds truly furious now, but underneath the anger, I catch a hint of surprise… and fear.

He smiles at me. There’s so much warmth, so much love in his eyes that my chest aches from it. He palms the back of my head and kisses me as his other hand raises the gun, aiming it at Jordan’s head. And then he fires.

“It’s so fucking beautiful,” he murmurs. “Just like you are.” His gaze flashes up to mine before returning to my truncated limb, and he lifts it a little so he can examine the full tattoo. “I was there when you got it. Every single session. I could tell some parts hurt more than others, but you never told him to stop.”

“Marcus.” I repeat his name, but it’s not a question this time. It’s a call. An invocation. His gaze flicks up from our joined hands to my face, and he takes a step closer to me. “Yeah, angel?” “I love you.” Something shifts in his face, and his smile is fucking breathtaking. It’s like his features have been half in shadow ever since I met him, and now I’m looking at them in full light, seeing every single detail clearly. Seeing all of him. I remember thinking once that the word “love” wasn’t enough to contain everything I feel for this man and the two friends he calls his brothers. But it turns out the word can grow to fit the need, because as soon as I say it, I realize it is enough. I love Marcus Constantine. The truth is both as simple and as complex as that. “Angel?” he murmurs, still beaming that heart-stopping smile at me. “Yeah?” “I fuckin’ love you too.”

“Luca is the Viper. He’s been playing you all this whole time.”