Atonement (The Protectors #6)(2)
Hell, he had no fucking clue how ugly my insides were.
I shook my head and turned off the water. It didn't matter. Come this time next week, I'd be on my way out of Seattle and hopefully I'd have a new case soon. In the meantime, I'd head back to Chicago to start my search anew. A few months had passed since my last trip and I could only hope there might be a new lead this time around.
My buzzing phone distracted me from my thoughts and when I glanced at it, I saw a text from my boss, Memphis Wheland.
Meet me and Ronan in the office.
Fuck, that couldn't be good. Or, maybe it could – maybe they already had an assignment for me. It would be the perfect distraction. Nothing like killing a piece of scum to forget you yourself were a worthless piece of shit.
I knew Memphis was talking about Ronan's personal office since we were at Ronan's and his husband's house on Whidbey Island. Hawke and Tate had selected the location for their wedding because of the home's beautiful view of the Sound. The winter weather, which in Seattle meant rain, rain and more rain, meant the ceremony had taken place inside in a huge sunroom with a view of the water. The Christmas Eve wedding had truly been beautiful with the abundance of lights, poinsettias, and winter themed decorations.
I made my way back downstairs and through the crowd of men and women who were mingling in many of the different rooms in the house now that the reception was winding down.
The office was on the opposite side of the huge house and the door was closed when I got there so I rapped on it with my knuckles before I heard permission granting me entry. My eyes fell on Ronan and Memphis who were standing behind the large cherry desk in the room.
"Come on in, Dante," Memphis murmured and I automatically closed the door behind me, my fingers trembling with excitement. God, I fucking needed a case – I needed to take out some piece of shit asshole who was hurting kids or women or whatever. Maybe then I could get rid of that goddamn voice in my ear telling me what a loser I was.
Magnus's voice.
"You wanted to see me?" I asked, just to jumpstart the conversation as I moved farther into the room.
"We have your next assignment," Memphis said without preamble. It was one of my favorite things about the man – he didn't beat around the bush with pleasantries that no one really cared about.
"Excellent."
"We need you to shadow someone for a few weeks while they testify in a trial. There's been no direct threat, but it's a high-profile case and with him being the primary witness … " Memphis said, letting his words trail off.
"Got it," I nodded. I'd been hoping for a case where I could just stalk some fucker and put a bullet through his brain, but bodyguard duty was fine too.
"You've got great instincts, Dante," Ronan added and I felt a rush of pride go through me, though I forced myself not to show it. I merely nodded as if I already knew that.
"Who's the client?" I asked.
Before I could even respond, there was a knock at the door and Ronan called for the person to come in. All the excitement and pride inside of me fell flat at the sight of Magnus entering and when his eyes lit on me, my insides went cold because I knew exactly who my client was.
And from the infuriated way Magnus was looking at me, he knew it too.
Chapter One
Dante
I willed my stomach to stop rolling as I removed my finger from the doorbell and waited. No way in hell was that prick going to get the upper hand over me again. Maybe I could have overlooked the fiasco with him walking in on me getting a little bit of action in the bathroom during Hawke and Tate's wedding reception, but I sure as hell wasn't going to let what had happened in Ronan's office rattle me … well, not anymore.
The second Magnus had stepped into the office, he'd immediately said, "No" in that no-nonsense tone of his that grated on my nerves. I had no idea if he'd been given a heads-up about Ronan's desire to have him shadowed for whatever trial he was testifying in, but after sparing me the briefest of condescending looks, he'd pinned his cold blue eyes on Ronan and Memphis, repeated the word "No" and crossed his arms, as if the discussion were over.
But that hadn't been the disturbing part … no, I'd actually enjoyed the little scene because I'd been eager to watch Memphis and Ronan take the fucker down a notch.
Only I hadn't gotten to see any of it.
Because said fucker had looked at me briefly before casting his eyes back at my bosses and his expression had spoken volumes. Ronan hadn't even looked my way when he'd politely asked me to leave the room.
Fucking dismissed like I was nothing.
And by the two men I respected above all others. Two men I'd actually thought would stand up for me when push came to shove. I'd waited outside the door long enough to confirm not even a single raised voice coming from inside and then I'd done what I always did … whatever the fuck I felt like.
Not caring that I hadn't actually been given permission to leave, I'd hunted down my sloppy mouthed Caterer Guy who'd been busy loading glasses into packing crates in the quiet kitchen. I'd grabbed him and a bottle of what I'd suspected was very high-priced whiskey from the kitchen counter and dragged him outside and around the corner of the house. It had been pitch black outside, but that hadn't stopped me from popping the top off that bottle, downing several swallows as I'd shoved Caterer Guy to his knees in front of me to finish what he'd started. He'd protested for all of five seconds before I'd grabbed him by the chin and told him I'd get him off twice for his efforts. When I'd slid my hand over his ass and squeezed hard, he'd let out a greedy moan and then fumbled with my zipper.
It hadn't taken him long to get me ready because my fury had already gotten me where I needed to be. I'd let him suck me down for as long as it had taken me to fish a condom and some lube out of my wallet and down another swallow of booze, all as I'd kept shoving my dick down his throat until he'd been gasping for breath. Then I'd manhandled him to his hands and knees and told him to get his pants down. His underwear had barely cleared the backs of his thighs when I'd pushed a well lubed finger into his body and nailed his prostate on the first glance. When he'd let out a startled cry of pleasure, I'd slammed my hand over his mouth, plunged a second finger into him and finger fucked him until he was ready to blow. The second my cock pressed past his tight outer muscles and slid over his sweet spot, he'd come hard. After that, I'd ridden him to my heart's content, wrenching another orgasm out of him as I'd vented much of my initial frustrations on his tight hole before finally letting myself come. And the second the aftershocks had started to ebb, I'd pulled out of him, tossed the condom on the ground, grabbed the nearly full bottle of whiskey and left him there on the cold, wet grass, his body still quaking with pleasure as I'd strode around to the driveway to my car.
At that point I hadn't given a shit about anything, including the one thing I had left in this fucked-up world … my work.
Because with one spiteful look, Magnus had taken that from me too.
I'd fully expected to wake up the next morning hungover and with a text telling me I was fired, considering I'd walked out of Ronan and Seth Grisham's house despite still being on the job as Matty's bodyguard. I'd gotten the hungover part, but the only text I'd had from Memphis had been to meet him back at the house later that morning. I'd figured that meant I'd be getting the kiss-off in person, but when I'd arrived, Memphis had merely told me that Magnus and I would be leaving for Texas on New Year's Eve day and that while I would be following Magnus's lead, my first and only priority was to keep the older man safe and bring him home to his grandson.
When I'd started to apologize for not being around the night before to shadow Hawke, Tate and their son, Memphis had put his hand up dismissively and explained that the other operative I was sharing the duty with, Cain Jensen, had informed them of the change in who was covering the little boy. Since there'd been no conversation with Cain about switching duties, I'd wisely kept my mouth shut because I'd highly suspected my boss also knew such a conversation hadn't taken place and, for whatever reason, was letting me off the hook.
"It's Dante!" I heard Matty call and I looked down to see his face peeking through the window next to the door. He waved at me and then disappeared as the lock on the door disengaged. I quelled the anxiety rushing through me and leaned against the door frame like I didn't have a care in the world.
No amount of preparation took away the bout of lust that went through me when Magnus opened the door and that just pissed me off further. "Hey, Pop-pop," I said, plastering a smile on my face that I knew would rile the man along with my use of his grandson's nickname for him.
I barely managed to maintain my composure when Magnus didn't acknowledge me or the title I'd bestowed on him.
Fucker and his goddamn unflappable control.
"Dante," Matty said happily and I forced my eyes off Magnus and dropped down so I could be at eye level with the boy. He threw his arms around me and I carefully held onto his still frail little body. I'd been watching the kid battle cancer for months now and I'd never met anyone as fucking brave as him. I'd told him as much the day before, minus the fucking part, when he'd been humiliated during the ceremony when his overexcited puppy had tripped him while he'd been walking down the aisle. The little boy, though unhurt, had been distraught when he'd realized he'd lost one of the wedding rings he'd been entrusted with, but I'd spied it almost instantly and pointed it out.