Chapter 15 Mila Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ Fɪndηovᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Convict settled on the floor, his back against the wall and one leg extended. It brought to mind when I'd last seen him in that position, back in the disused office space. I searched the room. "You're meant to be wearing a walking boot." He blinked. "Couldn't show an obvious weakness in the game." I spotted the black boot between the bed and the side table and picked it up, handing it across. He took it and kicked off his shoe, fitting it into place. He didn't wince or move awkwardly, anything to suggest his actions in the basement had done him any damage. "How much longer should you be wearing that?" "A few more days. I'm pretty much healed." I had such a problem with this man. Now my emotions had cooled, others had replaced them. Attraction was a big part of that, but also logic. On my own, I had no hope of getting Kane back. I couldn't go up against a gang of men. I didn't have a chance. Convict had jumped to find a solution when he didn't have to. He'd also been inside me. I wanted more. Specifically to slide off the bed and crawl to his lap. He watched me. "I have about a hundred questions to ask of you, but none of them are in my head right now." "Why were you in the basement?" I blurted. "Your friend said about doing the wrong things for the right reasons. What did that mean?" "It means I went in to fetch you because I knew you didn't go into that arena voluntarily." A throb of something struck my heart. "Why would that be wrong?" "Because crew members aren't allowed to take part." Well, damn. There was me thinking it was a perk of the job. Convict continued. "What Tyler meant was if I did it because of the thrill of the chase alone, I'll be out on my ass when Arran, the leader of our crew, returns. Kicked out of the only home I know." I took a short breath. He'd just offered me leverage over him on a silver platter. Yet I didn't get a chance to turn this into a strategy because he pinned me with his stare. "I also did it because I want you. I caught you in the game where the rules are clear, so every part of me believes that you're mine. So you weren't supposed to be there? Don't assume I'll be a good guy and give you an out." "What are you saying?" His heavy gaze intensified. "I'm proposing a deal. My help in whatever scheme you're working on in exchange for you obeying the rules. For you staying with me." I knew some of the rules. The women had discussed them in hushed whispers in the locker room. "Those rules include sex. You're asking me to prostitute myself?" "No. I'm asking you to fuck the guy you already want to fuck because you agreed to it." A thrill buzzed through me. "Bold assumption." Convict gave me an infuriating smirk. "Up on the gantry, you could've chosen any other of those assholes. They were fighting for you, Emilia. You turned and ran to me." I had. And why did my insides liquify when he used my full first name? I swallowed. Given another minute, I would've constructed this offer myself. I was dying for him. If he put me on my back now, I'd probably pull him closer. But one rule of business my grandparents had taught me was never to follow emotion. Only facts. "Be specific about what I give and what I get in return." "The rules are that we're together for thirty days. We can't be apart for more than a couple of hours at a time. Yes, we fuck a lot, but we also eat, and talk, and enjoy each other's lives. I'm yours as much as you are mine, so whatever you need me to do, it's done." "How sweet." He arched a dark brow. "You get me and my terrifyingly competent criminal crew. It's a really aggressive honeymoon." I fought an entirely unwarranted smile. "Why would your crew help me?" "Because you're mine. The skeleton crew would show up for me, assuming I get to stay in it. My crew owns the night in this city. The police, politicians, all in our pocket. You get the same protection." That...was appealing. Almost as much as getting to touch him. His confidence faltered. "We're supposed to leave work behind and lock ourselves away. That's the only thing I can't do." "Why?" Convict's obvious hunger and determination dialled back to something more vulnerable. He made a circle around his head. "I've no fucking clue if I have a home anywhere. Whole amnesia thing." "I have an apartment." I stopped my words and the offer that was about to fall from my lips, because the thought of hiding away with him in my lonely flat was disturbingly compelling. "When you get my... When you get Kane back, I'll give you an answer." Something flared in his eyes. "I want more than that. I want everything." "For thirty days only," I amended. Convict watched me then jumped up, and I braced myself against a surge of something powerful that ordered me to reach for him. To throw off the shirt he'd given me. He went for the door instead. "Hungry? Thirsty?" I shook my head. I had no appetite. Salter's men had kept me fed over the past few days, but tonight, adrenaline had shrunk my stomach to a tight knot. Convict left me with a promise to return soon. I curled up in a bed that smelled of him, and I must've fallen asleep, because I woke to the light dimmed low and one other reality I had to face. The locked door I couldn't leave.