Page 147 of Sins of Innocence

I let him go.

Áine's safety comes first.

Grabbing my phone, I call Dagda while storming over to the man with the broken knee. The only one still capable of talking.

"Call in backup." Thomas should be on his way to the apartment already to take over from Dagda, but I want my girls protected. "And I need a level two cleanup crew."

"You went to get coffee, boss, not start a war. What the fuck happened?"

"We were hit by a five man crew. They tried to make it seem like a mugging." But muggers don't go for the vulnerable woman when they have a chance to escape a lethal predator.

"Feckin' hell."

"My thoughts exactly."

I hang up without saying another word grab the guy still blubbering, yanking him up by the back of his neck. "Who hired you to take us out?"

"Nobody. Just wanted your wallet, man," he snivels.

Wrong answer. I jab the pain point at his brachial plexus.

He shouts and tries to twist out of my hold.

"Need some help with that boss?" Noah asks laconically, toothpick dangling from the side of his mouth.

Two other soldiers are with him. They're all in tank tops and basketball shorts.

I dig the keys to my SUV out of my pocket and toss them to Noah. "Take these assholes home."

By home, I mean the Bunker and Noah's smart enough to know that. "Copy that, boss."

Thomas jogs up. "Clean up crew's ETA is four minutes. McLaren's rerouting the cruiser called to the scene. I'm headed to your apartment."

"Go with him, boss. Get your wife off the street," Noah says. "We've got this." He indicates the soldiers with him.

If he trusts them to have his back, I trust his judgement. I train my men to assess danger, and Noah has his own finally honed instincts from his time on the streets.

Now that her safety is assured, I finally let myself turn fully toward Áine.

Adrenaline pounding in my veins, I leap up the stairs two at a time, stopping only when my hands are on her shoulders. "You okay, baby girl?"

Pupils blown, mouth parted slightly, she nods slowly.

"What is it?" What's wrong?

Is she afraid of me now that she's seen me in Wraith mode? Does she think this is proof that marrying me put her and the girls at further risk?

But she'd have to realize it wasn't a mugging. That it was a hit. I doubt she does.

So what is the matter?

She steps right into my personal space. "You were…" Her voice trails off and she inhales deeply. "Magnificent," she breathes, both her hands pressing against my chest her fingers gripping my shirt.

My cock goes from zero to Mach 1 in a split second.

Watching me take down the threat to her turned my sweet wife on.

Fuck.