The elevator doors open before I can summon a response, which is just as well. Falling to my knees and begging her to touch me so I can stop thinking so fucking hard about things best left alone is out of the question. I manage to hold it together as I follow Monroe out of the elevator and down the hall to her office.

We barely get a chance to settle in before her mother arrives.

It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve seen her in the last two weeks; Aisling Rhodius is a terrifying woman. On the surface she’s no different than any other posh CEO with expensive style and a ton of money invested in her appearance. But beneath? Every time she looks at me, I can practically see her categorizing all the ways she can kill me with the fountain pen in her hand. She wouldn’t hesitate, wouldn’t blink, and once she’d taken me down, she’d methodically ensure any evidence of my presence disappeared from the face of this city.

She would certainly kill me if she knew the truth about me.

I can definitely see this woman ordering a squad of her people to slip into Raider territory and set a strategic fire to their base, one that blocked the exits and ensured mass casualties. I’ve heard the story; it’s a damn miracle Broderick and his brothers escaped.

She narrows icy eyes in my direction, but her words are for her daughter. “I need to speak with you.”

Monroe doesn’t look up from the paperwork she’s paging through. “You know the rules, Mother. Shiloh has to stay, or the Paine brothers will get cranky.”

Aisling gives me another long look, and I can’t shake the feeling that she’s mentally murdered me and shoved me out a window. She finally sighs. “Very well. I have it on good authority that Abel Paine threatened your life yesterday.”

“I see.” Monroe pauses, a paper still in her hand. She doesn’t look at me, which is just as well. I didn’t even know that happened until Broderick told us. How the fuck did Aisling find out? Monroe hasn’t had any contact with her; if she had, there’d be no reason for Aisling to inform her now.

“Either handle the situation, or I will.”

At that, Monroe shakes off her surprise. She narrows her green eyes and pushes to her feet. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Aisling doesn’t move. She’s got a few inches on Monroe, is closer to my height, and she uses it to her full advantage. “I will respect the rules of Lammas and the Bridal handfasting, but that only goes so far. You are the Amazon heir, and I will not have you threatened by Raider scum.”

“Being fucked by one of them is fine, though.”