Sweet Seduction ✔︎

|12| 𝑩𝒓𝒂𝒕

During the day, Gavin had a laser-sharp focus on finalizing the security for Josh and Jupiter's wedding. Nothing, not even Freya Donovan in pink fleece cupcake pajamas, could distract him when he was working.

Then there was a point when he stopped working. And she flooded his thoughts like a waterfall breaking through a cliff.

On Saturday, he paid another visit to Asante and a few other downtown bars, interrogating the bartenders and servers about a kid who fit “Danny’s” description, but came up empty. A search through his online resources revealed dozens of “Dannys” and “Daniels” in the area. Though he had no official reason to have the kid arrested, he wasn’t above issuing a warning and scaring him.

He set one of his men to further searching before he left the Knight Security offices. Unless he was coordinating his team at a venue or event, he was accustomed to working until seven or eight, even on weekends, then heading home to cook dinner before trying to wind down with a hot shower or TV. Invariably he ended up working most of the night, in between sporadic sleep.

He closed the front door and set his keys and briefcase down. His phone buzzed with a text from Josh—Don’t forget BBQ tomorrow at Dad’s. 5pm.

Gavin texted back: Thanks, but working late.

He could almost hear the exasperation in Josh’s tone with the reply: Tomorrow is Saturday.

He punched out another text. And the wedding is in a week.

No reply came after that. Not even Josh could argue with the timeline of his own wedding.

Gavin told himself his distance from the Kings was due to professional reasons; he’d spent the past five years setting up his business and reworking the entire Candy King security system. Didn’t matter that it was finished now—maintaining security and keeping all protocols up to date was a major part of his job.

He unknotted his tie, poured a glass of scotch, and checked his mail and messages. There was another thick envelope with his name scrawled in black ink. He opened it and dumped out the contents.

His blood iced. Photos of wedding preparations spilled onto the counter—the decorator leaving her shop, the villa manager, two women sitting at a table at the Rainbow Palace. Jupiter and… Freya.

Anger bubbled inside him. How the fuck…?

He opened the single sheet of paper. The black ink read: Are you ready? Because I am.

Gavin smothered his anger. He set the note and photographs aside. He had to stay dispassionate. Letting his personal feelings take over could only lead to mistakes. He’d promised Jupiter her wedding would be perfect. And he’d vowed to protect Freya to the fullest extent of his abilities. He’d keep his promises, even if it meant shutting off everything he was starting to feel for her.

He’d be an idiot to underestimate his adversary. This could be a diversion—that another area could be a target while the wedding was in progress. He already had a stronger security presence and police at Candy King and the Kings’ private residences, both now and on the day of the event.

He took a hot shower, changed into pajama bottoms and a T-shirt, and sat down to both finish his scotch and review the rest of the security measures. He logged in to the map of the Candy King campus. The doorbell rang.