Primal: London Mob Book Two Read Online Free Page B

and Lily off the streets as soon as possible. He didn’t know how long it would take Albert Beake to report back to his superiors — or how long it would take them to know something had gone amiss — but he wasn’t taking any chances. Whoever was behind the attack didn’t know it yet, but they’d fired the opening salvo in a war that wouldn’t end until Farrell had finished it once and for all.
    Until Jenna and Lily were safe for good.

5
    J enna walked quickly , feeling the sudden absence of Lily’s hand in her own as Farrell carried their daughter through the deserted streets. It was always strange not to be attached to Lily in some way. She felt it even when she went to work each morning — the euphoric lightening that was also a kind of loss. Relief at not having to think about someone else every minute coupled with the impossibility of thinking only of herself.
    It was different when Lily was with Farrell. Not very long ago, imagining him as a father had been impossible, but she’d been surprised to find that he was perfectly at ease with Lily. Perfectly comfortable talking to her about dolls and stuffed animals and the old British cartoons he’d watched as a boy. Perfectly comfortable carrying her on his shoulders, transporting her like a delicate princess atop a giant beast. He was the most dangerous man she’d ever known — and the most violent. He made no apologies for his lifestyle. No apologies for his belief that the only way to be safe in the world was to be more deadly than anyone else. But he was as gentle as a lamb when it came to Lily, and when it came to Jenna as well.
    Except when they were in bed, of course.
    She pushed the thought away, glad for the spotty street lamps whose shadows would hide the flush creeping up her neck. Thinking about being in bed with Farrell was a good way to avoid thinking about what had just happened — what might have happened — in the alley.
    But it was also a recipe for complications she couldn’t afford.
    A chill swept over her body, a slow and steady cold that quickly banished the fire building in her belly. By the time they got to the door of the flat, she was shaking so hard she couldn’t get the key in the lock.
    Farrell set Lily down and gently took the key from Jenna’s hand. She watched as he opened the door and ducked under the frame, then she followed him inside. He waved her into the kitchen, and she took Lily’s hand and stood next to the stove.
    “You and Mummy wait here for a minute, will you, love?” he asked Lily.
    Jenna was preparing to ask what he was doing when he removed his gun from the holster strapped to his side. Then she understood; he was going to check the house, make sure no one was lying in wait for them. The thought sent a finger of ice up her spine. The flat wasn’t much. It wasn’t in a great area. It wasn’t very big. It wasn't lavishly decorated. But it was their refuge against the world, one of the few places Jenna actually felt safe without Farrell. The idea that someone might have entered the space without her permission was a violation, and she held Lily close to her side, heart hammering in her chest as Farrell moved down the hall toward the bedrooms.
    She exhaled her relief when he returned a couple minutes later, holstering his weapon. He locked the door, slipped the chain into its channel, and stepped into the kitchen where he pried Lily away from Jenna’s side. He bent down to look her in the eyes.
    “Does this flat get pizza delivery?” he asked her solemnly.
    She giggled. “Of course, Daddy. Every flat gets pizza.”
    He gave her a look of mock surprise. “I had no idea! It’s like magic!”
    She smiled. “You’re being silly.”
    “It runs in the family,” he said, standing. “Now take your backpack to your room while I order pizza and talk to Mummy.”
    Jenna watched as Lily skipped down the hall like she didn’t have a care in the world, like she hadn’t stood in an alley less than twenty