Read Online The Firm Hand of the Law by Loki Renard - Free Book Online

pocket. Things were getting complicated.
    Doing her best to forget about her problems, Lily went to see if Gammy wanted to play checkers.
     
    * * *
     
    Gareth was feeling bad. He didn’t often feel bad, and he wasn’t sure what to do with the feeling. Lily was right, he was bullying her. He’d bullied hundreds of people in his career. It came with the territory. It was the best way to get things done in a world where people didn’t do the right thing unless they were forced to.
    Unfortunately, he liked Lily, and it was obvious that her involvement in the criminal underworld was largely beyond her control. She’d inherited the mess. But she wasn’t exactly leaping at the chance to get out of it. Probably didn’t realize that there was a world beyond crime for her. And maybe there wasn’t. The people at the other end of the chain were the type to cut ties and burn drop points to the ground. Lily was in danger. That was why he was keeping so close, and that was why he was putting the pressure on. The sooner this was over, the sooner she could be safe.
    He kept an eye on her for the rest of the day, noting that she wasn’t doing the usual in and out visit of duty. She genuinely liked her grandmother, in fact, it seemed as though her grandmother was the only person she did really like. A life of crime was a lonely one. She probably couldn’t share her life with anyone really. Criminal acquaintances didn’t make good friends and straight people, well, they wouldn’t be able to connect with her.
    Tapping the steering wheel impatiently, Gareth tried to plan his next move. There was no drop on Wednesday, that was almost certain. And that meant there was going to have to be a consequence for the lie. She could do with a damn good spanking or three, but he really didn’t want to have to keep whipping her butt every time they met.
    Things were getting complicated. He should be maintaining distance, but the situation was forcing him to stay close, and staying close was leading to an attachment which was definitely inappropriate. Teasing aside, he’d liked the way she felt under his arm. He liked her fire and he loved her bravery. He was not an easy man to stand up to, but she stood up to him at every turn. On a professional level, it was irritating. Personally, he loved it.
    But she would still have to be punished, and soundly at that. How was he going to handle the little brat this time? There were three days for him to make a decision.

Chapter Four
     
     
    Lily anticipated Gareth’s visit on Thursday. There had been no sign of him Monday and Tuesday, and though she thought she caught a glimpse of him on Wednesday, he had not come to see her. Thursday night though, after the dishes were done and the floors were mopped and she would ordinarily have been switching on the television to catch whatever late night host hadn’t been hoisted out of his job of late, that’s when the knock came.
    She let him stew a couple of minutes before she opened the door. There he was, smoldering with punitive intent.
    God but he was handsome. The hard, rugged lines of his face were always more intense when he had a bone to pick with her. In that moment he could have built a house with his gaze, which nailed her to the floor where she stood.
    “Ready for your spanking, my pretty little liar?”
    “Fuck off…” She pushed the door closed, but that was no use. He was coming in anyway. He brushed her aside as if she were of no more consequence than a fruit fly and stepped into her apartment, hands on his hips as he fixed her with a hard look.
    “There was no drop yesterday.”
    “Yeah,” she gave an exaggerated shrug, “I guess they delayed it.”
    “Every new lie you tell gets you in deeper trouble,” he informed her. “Do you really want to keep lying?”
    “I really want you to go away,” she said, backing away as he closed the door behind himself. Deep in her tummy, excitement was fizzing. He was there to spank her, to lay