Page 61 of The King's Boy

I hoped it helped her.

King must have wanted to go home just as much as I did because he ushered me out the door as if we were fleeing a fire. I wasn't opposed to this except his legs were longer than mine and I felt like I was running.

"King, King." I jerked back. "You need to slow down or carry me. I don't go that fast."

There was a gleam in King's eyes as he turned to me.

"No, no." I held up a hand. I should have kept my mouth shut. "You are not carrying me. Just slow down a little bit."

"Sorry, baby."

"Don't be sorry," I said as I took his hand and started for the stairs. "Just go a little bit slower."

"I want to get you home. Until we catch the people that did this—"

"I told you who did this."

"I know, but until we catch them, you are not safe."

"I wasn't safe at the house," I pointed out. It seemed important to mention that.

I knew King was pissed when his lips pressed thin. "You will be. I'm having the house cleared right now. I'm also going to be sending for more men from Ireland. Men I know I can trust. Just until everyone at the house is vetted, but until then you will be protected."

I wrapped both hands around King's arm and hugged him tight to my chest. "I'm okay with that."

I strangely was. Having a bodyguard hadn't really affected my life much. Boden—the poor guy—had gone everywhere with me that I would usually go, but I still had that freedom to come and go.

"How did your meeting go?" I asked. "I'm sorry I interrupted, but Malloy said—"

"No, it's okay. I understand why you did, and the meeting went fine until you went missing." King suddenly frowned. "And it kind of went okay after that. Turns out, Vinnie is married and fully understands the need to protect the one he loves. I guess his Nicky is pretty—"

Uh... "Vinnie and Nicky?"

I knew those names.

"Yes."

I let out a little chuckle. "Next you are going to tell me that Vinnie is the head of the Italian mafia here in New York."

"Vinnie Borelli is the head of the Italian mafia here in New York."

That brought me to a stop.

"How do you know them?" King asked.

"Uh." I felt my cheeks flush with warmth. "I don't know Vinnie, but Nicky and I shared a club car on the train west and then he stayed at my aunt's place in Cathlamet, Washington for a while."

"Huh," King mused. "I wonder if Vinnie knows that."

I shrugged because I had no idea.

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, I started for the front door to the apartment building. King pulled me back and kept me from walking through it.

"Wait for Malloy to check that it is safe before you go out."

Oh, right. I might have gotten used to having Boden follow me around everywhere, but I was still learning all the rules.

It might take awhile.