Page 18 of King of Ruin
“My gran would have said the same,” she mutters into my shoulder. “’No sense,’ she’d say.”
My hand on her back, fists into her dress. “Imagine if I was more like Vigo.”
“You aren’t?” she asks, shaking her head against my chest.
Is she worried she’s not safe with me? I pick my head up, opening my eyes to study her. “I don’t go around shooting people in the street.” Except I do. I mean, not often. And in my defense, the man we killed today was attempting to kill us. Actually murdered my father in cold blood. Does that make me bad? Or the type of man who can keep the people around him safe?
Is it both?
And if I’m being honest, Maddie should be frightened of me. My intentions are less than noble.
Maddie doesn’t pull away, if anything she burrows deeper into me, her face nuzzling into the crook of my neck. She breathes out, warm air rushing over my skin. “I just need to know,” her voice has dropped to a whisper, “and I probably should have asked this before I got in the elevator, but am I going to be safe here with you? I don’t know who you are or how you know Vigo.”
My sweet little vulnerable bird needs to be safe, and she wants me to be her haven.
I can work with that.
Vigo unwittingly pushed Maddie right into my arms. He never was any good with the subtleties.
“To answer your question, I’ve known Vigo almost all my life. We grew up together, so I’ve got loads of experience with how shitty he can be.”
She nods into my neck and then starts to back up. I feel the loss of her body heat and I let out the lowest rumble of dissent. I want her back on my body, her softness against me.
The elevator chimes and the doors slide open.
“Lights,” I call out, the apartment lighting up. Everything in my apartment is voice- or phone-activated. It’s part of the security that my Uncle Jake installed.
“You have voice commands too?” she asks.
“That’s right,” I answer, as I take her hand and lead her out of the elevator and into the foyer of the apartment. “What do you need me to do to help you navigate?”
“I can see enough,” she answers, her fingers still twining in mine. “The lighting in here is good so I see the outline of things. Shapes. Blurs of color.”
That makes it easier for sure.
My phone rings and I pause in the kitchen, Maddie stopping with me, as I pull the device out of my pocket and pick up. “Yeah?”
“It’s Jack.” Jack worked for my father before he started working for Mason. “I’m fifteen minutes out. I’ve got your doctor with me.”
“Fifteen?” Good.
“Should I blindfold him?”
I see Maddie’s eyes widen and, inwardly, I grimace. She can clearly hear Jack on the other end of the phone now that we’re in the quiet of the apartment with no background noise. I want us both to be safe here. Which means keeping our location under wraps.
But I can see why blindfolding doctors might make her question the type of man she’s with. She tries to pull her fingers from mine, but I hold tight.
“Can you put me on speaker?” I say to Jack.
“You’re playing through the sound system. Dr. Levine can hear everything. Fire away.”
“Dr. Levine,” I say in my most polite voice. “Would you mind if Jack covered your eyes? We’ve had an incident with the Italians and we’re trying to keep a secure location.”
“Not a problem,” the doctor answers. “Completely understand.”
“Thank you.”
I hang up the phone, pulling Maddie the rest of the way through the kitchen and into the living room to sit on the couch.