Page 5 of King of Ruin
I lean closer to the wall, my jaw hard as granite. “What do you want to do?”
I hear Luke growl. “We can make a break for the car, or we can…”
But Vincent’s scanning the area and I swear he sees me, our eyes locking.
My hand comes to my chest, feeling the bullet proof layer of protection I’ve been wearing since this morning.
It only takes a second for Vincent to reach behind him and pull out a pistol.
I barely hear the two pops before I feel the bullet strike my upper chest. I look over just in time to see Luke go down…
CHAPTER TWO
Maddie
Four hours earlier…
“I don’t date,”I mutter to my best friend, Lucia, as she applies a brush of mascara to my lashes.
I can do the task myself. A person can feel the bend of their lashes on the lid. And with good light, I can see enough to not completely hack the job if I lean really close to the mirror.
My vision is just poor enough to make me legally blind, but I’m not sightless.
“I’m well aware of your dating preferences,” Lucia says as she dips the brush into the bottle, completing my makeup. “But you can’t stay here all day, every day, with no company other than birds and a few squirrels.”
“Why not?” I grump, even though I know she’s probably right. Granted, I have her, and the Amazon delivery guy and I are pretty tight. And by that, I mean we talk occasionally when he delivers a package.
Though, technically, he has asked me out twice. And for someone like me, dating a delivery guy would have real advantages…
But since my grandmother’s death, I’ve really withdrawn, and Lucia has taken it upon herself to push me out of my funk.
Which is why she dragged me to some swanky bar last week because I needed to “get out” and see the world beyond my little walled garden. I’d reluctantly agreed and somehow managed to acquire a date with Vigo Vendetti.
He talks like a gangster. His tone is all male bravado, which I don’t like at all, but his touch on my elbow was gentle enough.
And when he’d asked, I’d been about to say no when Lucia had hissed in my ear. “He’s hot. Like hot, hot.”
I didn’t need her to tell me. I could see the outline of his muscular frame, smell his expensive cologne.
Even I’d seen the rough, masculine cut of his jaw, and so, with a sigh, knowing Lucia wouldn’t leave me alone if I said no, I’d accepted his invitation.
Now, here I was, in a dress, with mascara on, seriously regretting allowing Lucia to bully me into this.
“Maybe I should put a few more curls in your hair. It’s getting a little flat.” She’s close enough, I see her frown as she inspects my blonde coif.
I shake my head. My hair is thick enough but it’s always been really soft and silky so it’s never held a curl. A fact I tried to tell her before she broke out the curling iron. “Leave it,” I say. “I already told you, it’s not going to stay.”
She makes that dissatisfied sound she usually reserves for surgery, but the curling iron clinks back down on the bathroom countertop.
“I just want you to look…”
I reach for her hand, holding her fingertips in my palm. Lucia is a veterinarian, her husband is her assistant. I know in herheart she thinks I’d be better off if I were married too. Which I appreciate.
Honestly though, I’d be a lot for any guy to take on. And I’m not even talking about my sight. Well, I am pretty much talking about my lack of sight.
But I’ve also got a menagerie of pets that I love but would drive any other person to distraction. “Lucia. These things can’t be forced.”
“I know. I know you’re right,” she sighs, her fingers flexing against my palm. “But some effort might help.”