Page 97 of King of Ruin
“I know. But please do. Because as much as you are worried about all the physical care Roman will need to give you, you are going to have to constantly make certain that man stays on a clean path. Right his compass in life. He needs you, Maddie, as much as you do him. Promise.”
I shake my head, stunned by her words.
“I need Josh to shave some of my rough edges too. And he needs me to get in there and scrap sometimes when he wouldn’t. It makes for a good pairing.”
I lift the brush and begin working it through my hair. I look calm, but inside I’m hectic. Maybe I needed to come back here, talk to my friend, to see things with Roman clearly.
I do bring value. Value I’d not even considered. Maybe there is a future for us after all.
Excitement pulses through me. Should I call him? Tell him how I feel?
But that’s the exact moment my phone rings, Roman’s ringtone singing in my ears.
I don’t hesitate. I grab the phone. “Roman?”
“Sweetheart.” But his voice makes me still. It’s rough and worried.
“What’s wrong?”
“Have Lucia and Josh pack a bag. Everyone is coming to my apartment.”
I gasp even as Lucia grabs the phone from my hand, clicking it on speaker. “What happened?”
“Vigo and Vincent are out of prison. Everyone needs to leave Maddie’s house. I’m getting in the car. Mason, Leo and I will be there in five.”
Lucia rises from the bed. “Josh,” she calls. “We need?—”
“Lights out,” Josh calls before he opens the door to my bedroom, closing it behind him.
That’s when I hear the roar of the Lamborghini engine.
I’d know that car anywhere.
Vigo and Vincent are here.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Maddie
“Is the front door locked?”I whisper.
“Yes, but…” Josh grabs both my hands, pulling me up from the bed. I’ve got a small walk-in closet, and he pulls both me and Lucia toward it. “It’s not going to keep them out for long.”
“I don’t want to hide,” Lucia hisses. “I’m going to?—”
“No.” I shake my head even as Josh closes the closet door. “Vigo and Vincent are not like Mason and Roman who would hold back. They’re not morally gray, they’re black. You’d get a good shot in, Lucia, and then they’d break you apart.”
Lucia harrumphs but I know she heard me because she stays in the closet.
Even through the door and the walls, I hear the engine cut. A sheen of sweat breaks out on my skin as I try to force myself to remain calm.
Roman is coming.
Of course, the last time he met Vigo and Vincent at my house, he and his cousin ended up shot.
And I know he’s not wearing a bulletproof vest today.
A small whimper falls from my lips. Josh, Lucia and I are huddled together and at the small noise I make, we all press closer in.