Page 42 of King of Ruin

I let out a long sigh. “That makes sense. You’re right. It’s just…wouldn’t you rather wait until morning?”

“No. Not really. I’d rather be there alone when we can search without answering to anyone.”

He’s got a point. Not that employees will be rude, but they will wonder why I’m hunting all through Luke’s office when he’s out. It will stir a whole lot of questions. “You don’t need to come Mason.”

“Why don’t you want me to come? Are you meeting up with Leo?” His tone is demanding, accusatory.

“No. But I am trying to complete the job you gave me, while leaving you to do yours.” I look at the pile of shit on my desk, the stuff I planned on working on tonight. I understand why Maddie won’t sell. How am I going to convince her? And if I can’t, is there another way?

Because the idea of taking her house is a job I hate more with each passing hour. The feel of Maddie’s skin under my hands as I took off her clothes and slipped on the pajamas, still lingers at the front of my thoughts.

She’s softer than silk, her curves are fucking killer… And then there was the smell of her arousal.

It still lingers in my nose from when I helped her pull on those little shorts. Bent down, not only could I smell her, but if I’d just tipped forward…

“Right,” Mason lets out a long breath of air into the phone. “Look. If we search tonight, first thing tomorrow morning, we can start calling inspectors, city officials. But I think we need to know the vague outlines first.”

“Fine. Come get me.” I pull the phone away from my ear, glaring at the phone. “And for the record, I was never meeting up with Leo tonight, though I still think I should be with him trying to get Luke back.”

“We’re soldiers,” he grunts. “We do the job we’re told.”

I stand from my desk, my hand clenching into a fist, my knuckles turning white.

I’ve always followed Mason. He’s been like my father when my own detonated. But right now, today, this… “The job has never been this dangerous or this fucking shitty.” My knuckles rap on the desk. “I’ve got to ask. Is it worth it?”

I sit back down, scrubbing a hand down my face, but I’m not done. “I know the Italians started this war when they killed Dad. But he was fucking a boss’s wife. Are we going to lose Luke avenging Dad? Hurt Maddie?”

“What about Mom? She suffered too.”

My teeth grind together. Mason is wrong. That doesn’t belong at the Italians’ door. “Their marriage was shit. She was home with three boys while he was off fucking and fighting his way through Las Vegas.”

“You’re right, Roman,” Mason agrees. “Dad should have been protecting her. Instead, he abandoned her to a pile of shit. She deserved better.”

Anger boils up inside me. “Maybe. But she turned around and shoved that pile of shit right on me.”

Mason is silent. “What was it like at the end?”

“She barely fed herself, didn’t shower, didn’t do a thing but sit in the fucking dark and—” My teeth gnash together, cutting off my words. “She didn’t take care of me or Arabella. Did you know I walked our sister to school every day?”

“Roman,” Mason says, his voice tight. “I wish I’d been there.”

“You were away at school. Why would you have been home?” I stand, starting to pace the office. I’ve said too much. Maddie is stirring a storm inside me and I don’t know what to do with all these feelings I thought I’d buried deep.

“Yeah, but you were what? Ten? You needed real support.”

“I’m strong now,” I say, waving his words away. “Mom made me strong. I’ll say that.”

Mason pauses before he slowly speaks. “Is Maddie being there a problem? Should she come stay with me?”

“No.” The word flies from my mouth with far more aggression than I intended. As much as Maddie is pushing some buttons inside my head, we’re on some course together and I can’t steer away.

The very idea of her being under Mason’s protection makes me want to break things. “She stays here.”

“And you’re still going to make sure she sells?”

“Yeah,” I say, but my voice lacks conviction. “What’s the alternative? Abandoning the project?”

“Which I know you know can’t happen. We’re almost to the end of this game.”

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