Page 57 of Claiming Veronica

Maxim stopped just behind me, his sharp eyes taking in the scene. A small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, barely noticeable. “It’s good she has friends like Reed,” he said, his voice low. “Helps her feel... normal.”

I glanced over my shoulder at him, surprised by the observation. I didn’t know Maxim well, but I would guess he rarely spoke about emotions, let alone allowed them to surface. But he was right.Reed was good for Veronica—gave her that sense of normal in a way that even I couldn’t.

I sat down on the arm of the couch, brushing a stray piece of hair from Veronica’s face. Reed stirred slightly, mumbling something unintelligible before rolling over and burying her face in a pillow. I couldn’t help but smile.

Veronica opened her eyes, a lazy smile spreading across her beautiful face. “Hey, you.”

“Rise and shine, sleepy heads.”

I snorted, moving to sit beside Veronica. “Looks like they’ve been through a war zone.”

Reed tossed a pillow in our direction, her aim terrible as it fell short and landed on the floor. “It was an emotional battle. You wouldn’t get it.”

Veronica shifted, leaning into me. “We needed a break. Rom-coms and pizza are essential after something like this.”

“Pizza is essential,” I agreed, wrapping an arm around her. “What kind did you get?” I asked, leaning and looking in the box.

“I saved you a piece.”

I flipped up the lid and recoiled. “What’s this?” A piece of pizza lay sadly in the center of the box, but that wasn’t the worst. It was one of thosenut-job Hawaiian pieces withpineapple. I gagged a little. “Pineapple?”

“It’s good.” Reed’s tone was accusing as she sat up from her position on the couch and narrowed her eyes. “Only psychos don’t like pineapple.”

“Do you like pineapple?” I asked Maxim.

“Of course, I like pineapple. I’m not a psycho,” he said pointedly.

Veronica rolled her eyes dramatically. “You’re so dramatic,” she said with a chuckle. “Everything good at the venue?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “It’s all set. Maxim liked it.” I looked at her critically, wondering if I could bring up the pineapple without seeming like an absolute weirdo. “Did you have pineapple on your pizza?” I asked her idly, wondering if I would get contaminated if I kissed her after she ate the pineapple or if it would be worth it anyway.

Maxim chuckled. “It is an impressive setup, Eli. I didn’t expect something like that. Ronnie, you should see what he’s got going on. You wouldn’t believe it.” Maxim froze as the words spilled into the living room, and Veronica looked at him and then at me.

Trying to cover, I laughed nervously and babbled. “We’re running a high-stakes game. Can’t do that in a dive,” I said, glancing down at my phone, hoping she wouldn’t have caught the slip-up. The last thing I wanted was for Veronica to want to come to this particular fight. “People like a bit of class when dropping serious cash.”

“I’d like to. See it,” she said, pushing her hair from her eyes. “Could I?”

I groaned and gave Maxim a dirty look. The thing was … normally, I would love that, but with the whole Spato thing, I didn’t think it was safe. Luther and I had built a successful fight club that drew people in like nobody else. Our organization was professional and well-respected. I was proud of it. To have Veronica come and see what I’d built from nothing would feel good.

“Angel,” I began, already tripping over my words.

“Nat’s going,” she piped in eagerly. “Reed and I could sit with her. Right? Pike and Dimitri are sending her with a guard. Tiny and some of the guys.” I frowned and looked over at Maxim. “We’d be safe.”

He shrugged. “Should be fine as long as they have a guard.” He seemed wholly unconcerned that he had plans to murder a man there. “It isn’t an issue. The venue will be protected. It’s secluded.”His words were spoken with veiled intent. Veronica wasn’t privy to what he meant, but I understood perfectly.

He’d already scoped out his plan. I still didn’t like it. I thought it was stupid to bring the girls when there were actual plans to murder someone. Maybe murdering people was a regular occurrence for him, and he didn’t seem to see the issue, but I’d learned long ago that anything could go wrong when you let your monster out. I did my fair share of killing people, but I’d never had to worry before about protecting someone.

“We can talk it out later,” Veronica was peering up at my face, her cheeks pink and her teeth worrying her lower lip. “Reed ordered the pineapple, not me,” Veronica confessed. “I don’t like it either.” She winked, and I melted a little bit.

Thank God. I thought, leaning forward. I kissed her hard, earning a smack from Maxim, which I ignored.

“You guys and your P.D.A. You’re burning my eyes,” Reed groaned.

“So? Doug? Find anything else out?” I asked, settling down next to her. Maxim had just begun to move out of the room, but he stilled.

“Thatmudakthat was stalking you, Reed? Did you find him, Ronnie?”

“Yeah,” she stacked the pizza boxes and started tidying up. “He’s got a flight tomorrow here to Phoenix.”

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