Page 25 of The Devil We Know

She clears her throat again, nodding to what seems to be mostly herself, and then she turns, putting a hand on the doorknob where she pauses and turns back to me and says, “You stay alive.”

I laugh and reply, “I’ll certainly do my best, Marie. You need to stay out of trouble. And don’t get caught down here, or you’re going to be in a whole heap of trouble.”

She nods in agreement and then opens the door, moving as if she’s going to step out into the hallway, but I pull her back. I leanout, looking in both directions before reaching back and taking her hand, maneuvering her into the hallway.

She goes easily, but when she turns back to look at me, I still see that shadow of fear across her face, so I touch her shoulder, lean down, and whisper, “Everything will be all right. You’ll see.”

She huffs and then nods more firmly before spinning on her heel and taking off down the hallway with her head down.

There’s a knocking down the hall in the other direction, so I lean out in the hallway and peer down just in time to see a woman disappear into a room.

A shiver runs down my spine, and I squint and shake my head, forcing the apprehension down as I step back into my room and shut the door.

I’m almost to the bathroom and the shower that’s been waiting for me when the door to my room bursts open behind me. I whirl around, ready to fuck up some shit, and then immediately relax when I see who it is.

Kaian stands in the doorway, looking proud to have startled me.

I glare at him and say, “Stop fucking doing that.”

He grins at me, lifting his shoulder nonchalantly as he shuts the door behind him and then replies, “Well, remember to lock your fucking door, then.”

“Maybe you should just stay in your own room and quit fucking bothering me.”

He walks further into the room, dropping into the large armchair I have in the corner, sprawling out as if he owns the place.

Which technically is kind of true, given he’s one of the princes of the underworld, taking a pit stop down here with us common folk as part of his mission to earn the job.

Frankly, I’m not sure he’s entirely cut out for it, given he doesn’t take anything seriously, but I suppose like most people, he’ll be serious when the time comes.

“We’re going to need to tighten up security around this place,” he says randomly.

“Security?” I ask incredulously. “The security in this place is top-notch.”

He raises his brows at me, gives me a serious look, and then says, “Well, that’s what I thought, but I found somebody just wandering around here today.”

Now I frown, my arms crossing over my chest as I respond, “Wandering around?”

He nods, then sighs, his head falling back to rest on the back of the seat, his eyes closed as he relaxes. “That’s what I said. Some woman, just wandering around here.”

“And you believed that she’s just randomly wandering around here?”

He peeks an eye open at me and says, “Yeah, that’s what I said. I mean, I scared the shit out of her, and I’m pretty certain that she couldn’t have been up to much, considering how easily she practically pissed her pants. She wasn’t too bright, either.”

“And what did she say she was doing here?”

“She said she was dropped off for Matteo.”

I cock my head at him, confused why anyone would be dropped off for Matteo, given the fact that he is a huge piece of shit. Now I sigh, my hands coming up and rubbing over my face tiredly, and then I ask, “And did she say why she was here for Matteo?”

“She just said she was a gift or whatever. I don’t know. I kind of feel bad for her now.”

“And so, you just blindly brought her to him?”

He shrugs. “I just did what the lady told me. She’s not my problem.”

“Is anyone your problem?”

He grins, opens his eyes, and looks at me. “Nope. I am my only problem. And I like to keep it that way.”

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