Page 58 of Devious Kingpin
I eyed him suspiciously. That was just three days ago. There was no way all this shit arrived in two days. “Really?”
Fully dressed, he turned around and extended his hand. “Let’s give you the tour and then let’s go grab something to eat.”
The first room he took me to was a library. A massive two stories high with shelves that reached to the top and were fully stocked. There was a ladder on small wheels that leaned against each row to allow a person to reach for the books at the very top.
“Wow,” I murmured, my eyes traveling over the room. I wasn’t even the reading type. My literature started and ended with romances. Some sweeter than the others, but mostly filthy. Of course, I’d never admit that to Dante.
I walked through the nearest aisle of books, my eyes gliding over the fancy spines. History. Science. Warfare. Classics. Not surprising, no romance.
“You look disappointed?” Dante remarked. I turned away from the books and caught Dante watching me with a small frown. “If there is a particular author you like, we can get it. Just say the word.”
I flushed. There was no fucking way I’d tell him to get me dirty romance novels.
“Maybe some romance novels?” he suggested and my cheeks burned. Dante was annoying as fuck.
I cleared my throat, keeping my composure. “I read mostly on my Kindle. But thank you. The library’s impressive.” Then I walked to him. “Okay, next room.”
So the tour continued. Pool room and cigar lounge. I crinkled my nose. I hated the smell of cigars. Then we moved on to a few more guest rooms. All without beds or mattresses.
“So what happened to the beds and mattresses?” I asked curiously.
Dante shrugged. “Bedbugs.”
My head whipped around to look at him. “I hope yours didn’t have bedbugs,” I hissed, suddenly feeling every inch of me crawling. I scratched my neck, then my back. Shit, my whole body suddenly itched.
“It was a false alarm,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Stop scratching yourself.”
I glared at him. “You’re an ass.”
He laughed all the way down the stairs. Dante’s mansion was bigger than I thought. It had several wings, although most were unused.
We made our way through the game room when I realized something. “So you live here by yourself?” I questioned, frowning. “No guards. Nothing? Just a cook or a maid?”
He flicked me a curious look. “From what I understand, you grew up without guards.”
He was right. Dad and Aunt Aisling tried to give us a semblance of normalcy growing up. So much normalcy that we were blindsided when having to deal with Davina’s ex. We really attempted our best at criminal activities but somehow none of them went well.
“Yes, I did,” I agreed. “I don’t need guards. I was just surprised.”
He gave me a pensive look. “I don’t usually need them. I can defend myself. When Priest and I lived together, it was the same way. But that might need to change. You’re not capable of defending yourself.”
I narrowed my eyes on him. “How presumptuous.”
His one eyebrow rose and he watched me curiously. “Are you saying you can defend yourself?”
I shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Okay,” he went along with me. “Later today or tomorrow, we can test your defense skills. If you prove to me that you can, then we’ll keep our place free of guards.”
It took all I had not to snicker. Dante was in for a big surprise.
* * *
Chicago was cold.
And somewhat dreary. To my surprise, the city remained open, not missing a beat, with the blizzard that swept through last night. When I expressed my shock at stores being open, people just laughed. It wasn’t a blizzard until cars were unable to drive on the streets.
We ended up having lunch at one of the local pizzerias. Curious glances were thrown our way the moment we arrived.
