Page 88 of When Sinners Fall
“Do I need to say more?” I ask.
They both shake their heads. I look them over, taking in the dusty clothes and the fucked-up outlook. Normal for them in what they usually do, but this is a whole new ballgame. “Clean yourselves up then. You can have one of the good cars out of the dealership. I’ll let them know you’re coming.” I stand and drink down my whisky. “Every second I’m not with her, one of you is. I’ll call you in a few days when we're back.”
Nothing else is said as I walk out of the club. Nothing needs to be. They’ll do exactly what I’ve told them to do without any argument because they know, just like anyone in this business knows, it won’t be just them I come for if they screw up – it’ll be anyone that means something to them, too.
I walk back to the apartment, trying to keep myself on the cool side of calm. I’m not. I’m still visualising her on that table, or seeing the look in her eyes when I took that bag off her head, or sensing the feel of her when she pushed me away from her that night. Didn’t expect that. I’ve had a lot of women trying to get out of my hold through the years, a lot of them screaming in my face and pleading for their life, too. None of them affected me like she did. It hurt. It hurt deep down inside me where there’s a scrap of light left waiting to be loved. And that’s my own goddamn fault because I didn’t protect her. I let Ortega take her by not putting all this in place earlier.
Knox is standing in the foyer of the building when I get there. He's exactly where I asked him to be while I went out so he could keep guard. He nods at me as I approach.
“They’re organised?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
“Good. Maybe you’ll cool down now.”
I scowl and look at the elevator door I’ve opened. “Doubt it. You’ll know what it feels like one day.” I look at him before I get into the elevator, checking out his sharp style and his cutting stance. He’s an asshole, like all of us, but he’ll get there like me. He’ll find that one woman that makes him bow down and feel something. “Where are you at with Reed?” Not that I care all that much for the next few days, but I will by the time we get back and Wren’s settled again.
“Where are you at with the list?”
I glare, stepping back into the elevator. “Don’t fuck around with me, Knox. It won’t take long. You know that.”
“You said you’d back off, Dante.”
“I am doing, but only until I'm done waiting. Get it organised before I go hunting him myself. I won't care a damn who gets in my way, or if that screws with your plans.”
He frowns, but does nod as he walks off, and the elevator door closes in front of me.
Good.
The sight of her sitting all scrunched up on the sectional, with a coffee in her hand, brings all those images of her in trouble into my head again. I stare at her as she stares at me, watching as the fear starts dissipating from her features. I don’t like it there at all. Not like that, at least. It’s not the same as when I was stalking her ass. It’s not full of sex or fantasy or dark thoughts we can use together. It’s wired like it’s pure terror on her face. Add in the conversation we had, and I need to get us back to where we were.
“Go pack a bag,” I mutter, heading for the kitchen.
She walks in behind me as I pour a cup of coffee. “Why?”
“Taking you away from all this for a few days, Wren Bird.”
I drink and watch her reaction, unsure about touching her or what I’m gonna get if I do. Love is one thing that neither of us dispute, but her pushing me away just keeps getting in my head, and I’m trying to give her the space she deserves. We might have ended up somewhere near what we should be after that talk the other night, but we're far from where I want us.
“Where?” she asks.
“Surprise.”
Her lips tip up slowly, a small smile playing after a while, and then one of her hands lands on my chest. “You really don’t need to, Dante. We’ll be okay. I just need some time. You would, too, if you were me.” Her other hand joins in, softly caressing my shirt. “You don't have to rescue me out of this as well and-” I put an arm around her waist and pull her in tighter.
“Yeah. I do. That's all I need to do. We need some time to get back to where we were. Like New Orleans.” She lifts her head until she’s near my lips, hovering her breath around there like she’s teasing me.
“I liked it there. Liked you there, too. It was sexy and exciting.”
I chuckle a little, glad to see her smiling, and squeeze her ass. “Go on. Pack. Five days’ worth. Teasing me is not getting us in my car or on the plane.”
She walks backwards, looking at me the entire way until she turns and goes to the bathroom. So I keep drinking my coffee and thinking about what she means to me until it’s time for me to pack too. Guess it's time to find the me from before all this for a while.
~
“I didn’t bring a bathing suit,” she says as we walk down the beach.
I keep us moving until we’re down near the water’s edge, a brow raised. “You don’t need anything but your skin.” She looks up at me from under my own damn sunglasses and smiles. “Take your clothes off.”
