Page 115 of Bad Men

She lifted her head from my shoulder and peered up into my face. “You okay? You’ve been quiet all night.”

I wanted to point out it had been a very long day, but who was I to complain when she wasn’t? Any lesser person would be in tears given what she’d faced, yet she’d sat at her parent’s table, laughing and chatting as if her fingers weren’t bandaged up and her face wasn’t raw and sore. How could I complain when she was so strong?

“I’m excited to get you home,” I said instead, skimming the side of her injured face with the pad of my thumb.

I stroked back a strand of freshly washed hair. She’d swapped the borrowed t-shirt for long sleeved sweater and jeans. Her feet were stuffed in worn sneakers, but even fully dressed, I could still see the blood that had been there when we’d found her.

Yet, she smiled up at me. “Me too. I’ve missed you both so much.”

It dawned on me then that she had no idea what I’d become. She didn’t know we’d moved. She didn’t know that I was the leader of our small community. She didn’t know I wasn’t the same man she’d known her whole life and I had no idea how to tell her.

I decided I would just let her see it. I would let her decide for herself if this was the life she wanted. It terrified me that this could be the thing that scared her off. Being in a relationship with someone in my position opened new dangers, new enemies. There was a good chance that she would want no part of it.

Davien pulled into our usual parking spot beneath the apartment. He cut the engine and seemed to be holding his breath as Mia straightened to survey our surroundings.

“Are we lost?” she asked with a slight laugh in her voice.

I met Dav’s gaze in the rearview.

“Not exactly.”

I shoved my door open and climbed out. Mia took the hand I offered and gingerly pulled herself out to stand before me. Her dark eyes watched me, so trusting and open it hurt.

“Do you trust us?” I asked her quietly.

A slight crease appeared between her eyebrows, but she didn’t hesitate in her answer, “Of course.”

With that, I took her hand lightly in mine and led her in the direction of the elevators. Davien fell into step on her other side and eased an arm around her waist. Mia peered up at him but said nothing.

The ride up to the fiftieth floor went in silence. The mirrored walls of the metal box reflected our faces watching the floors blink past. Mia asked no questions the whole way.

At the top, at our door, Davien fished out the keys and unlocked the latch. We let Mia go in first.

“Oh my God,” she breathed, stopping at the wide entrance to the entire apartment.

The open concept stretched wide in every direction, encompassing the living space, eating nook, kitchen, fancier sitting space and the mini bar. The ends rose to the second level and the bedrooms. But Mia by passed the plush furniture, the gleaming marble columns to stand at the terrace windows overlooking the glittering ocean below.

“This is the most beautiful sight I have ever seen,” she exclaimed, breath fanning in a white fog across the spotless glass. “Where are we?” she turned to face us, expression apprehensive. “Are we robbing these people because I call dibs on this view?”

Davien snorted as he crossed to stand before her. He gingerly turned her until her back was against his chest and his arms were comfortably around her waist. His chin rested on her shoulder.

“You say that, but it’s a bitch in the morning.”

I rolled my eyes but said nothing.

“In the morning?” Mia turned and squinted up at him. “Do you … live here?”

I didn’t point out that she’d watched us open the apartment door with a key when I moved to join them.

“You’ve missed a few things while you were gone,” I said instead.

Mia scoffed. “Clearly.” She turned so she was facing both of us again, eyes narrowed. “Okay, what happened? Did you win the lottery? Did a really rich uncle die? Are the actual owners locked up in here somewhere?”

“Are you up for the story or do you want to rest?” I asked instead.

“Story!” she cried. “I need to know if I need to fight anyone trying to take this view from me.”

That made me laugh. “I won’t let anyone take it from you,” I assured her, gingerly taking her arm and guiding her to the sitting area. I set her in the loveseat while we took the sofa across from her.

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