“Well done for listening to your instincts.”
Kit gave him a shy smile at the praise. “Maybe I do have some instinct for self-preservation.”
“Maybe you do.”
Then there was a loud belly rumble.
Kit looked down at his stomach. “Hey, you’re not meant to wake up until later.”
“Sit down,” Red ordered. “I’ll cook breakfast.”
“I don’t need anything,” Kit said. “I eat after clubbing, then I don’t normally eat until the afternoon.” His belly rumbled again. Kit glared at it. “Traitor.”
Red took charge and pushed Kit into a seat. Then he peered in the refrigerator. “Eggs? Bacon? Toast?”
“If I say no, will you listen?”
“No.”
Kit huffed. “Do you do this for all your clients?”
“Some,” Red said as he pulled out a carton of eggs and a pack of bacon. “I can cook. Not everyone can.”
“I don’t eat much.”
“You’ll be eating while I look after you,” Red said firmly.
“Why? It’s not like we’ll be busy here.”
Red counted to ten, and then another ten. The boy had a right to ask questions. “If something happens and we can’t use the panic room, then we have to get out of here, you won’t know when you’ll get your next meal.”
“Does that happen?”
Red turned at the fear in Kit’s voice. The kid fixed him with a wide-eyed stare. “You’re not here for fun, Kit. Bad men, evil men, are after you to make Tony pay for double-crossing them. Until that threat is neutralized, you must be sensible. And that includes eating when I tell you to keep up your strength.”
“What if it’s not neutralized? What if CDR can’t find the bad and evil men?” Kit’s voice shook.
“Then CDR will find you somewhere to live, far away from here. You’ll be safe, I promise.”
“With you?”
Red hesitated. “That’s not how it works, Kit. My job is here.”
Ithadworked like that in the Biker Daddy Bodyguards. Griff Carlton had moved to London with his client, but he was stupidly in love with Jem Peacock, the nightclub owner. Everyone knew that. But normally once clients were moved, that was the end of his involvement.
“Then I’m all alone. You just dump me somewhere and walk away?”
What did Red say to that?
“We’ll make sure you’re safe.”
And didn’t that sound lame?
Kit stared at him, his expression betrayed. “And now,” he said quietly, eyes lifting to Red’s, “I lose you too?”
Instead, Red answered without hesitation.
“Yes.”
