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That’s argument enough. He remains planted before the elevator and I linger there, torn between helping and hiding, and finally hiding wins out. I duck around the corner, pressed flat against the wall, breathing fast and hard.
Heiko Child is coming. The Crawford family fixer. Former Marine and private detective. He’s their head of security, their hired muscle, their main thug and personal killer.
And he’s here for me.
Chapter 6
Ansell
I take a step back as the elevator dings and the doors slide open.
Heiko stands leaning against the far wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He’s wearing dark jeans and a button-down shirt tucked in them, and he pushes off and steps into my apartment, but only far enough to allow the doors to slide shut behind him. “Hello, Ansell,” he says with a smile.
“Heiko.” I nod once but stand my ground.
He’s a couple inches shorter than I am, but still over six feet with muscular arms and shoulders. His hair is cut short and dirty blond, and he’s got a scruffy beard on his chin. He wears glasses, and I think they’re fake and meant to make people underestimate him. Sometimes it works, but I know better.
There are a lot of dangerous men in this city. I’ve worked with most of them and killed some in my day. Heiko is one of the few that I’ve avoided, not because I fear him, but because I’m not stupid enough to risk getting involved with someone as talented at murder as he is. The man seems outwardly calm, but I feel the tension rippling from him in waves.
“I’m here for Marie Pearce. Please bring her to me.”
I shake my head. “No, thank you.”
“You’re not going to pretend like she’s not here?”
“I wouldn’t insult you.”
Heiko laughs once. “I respect you, Ansell. You’re a formidable man. You still scrap in the yard with the rest of us thugs and thieves, and I like that. But my employers want me to bring the girl in, and that’s what I plan on doing.”
I grunt once, studying him. Heiko’s not carrying a gun that I can see, and he’s not dressed to conceal something. That doesn’t mean he’s not armed though. My own weapons are tucked away in my bedroom, out of reach, and if it came down to a fight, I’m not sure which of us would walk away.
“Last night, I saved the girl from getting beaten to death by one of your employers. She’s here for her own safety.”
He shrugs and gestures. “Not my problem.”
“I can’t let her go with you. I understand if that causes you some anxiety, but it’s not going to happen.”
His jaw works. “Don’t be difficult. What’s this girl to you?”
It’s a fair question. What is this girl to me? “An employee.”
He laughs. “You’re willing to cross the Crawfords for an employee? Come on, Ansell. You’re not that stupid.”
I wish he were right, but apparently not. I want to glance back to see if she’s still hiding out of sight, but I can’t look away from this man, not even for a second. I hope she’s not stupid enough to turn herself over to him.
She has to know what the Crawfords will have him do to her if she goes.
And I know what they’re going to do to me if I refuse to let her. I didn’t want to get involved, and yet at every opportunity I dig myself deeper and deeper. No matter what now, Heiko’s going to leave here and tell Magnus that I stood in his way and refused to give the girl over. That’ll be all the reason Magnus needs to turn on me and try to kill me himself. My only play here is to hand the girl over and wash my hands of the situation.
But I won’t do that.
Nobody comes to my home and tells me what to do.
Not for any fucking reason, and especially not to hurt one of my employees.
“The girl is mine.” I speak sharply and clearly. I hope she hears it. I hope she thinks of last night and my kiss, and god, I want her to picture my tongue in her mouth. Those tears, that running makeup, it drove me wild. All that emotion was like a salve on my wounded and broken soul. It’s so hard for me to feel much of anything, but last night with Marie, there were too many emotions to ignore.
And it was heaven.
Heiko sighs and taps a finger on his bicep. “Tell you what. I don’t want to escalate this right now and find out which one of us will walk away from a fight. We’re both smart enough to know it could go either way.”
I don’t react. He grins and keeps talking.
“I’ll go back downstairs. I’ll wait outside for as long as I have to. Eventually, you’ll change your mind, and the girl will come out. I’ll take her to my employees and I won’t mention this little interaction.”
