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Lauren freezes under my hands, her breath hissing.
“Tiggy?” she chokes, sounding beyond shocked. I nod absentmindedly.
“Before I got the chance to get to them. She knifed Ivan and shot her father in the head.”
“Why’d she shoot her father in the head?” Lauren breathes, her eyes wide.
“To stop him from shooting me in mine. He had a gun to my head.” I can’t believe the fucker got the jump on me. I will forever be pissed about letting my guard down.
“How’d he manage that?”
I’m a little appeased that she thinks it should be an impossibility.
“I was cocky and distracted,” I confess with a small shrug. “There was a shootout. I thought I had him, and the bastard surprised me.”
“Oh.”
Lauren’s small voice seems loud in the room, the movie playing on the iPad propped up on the coffee table. I really should get the TV in here hooked up to something. I wonder what she does all day?
Just when I think I’ve scared her off, Lauren shocks the hell out of me, snuggling down into my chest and hugging me tightly.
“I’m glad she killed him then.”
I blink down at her in surprise. Bloodthirsty is rather out of character for my little lass.
“Because otherwise, I would never have met you,” she murmurs, pressing her cheek against my pounding heart. We lay in silence for a long while until Lauren falls asleep. The wet prick will probably get the girl, but he doesn’t fucking deserve her. I flick the iPad off.
Gently, so I don’t wake her, I pick Lauren up, carrying her back into the bedroom. Setting her down on the bed, I strip us both and crawl into bed with her, tucking the comforter around her shoulders and wrapping myself around her body, holding her close.
As she sleeps, I trace my fingertips across her features. I don’t know why I thought of her as ‘just pretty.’ If I closed my eyes right now, I would be able to picture every part of her, right down to the last adorable freckle.
When the echo of Lauren’s words floats through my brain,otherwise, I would never have met you. I swallow roughly.
I have no idea when the lass managed it, but she’s burrowed into my skin, right into my heart, and made herself a home there. My thumb brushes over her lips, and I bury my face into her hair, closing my eyes, inhaling deeply. Fucking vanilla.
Jesus fuck. I fucking love her. How the fuck did that happen?
Chapter Sixteen
LAUREN
ANDIE: The Italian guys came back. They killed Mrs. Dawkins. I’m so sorry. Cops are here. Can’t talk. Stay hidden xx
I stare at the text message, bile rising in my throat. I’m not going to cry. I’m not. Mrs. Dawkins babysat me after school when Josh worked or trained for a fight.
She used to make sure I always did my homework. She used to feed me cookies and milk. And she used to smell like peppermint.
Tears threaten, and I blink rapidly to clear them. Taking a deep breath, I press my palms against the breakfast bar. I’m not going to fall apart. I’m going to breathe.
It feels like my chest is crushing in on itself. Oh god. I have no one. Every person in the entire world who loved me is gone. I’m all alone. There’s not enough air in the world. I’m all alone.
Literally, all alone. Paddy’s still not home. It’s almost eleven o’clock at night. I think I’ll go and curl up in bed and cry. Poor Mrs. Dawkins. Why did the Italians have to kill her? She wouldn’t have hurt a soul. She wouldn’t have said boo to them. Was it because they knew how much she meant to me? Is this a message?
My heart is in my mouth as I stare at the breakfast bar, not really seeing it. Is Andie safe? If they know I cared about Mrs. Dawkins, will they know I’m friends with Andie? That we used to hang out, drink wine, and watch rom coms?
A banging at the door has me freezing, my heart in my mouth. Is that them? Have they come from killing Mrs. Dawkins to kill me? Carefully, I round the breakfast bar, grabbing a knife from the kitchen countertop.
“Lauren! Open up! It’s an emergency!”
