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“Good deal.”
The moment I hung up the phone, she walked closer, darting her eyes back and forth. “What’s going on?”
I thought about what I wanted to say to her. While warning her was necessary, I’d sensed she hadn’t taken the situation as seriously as she should. The next few days were going to be difficult for both of us.
I’d crossed the line, taking what didn’t belong to me. In doing so, in becoming personally involved, I ran the risk of caring too much, which would stymy my ability to protect her. That couldn’t happen. Ending what barely started was my fault and I’d take the blame.
And her hatred.
But there was nothing else I could do.
“It’s been confirmed. There’s a hit placed on your life. We have limited time before Torino’s soldiers arrive if they’re not already here as you suspected.” I could tell she was processing the news, trying her best to keep from accepting what I’d just told her.
When she started to walk closer, I noticed she was shaking. I moved toward her, taking both her arms.
“Why did this happen?”
“Because you made the decision to work for the wrong people.” I knew I’d said the wrong thing, but in this case, she had to understand the ramifications.
As well as the danger.
“Who was the man who was killed?”
“His name was Jack Barrington. He was the youngest son of a man who rules a legitimate empire, his worth about fifty billion dollars.”
“He owns the police. They won’t do a thing.”
“He’s not so lucky with the FBI. Dante has everything to lose.”
“If they made it look like an accident, then how did the Feds get involved so quickly?”
I had to smile. The girl’s deductive reasoning was spectacular. “A very good question. If I had to guess, I’d say a little bird tweeted that there was a witness.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Exactly. This just shifted to a critical situation.”
As she folded an arm across her chest, I could smell her fear. A part of me was glad that I’d finally gotten through to her how dangerous the situation had become. I was also determined to hunt Torino down and kill the bastard myself. That meant I couldn’t separate what had to be done in order to save her life from the way I felt about her.
“I didn’t intend to see someone murdered.”
“I know that.” I took a deep breath and when she placed her hand on my chest, I bristled. “This isn’t your fault.”
She noticed and tried to back away. “Wow.” The pulse at the base of her throat was beating rapidly as she tilted her head to study me.
Christ. I didn’t want it to go down this way but I was running out of time and I needed her to understand where we were at. She deserved that. No, she deserved everything. She was magnificent.
“You need to hear me, Maddy. What happened before can’t happen again. I can’t protect you that way. Do you understand?” I hadn’t realized I was shaking her at first until her eyes opened wide. There was a split second of sadness and surprise replaced entirely by anger and contempt. Then she jerked away, rubbing her arms as if I’d bruised her.
“You mean because you’re fucking me?”
“Don’t make it sound that way.”
“How would you prefer I mentioned it? Or would you like me to pretend as if it never happened?”
The sound of her voice and the words she used were biting and I couldn’t blame her. I was the asshole who’d dared drop my guard.
Her laugh sounded bitter. “I knew it was coming. I’m a big girl. That’s fine, Viper. I’ll do my best to stay away from you so you can do your job.”
