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“What are you thinking?” he pressed.
Danny shook his head. “Not sure yet but I’ll know when I know. Gio. If Francesco and the others arrive while the lady is tending to my injury, have two more of them positioned outside.”
“You got it, boss. Let me know if you need me to handle Killian’s man.”
“Not necessary at this point.”
“Go,” I told Danny, giving him a hard look of my own.
“What do you want me to do?” Mike asked before Danny walked away.
“Stay out of trouble,” he said with no amusement in his voice.
Before I walked out following him, I glanced at Mike’s face.
He was still pissed.
So was I.
CHAPTER20
Madisen
By the time Danny made it upstairs and into his bedroom, his shoulders were slumped.
“Where is this kit?” I asked him, pressing my hand on the small of his back to force him into the bathroom.
“Top shelf in the closet.”
“Clean towels? Antiseptic?”
“Everything else is in the bathroom.” He studied me, his eyes darting back and forth. Before I had a chance to walk away, he grabbed my wrist, yanking me against him.
I pressed my hands against his chest. “You’re losing too much blood. You’re a hardheaded man who will eventually get yourself killed. I’m not going to stick around and watch you do that to yourself.”
“Does that mean you care?”
“Don’t do that, Danny. Don’t you dare do that. You risked your life to save my brother and I can already tell by his lousy attitude that the fight you had isn’t over yet.”
“Stop, baby.”
“And don’t do that either. I do understand the position you’re in with needing to concentrate on your job. I totally get it after being shoved inside a panic room. But don’t call me baby or little minx or anything unless you mean it. I can’t take another heartbreak. I know that’s selfish when you took a bullet to keep a crazy member of my family safe, but that’s just the truth. See, the thing is I love you. I think I fell a little bit in love with you the first time I saw you walking into our house. So just stop it if you will because I just can’t—”
He jerked me by the arm, pulling me between his legs and capturing my mouth. All the fear and worry, the anxiety that had built to an intense frenzy and the loving I’d coveted for years came crashing to the surface. I didn’t care we were in significant danger or selfishly that he was in pain. I needed to be close to him, to feel his heart beating against mine.
The world spun around us, the only sound the wild and unforgettable thumping of our hearts. As he slipped his tongue inside, a sweet haze of lust and need came over us like a protective shield. He drank in my essence, the kiss as if we’d never be able to indulge in our passion ever again.
When I finally pushed him away, he nipped my lower lip and I couldn’t steady my breathing. “You’re hurt. We can’t. This is crazy.”
“Has anybody ever told you that you talk too much?”
I managed to laugh, although the sound seemed fake. “All the time.”
“I’ll be fine. I need to see you. I need to study your face. And you need to listen to me ‘cause I’m only going to say this once, baby.”
“I’m right here. Damn you, Danny. You almost died on me.”
“Stop worrying about me, baby. I’m made of steel. Just listen to me because you need to hear this.” As he fisted my hair, tilting my head, I wanted to be angry with him for being so callous about the situation, but I couldn’t. I was shaking from a rush of adrenaline, the anxiety and fear that I could have lost him almost crippling. “I’m finished with playing anyone’s games. I will do what’s necessary to keep you safe. But as of right now, no man will ever touch you again. Not once. A beautiful woman entered my life at a time when I needed her the most. Then I lost her. There was no note. And baby, I was honored that you wanted to marry me even back then when I hadn’t done a damn decent thing in my life.”
