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She shakes her head, digging her heels into the ground like a mule. She’s as stubborn as one, for sure. “I need to stay here and make sure Daddy is okay.”
Even her lips are set in that stubborn way she has where she’s grinding down on her molars and trying to hide it. A flush of pleasure rises inside of me at the obstinate expression. There’s my girl.
“The first rule, if you are going to be in this business, is to put people beneath you who are trustworthy. If you don’t trust them, then you’re in for a harsh ride, and your empire might as well be built on sand.”
In this, there’s no arguing with me. I scoop her into my arms, kicking and screaming the entire way, her one fist beating against my chest and her other arm at an odd angle.
She wouldn’t speak to me on the entire drive back to my place. The familiar gates to the house swung open. The tension in my gut and torso refused to abate until I had the key sliding home in the lock of the front door.
Home at last.
Home at fucking last, and although I knew this war wasn’t over by a mile, for tonight, we’d sleep. I carried Isabella straight back toward the shower and refused to let her go until I had the water pulsing hot and steam filling the room.
When I finally set her on her feet, her eyes were dark, and the circles beneath them, a bruised purple.
“Strip.”
She arches a brow. “Will you stop telling me what to do? And definitely stop manhandling me. I should have been there for my father.”
“And if you thought I was wrong, you would have protested more. Aside from a few weak punches to my left nipple, you were silent.” I hold her gaze, the knot in my chest at last easing inch by inch. “You did well today.” She opens her mouth to say something, and I cut her off. “I’m not being a smart-ass. I’m telling you the truth. You found your dad, and I know he’s grateful. Mia is grateful.”
“He’s alive.”
“Because of you,” I insist.
“He got taken because of me.” Isabella remains still as I peel the shirt off of her, my shirt, the material soaked through. The pants follow.
She waits to step into the shower until I’m naked as well.
“I’d say you’ve more than made up for your initial ignorance.”
She snorts and says, “Awfully kind of you to say.”
“For tonight, at least, it’s going to be kindness. And if you tell anyone about it, then I’ll have to work double-time to make sure my reputation is in order,” I reply, shooting her one of my infamous grins.
She laughs, tilting her head up to the shower spray until her long hair cascades in a waterfall down her spine. I step up close and cradle her against my chest, our hearts synching into the same slow beat.
“I like you sweet,” she admits in a low voice. “I like this side of you.”
“Just don't tell anyone. It’s only for you.”
Her arms loop around my waist. “I’ll take it. Right now, I’m feeling very whiny baby about the whole thing.”
I step back after a few minutes and take her elbow, holding it under the water and prying gently until the last of the dried blood slicks from her skin. “Looks like it’s not as bad as we thought, baby.” When I glance at her face, she’s wincing. “I’m sure it burns.”
“I’m going to have a badass scar now, aren’t I?” she asks.
“You don’t have to be a badass with a scar if you don’t want to.”
She pulls her arm out of my hold. “I thought I already explained it to you, you brute. I’m in this. I don’t want to go back to my old life.”
I swallow over a smile. “I still have reservations.” Tonight, she proved herself. Not only to me but to Mia and Carter, and they are the two she had to impress. Not that this was a test. At worse, this was a trial by fire. Isabella stepped up to correct her mistake, took accountability for herself and her actions, and saved her father.
Not to mention, she ended up taking down one of the most notorious flesh traders in the area.
I take her face in my hands, forcing her to look at me when I drop my lips to hers. The kiss is tender, exploratory, and through it, I hope she feels every inch of pride I have in her. Pride, and terror, because I never want a repeat of this situation again.
“Things are going to have to change,” I warn her, then go right back to kissing her.
