He laughs. The sound dark and dangerous, almost curdling my blood. “I’m not good, babe. I’m trying to be, for you, but sometimes invisible straps hold me in place.”
“I’ve got a knife,” I tell him, lifting one shoulder.
“The only good decision I’ve ever made is you.”
He cups the back of my head and pulls me forward, sealing his lips to mine. We don’t get far because the door to the room crashes open.
Johnny and I jump, and my towel completely unravels. I try to grab it, but it’s too late. I flash boob everywhere, and fuck me, but standing in the doorway is none other than Big Daddy K.
“Dad,” Johnny exclaims, moving his body in front of mine to shield me.
I quickly knot my towel again, holding my arms securely just under my chest. My face flushes with heat as if it’s been cooked from the inside out. Anger sweeps through me. What kind of fucking asshole doesn’t knock before he comes into a fucking bedroom?
Johnny’s tense voice says, “I thought you weren’t coming in until later.”
Big Daddy K’s piercing gaze goes right through Johnny as if he’s undressing me. The disgusting bastard got a pretty good look too. I throw up a little in my mouth and swallow it back down.
“The Cardinale’s got their private jet to take me. May I see you in the hall, please?”
Johnny goes to leave, but I reach for his hand, holding him back. He turns a surprised look at me, but I just smile and lay a kiss on him. Like he claimed me at the underground fight nights that first evening, I’m claiming him now. Johnny’s mine.
When I pull away, his gaze darkens. He turns without another word and closes the door securely behind him after his dad exits in front of him.
Fuck me.
I sit on the bed, silently seething. I want to punch something in the worst way. Instead, I move to the dresser in the corner and look through the drawers until I find something to put on. I pull on a pair of gray sweats, giving them the same treatment as the joggers yesterday, and then I tug a white shirt on next, taking the extra fabric bunched at my hip, pulling it out, and tying it in a knot. At least it won’t look like I’m walking around in a potato sack.
The last thing I want to do is disturb Johnny and his dad, so I stay where I am. My stomach growls for at least fifteen minutes before Johnny comes back in. I’d been staring out the glass doors, so I get up. Instead of saying anything, he walks right to me, throwing his arms around me and whispering, “You have to be careful, babe. Don’t piss my dad off. Whatever you do, don’t do that.”
I grip him tighter. “I wasn’t the one who doesn’t know how to knock.”
“He’ll do far more than that.”
“Like punch you? Like give you a black eye?”
A growl rips from his throat. “I defied him, and he made me pay for it.”
“That’s not a father, Johnny,” I whisper.
He holds me tighter. His arms are so tight they’re like a boa constrictor around my ribs. Finally, he kisses me just under the ear. “I have to go. We’re taking the asshole to the tower where we can properly interrogate him. I thought you might like to stay here. I’ll be back tonight. Absolutely no one knows where this place is, so you can have it to yourself while we deal with the problem.”
I nod into his neck, breathing him in. I hate to let him go, but a reprieve from being thrown back into the Heights world so soon sounds like heaven.
“The kitchen is fully stocked. Netflix, Hulu, cable, whatever you want to watch. There’s a hot tub out back. Think of it as a spa day, but not the Kardashian kind.”
I grin, chuckling into his embrace. “Sounds perfect.”
He pulls away. “I’ll be back.”
He pecks me on the cheek and strides from the room. I go out onto the back deck off the master bedroom and watch as they all get into cars. A black sack sits over our prisoner’s face again as they load him into an SUV. Johnny, Mag, and several other bodyguards get into one vehicle while K strides toward another. He pauses near the passenger door, and I must catch his eye because he gazes up at me.
I’m tens of yards away, but the anger in his face is unmistakable. I may have just made an enemy out of K for something so damn stupid. Or maybe it’s a few things compiled on top of one another because he’s definitely not smiling anymore. I doubt he’d lift his glass to me at a dinner anymore either.
I raise my hand and wave, giving him a clueless smile.
He inclines his head and then gets into the waiting vehicle.
A few seconds later, they’re pulling away, and I can’t help but think, Game on, motherfucker.
15
Like Johnny said, I pamper myself, using the hot tub for the majority of the day. Since no one is around, it didn’t even matter there were no bathing suits to be found in the house. After breakfast, I sank into the heat of the water and stayed there, watching the birds fly from tree to tree and chirp their cheerful melodies.
I could get used to a place like this. It’s so apart from everything else happening that it makes for a good separation. Even K’s appearance earlier left with him instead of lingering in this peaceful place.
When my skin is thoroughly pruned and wrinkled from the water, I amble out of the hot tub, letting the brisk air coat my body in goosebumps before returning to the bedroom and pulling the clothes I found this morning back on.
Johnny was right when he said the place was stocked. I fix myself a small lunch and then work my way into the enormous living room with windows that edge all the way up to the second story.
Using the laptop I found on the kitchen counter, I Google how to start a fire in a fireplace and get one going in the enormous stone-encased fireplace that takes up one whole wall. Then, I lie down on the sectional sofa, staring at the flames as they burn brighter and brighter. I’m not close enough to the fireplace to feel the heat, but I’m close enough to enjoy the dancing flames and the somehow soothing nature of watching a fire crackle and burn.
Sometime later, car tires crunch on the stone parking area. I peek my head over the top of the couch and watch as a black car parks just short of the porch. For a panic-inducing few moments, I watch the vehicle until a familiar dark head juts out over the top.
I move to a sitting position and gaze at the entry as I wait for him to walk in. He unlocks the door and strides inside, throwing a set of keys on the counter before turning to greet me.
My mouth parts, and I immediately get to my feet at the sight of the crimson streaks and specks that coat him. “What the hell?” I run to him, grasping his hand in mine. “Is that yours?”
Johnny tears his shirt off, breathing heavy as he wipes down his arms and face with his inside out t-shirt. “No.”
I sigh in relief, but it’s only temporary when the gashes on his knuckles jump out to me. I bring his hand to mine. “What’s this from?”
“I had to take care of something,” he says.
I shake my head, biting down on my lower lip. I don’t like the sound of that. As much of an oasis as this place is, the dangerous part of it is I’m out of the loop. I don’t know what Oscar, Magnum, and Brawler are up to, and my phone, as far as I know, is still in the tower.
Johnny grits his teeth and stares at his bloody knuckles. “Turns out the asshole was a lot more talkative today. Didn’t say anything we wanted to hear but decided to explain in detail what he was told to do to you if he’d gotten his hands on you.”