Pushing to my feet, I started for the door. I threw it open and joined the subtle rustle of fabric down the hallway.
Mia glanced up when I approached. Her brown eyes blinked once before her mouth bowed into a grin.
“Hey!” she said in greeting. “How did you sleep?”
It was at the back of my mind to tell her I hadn’t. Sleep was the furthest thing from my mind. I was more preoccupied by the presence of her in my living room. The fact that Dav stood a few feet from her, arms crossed, made me think this was an intentional decision on his part, a decision he’d made on his own, a decision neither of us had ever made in all the years we’d lived on our own. Women were never allowed back at our place. It was one of our rules. That only made me wonder if this was a test, an attempt to punish me by waving her in my face. The other part of me wondered if this was his way of telling me she’d failed and it was my job now to finish what I should have completed the night before. Whichever one it was, Dav was giving me no hints.
“Is it okay I’m here?” Mia was saying when I returned my attention to her.
I had no idea.
“It’s fine.” Dav answered for me, one hand going to the small of her back. “Do you want a drink?”
She eyed me a moment longer, visibly waiting for a response, but when I offered none, she glanced to Dav. “Water, please. Thank you.”
With a final glower at me, Dav pivoted on his heels and disappeared into the kitchen, leaving me alone with the tiny woman staring up at me again.
“Are you okay?” she asked softly.
“Yeah,” I murmured, sparing glances over her head to where I could just make out the figure yanking open cupboards and running the faucet. “How are you?”
One shoulder lifted in a small shrug. “I’m all right. Tired.”
Dav returned, glass of water in hand. “You can sit down,” he told her, motioning towards the sofas.
Mia looked to me again, a dip in her brows that mirrored the twist at the corner of her mouth. “Maybe I should—”
Dav was already moving her deeper into the room, and what felt like our lives. The water glass was placed on the coffee table and she was nudged to the sofa across from it. I followed, having nothing else to do, except playout whatever game Dav was playing. My butt hit the armchair before Mia took a cushion. She sat rigid with her knees pressed tightly together. Her teeth worked anxiously at her bottom lip while she studied the fingers twisting together in her lap.
“How was work?” Dav broke the serrated tension.
Mia raised her chin and fixed him with a quirked eyebrow. “You were there with me the whole time.”
Dav gave an indecisive bob of his head that rolled with the shrug of his shoulder. “Nero wasn’t.”
Eyes the liquid gold of whiskey lifted and met mine. “It was fine.” Her gaze dropped just as quickly and she drew in a quick breath. “Can I use your bathroom?”
Dav gave her directions and we both watched her push to her feet and pad from the room. The soft clip of her strides echoed through the hall and stopped with the click of the bathroom door closing behind her.
“What’s wrong with you?” Dav asked the second we were sure she couldn’t hear us. “Why are you acting as if she’s responsible for the death of your turtle?”
“Why is she here?” I asked instead. “Since when do we bring women to our apartment?”
“Since I thought we needed a quiet place with her,” he responded a bit too quickly, making me think he’d already rationalized the decision on the drive back.
“Then you take her to a motel,” I bit out, careful to keep my voice down.
Dav’s eyes darkened. “Pay by the hour then drop her off where I found her?”
My jaw clenched at the insinuation. “That isn’t what I meant.”
“That’s what it sounded like,” he retorted, pushing forward in his seat, bracing his weight on the elbows he rested on his knees. “I’m not going to disrespect her like that.”
“Why is she here?” I said again, fingers curling around the armrests.
“I wanted her here,” he replied simply, dropping back.
“Those are not the rules—”
“Don’t talk to me about rules,” he snarled out before I could finish. “You owe me one.”
I snapped my mouth shut around the protest building up in my throat. I knew he had me there. I had no right to come down on him when I was the one who had betrayed those rules in the first place.
“Did she say anything?” I murmured, fire gone, replaced with dread.
Dav was silent for too many heartbeats before dropping his gaze and giving a barely imperceptible shake of his head. “She was surprisingly tight-lipped about everything, except what a gentleman you were.”
“Gentleman?” I muttered, brain fumbling to recall what I’d done to deserve that title.
Dav snorted. “You picked her up and drove her home. That, according to her, was basically all that happened.”
“I don’t know how I feel about that,” I mumbled, ego taking a small hit.
“Grateful,” Dav replied sharply. “You should feel damn grateful.”
He was right. That whole thing could have gone sideways real quick if Mia had been any other woman. It was no secret most of them couldn’t keep a secret to save their lives, but she’d been asked by Davien. There would have been no reason for her to keep anything we did the night before a secret, not from him. She may not have even thought twice about it, yet, she hadn’t. She hadn’t said a word. It made no sense.
“I don’t understand,” I said. “Why didn’t she tell you?”
Dav’s mouth opened, but it was Mia’s soft voice that answered from the doorway, “Because I’m not an idiot.” She glowered from me to Dav, then back. “I grew up on the same streets you did. I know what happens to people who don’t keep their mouth shut.” Her gaze moved to Dav and narrowed further. “I knew you weren’t just asking me those questions. You could have just asked Nero if it was that important, so, why come to me? I’m not a snitch.”
“It wasn’t because we thought you were a snitch,” Dav said, finding his voice before I could. “And you’re right, you did grow up on the same streets we did, but it’s not the same streets, Mia. You’re not in our world, not entirely, and you never will be, not if we have anything to say about it. But we needed to be sure we could trust you. Men in our position, the roles we play are dangerous. Not only for us, but for you, and we don’t want anything happening to you.”
She exhaled slowly and pursed her lips. “You don’t need to tell me that. I already know.”
I rose to my feet and went to her. I don’t know why, but an overwhelming wave of relief washed over me when I cupped her jaw and she didn’t pull away. She peered up at me with those big eyes, eyes full of unwarranted trust, trust we didn’t deserve. But it didn’t stop me from claiming her mouth in a kiss crackling with things I knew I had no right to feel, sensations I should have known better than to share. It was all worth it when she melted against me, thin arms going around my shoulders.
“How are you feeling?” I murmured against the soft folds of her mouth.