56. You Missed
you missed
. . .
Davian
As far as rescue operations went, it’d been a smooth one—until we reached the staircase and I needed to convince Sadie to leave her broom upstairs. She was surprisingly possessive of the wooden stick.
I tried again. “You won’t need it down there. It’ll just get in the way.”
“But what if we get ambushed?” She let go of my hand to tuck a strand of pink hair behind her ear and wiggled the large cleaning tool at me for emphasis. “I can’t whack them with my broom if I don’t have a broom.”
It was difficult to argue with that logic.
It was also difficult to take Sadie seriously when my jacket swallowed her whole, her hair was endearingly disheveled, and she was clinging to a dusty old broom like it was her hard-earned war prize.
But I tried again, because this wasn’t up for debate.
“If any ambushing happens, then I’ll take care of it. And Malcolm will have our backs.” Right on time, Malcolm approached soundlessly behind Sadie, and I met his gaze. “All good?”
He dipped his chin, giving Sadie and her broom a curious look. “I found Nasir, but he’s staying put until this is all over. The other rooms were empty. The two men you took down are still out.”
“Good. Let’s meet up with Vince.” My earpiece had been quiet since Vince gave us the all clear, which was a good sign. The commotion downstairs had died down.
But there was still one issue—the state I’d left the foyer in.
I doubted Sadie would react well to dead bodies.
“Come here.” I crooked a finger at her. She readily stepped forward, but her brows pulled together when I gripped her waist. “I’m carrying you to the door. It’ll be quick.”
That didn’t help any of her confusion. “But I can walk.”
“Sadie. Please.”
She didn’t look happy about it, but she obliged, stepping even closer with her broom and resting a hand on my shoulder. I went to lift her, but Sadie squeaked—bracing her arm to stop me.
“Wait!” She glanced over her shoulder at Malcolm before leaning closer to me until her lips brushed my ear. It was a welcome distraction. “Um… You don’t happen to still have my underwear in your pocket, do you? I’d rather not flash everyone again.”
A choking sputter escaped me, and my hands froze on her waist. … Again?
I’d forgotten her underwear was back at the compound, and now she’d been kept captive by the Ali brothers without it.
That itch to wring Zain’s neck returned with a vengeance.
Forcing myself to focus on the present and not how much I’d like to murder him, I placed a kiss on Sadie’s temple. “I left it in my office, but I’ll find you some as soon as we get out of here.”
The tension eased from her shoulders, and she smiled sheepishly. “Thank you.”
But she still hadn’t let go of the freaking broom. “And Malcolm will carry the broom for you. Deal?”
Sadie’s lips twisted, but she reluctantly handed it over to him. “Deal.”
I didn’t miss the flat stare Malcolm shot me over her shoulder.
Sadie stepped into my arms without hesitation, and I picked her up—dropping one hand to hold her skirt against her ass when she wrapped her legs around my waist.
Like always, she felt good in my arms.
Remembering what we were about to walk into, I nudged her face toward my shoulder. “Close your eyes and keep them shut.”
“Why?” Sadie whispered, but dutifully closed her eyes.
“I don’t want you to see this.” I tucked her face into the crook of my neck and turned to the steps.
She audibly gulped and clung tighter to my shoulders.
We descended the stairs with Malcolm shadowing us. It was all business when we reached the foyer. I wove through the bodies littering the floor, while my men roamed the area—talking and packing up cases of weapons.
Vince was stationed near the front door, with a dirty little street thug squirming in his grasp.
Fessy held up both hands as I approached. His face was as pale as a ghost, while he shook like a leaf.
“See?” he called, pointing a quivering finger at the girl in my arms. “I told you she’s fine.”
“Is that Fessy?” Sadie asked against my neck, voice muffled. She tried to lift her head, but I held it down—earning a soft huff from her. “ Davian .”
I quickly dismissed Fessy, instead focusing on Vince. “Any sign of Zain?”
“Shane has him. Caught him trying to sneak out the back,” he answered. “No one else gave us trouble.”
I shifted Sadie in my arms. It’d been almost too easy, but what could I expect from a kid who’d just gotten the keys to his dad’s kingdom?
“Good. Finish up here, then meet outside,” I said.
I needed to get Sadie somewhere safe before I dealt with Zain.
Vince opened the door for us, and I walked to the nearest SUV. Malcolm veered off to do his own recon of the property, leaving Sadie and me alone except for a handful of my men loading the vehicles.
I set her on her feet next to the SUV. “You can open your eyes.”
She blinked them open, quickly spotting the other men. “You brought all these guys with you?”
“Most are still inside taking care of Ali’s men, so we can talk now. You were explaining why you ran off without talking to me first?”
Her head jerked back to me, brows shooting up. “You want to talk about that now ?”
“You wanted to talk about it when we were still upstairs,” I reminded her, amused. “Now you’re safe, and we’re mostly alone. And I’m very interested in knowing what else you were going to say.”
I remembered something about a soufflé.
“Oh. Right.” Sadie leaned back with a wince before sighing. “Well, I was saying you were right about me being scared. And I really wanted to talk to you first— honestly —but then your father kinda freaked me out, and then that man in the shed said you were going to kill him, and that definitely freaked me out?—”
“Man in the shed?” I asked, eyes narrowing. She’d mentioned that on the phone, but I hadn’t gotten the details.
Even though only a few of my men were in the cul-de-sac, Sadie looked to both sides before leaning closer to me.
“ Lorenzo, ” she whispered.
“Oh. Him.” I frowned. How the hell did she know his name?
She hesitated, squinting at me. “…Are you really going to kill him?”
“No.” My frown deepened. “I have no reason to kill him.”
Not yet, at least. He still had some worth to us.
Sadie let out a breath. One she’d clearly been holding in.
“That’s a relief. But what happened with Zain is exactly what Vince warned me about. Why it’s risky for anything to happen between us,” she continued, dropping her gaze. “Zain used me against you, and I was so worried about you getting hurt that I almost didn’t want you to come save me.”
I could only stare at her. She’d been tied to a chair, with a man cutting her shirt off, and she’d been worried about me ?
I couldn’t remember the last time someone had been worried about me. Ever.
It made the urge to touch her even stronger, and I couldn’t resist stepping closer to slide a hand around the nape of her neck. “I’ll always come for you, Sadie.”
Her nose scrunched, and she still wouldn’t look at me. “You shouldn’t have to.”
“Says who? If it were the other way around, I have no doubt you’d come for me, too.” Tucking my thumb under her chin, I tilted it up so she had to look at me. My lips twitched. “Probably with your Happy Tails crew and broom in tow.”
That pulled a small reluctant smile out of her. “I would, Dav. I would come for you, too.”
My chest didn’t snap like I’d come to expect around her. Instead, it cracked wide open. “Then let’s get one thing straight. I don’t give a shit about Vince’s opinion of us. He has no say in who I date.”
“That’s what I said!” she cried, before biting her lip. Her gaze turned shy. “Wait… Does that mean you still want to date me?”
A smirk slipped through. “Sweetheart, maybe you didn’t hear me on that call, but I want to do a lot more than date you.”
My candor was worth it when her eyes lit up.
“Good,” she whispered, cheeks turning that appealing shade of pink. “That’s good. Really good, actually, because the feeling is definitely mutual.”
Stifling a laugh, I pressed my lips to her forehead and lingered there. I hadn’t wanted to stop touching her since I rescued her.
“Hey.” Sadie frowned up at me as I drew back. “You missed.”
I raised a brow, and her frown morphed into a sweet smile before she reached for my neck. She tugged me down to kiss her lips, and I took full advantage—deepening the kiss and pulling her into my arms.
It was only natural to ease her backward until her ass met the bumper of the SUV. Lifting her and holding her against the trunk was the next logical move—if only to get better access to those sweet, delectable lips.
She clung to me, pulling me closer and demanding more, which I was only happy to give as a fierce hunger gripped me.
Sadie might’ve seemed harmless at first look, but in reality, she was a whole different brand of trouble than I was used to. Unexpected, unpredictable, and straight up intoxicating. It was so easy to get lost in her—which had led to a few oversights on my part.
One example being I was so distracted kissing her, I almost didn’t hear the hundred-plus-pound beast sprinting flat out down the street, straight toward us.