Chapter 11 #2
He nodded, giving me a soft smile.
The door closed, and I jumped. I didn’t turn, but I saw Greg’s attention rise over my head just as heat brushed my back.
Malice’s presence overloaded my senses, goose bumps erupting along my skin. His arm came around beside me as he gestured toward the silent man in the corner of the room.
“That’s—”
“Reaper,” I provided. The guy tipped his chin up at me before I looked at the other man. “And you’re Torment.”
He winked.
Forcing confidence—because I knew I was right—I turned back to Malice and grinned. “I do my research, remember?”
A flicker of humor crossed his eyes. “Right.”
When I faced forward again, Torment was already moving toward Stasia.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said with a wink.
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, no.”
He grinned. “But—”
“Nope.”
Reaper snorted, and Malice chuckled.
Pride swelled in my chest at the way my friend spoke so freely to one of the most dangerous men in the world.
That’s my girl, I thought.
“You need a tissue, Torment?” Reaper asked.
“Why would he?” I questioned.
“For all the tears he’ll cry from being rejected for the first time.”
“First time? You can’t be serious?” I blurted.
Torment smirked. “I can’t help that I’m good-looking. Come on, princess—”
Stasia scowled. “Don’t even try it. Please move on.”
“Since you asked so nicely, angel. We’ll come back to this at a later date.”
Stasia crossed her arms over her chest.
“Sorry to interrupt.” I turned to see Vincent, phone in hand. He tipped his chin at Malice. “Our men are about thirty minutes out with their car and belongings.”
Grinning brightly, I crossed to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. His hands shot into the air, but I ignored it. “Thank you, Vinny.”
I was suddenly yanked back against my boss’s chest. I ignored that too.
“Vinny?” Vincent asked.
“Yeah. I think the bonding we did on the car ride earns you a nickname.”
His gaze sailed over my head, lips twitching. “Just Vincent will do. I’m gonna go outside for a smoke.”
“I agree,” the man at my back stated coldly.
Vincent nodded and stalked from the room, closing the front door after him.
“At least I didn’t call him pookie for a nickname,” I said.
Torment snorted.
“No pet names for any of my men, Gwendolyn.”
I faced him, rolling my eyes. “Fine. But you’re still going to be on the receiving end.” When he silently stared down at me, I about-faced and sat next to Greg.
“Well, shit,” Torment commented.
Malice whipped his head toward his men. Torment continued to grin, but Reaper concealed his with his hand.
What was that about?
Shrugging, I took Greg’s hand in mine. “How badly are you hurt?”
He went to tell me, but Malice interrupted. “Doll, he can fill you in on the trip.”
I jerked my head back. “Trip? I only live next door.”
Malice shook his head. “You and your family, including Greg, will move into my gated community.”
His words snapped my attention into focus and sent a spike of alarm through me.
“What?” I spluttered.
“You, Felix, Amelia, and Greg, are moving into my community.” Before I got the chance to open my mouth to say anything back, he continued. “You’ll be safer there under my protection.”
“Thanks, but no thanks,” I said.
The men made a noise, but I was too busy glaring at Malice.
“I may work for you, but you can’t tell me where to live. I have my babies in my house. I—”
“Babies?” Malice clipped.
“She means her computers,” Felix supplied.
Malice sighed. “Gwen, you’ve been in danger twice already. I’m not risking a third. You may have great security on your place, but what happened tonight could happen again.”
“I won’t ever leave again. I—”
“Gwendolyn,”
“Why does it feel like Mom and Dad are fighting?” Torment asked.
I scoffed and snorted. “It’s so not like that. He’s just got his boxers in a twist because I won’t agree.”
“Gwen,” Amelia said softly, gaining my attention.
She was already looking up at me. “You work for him, right?” When I nodded, she went on.
“And from the way he and his men handled the situation, I have a feeling he follows his own set of rules, which some people wouldn’t like.
So doesn’t that mean you could be working on some things that could get you noticed?
Which means it really could be safer for all of us if we’re closer to him and all his people? ”
I froze. “Do you want me to work elsewhere so we’re safe and we don’t have to move?”
“No,” Felix said. When I looked at him, he was moving his gaze away from Malice. “You enjoy your work, and I think it makes us feel better that we know who you’re working for instead of random jobs. Plus, he’s offering you more protection. I say we move.”
Greg nodded. “I agree, kiddo.”
“Ditto,” Stasia called.
Well, shit. The fight swept out of me after hearing from the four of them.
“I suppose we could do it for a trial period to see if that’s where we want to be,” I said to them. They all bobbed their heads. Drawing in a breath, I gazed back up at the smug-looking devil. “Okay, Malice. But wipe that smile off your face before I kick you in the balls.”
Torment guffawed, and even Reaper chuckled.
Malice’s smile changed to a smirk. “I’d like to see you try, doll.”
“Anyway,” I drew out, knowing I had no chance of getting near his balls. Pity. “We just need to pack some things until we can get a truck here for everything else.”
“We can deal with that tomorrow after everyone has had some sleep. For now, I’ll have one of my assistants pick up sleepwear and clothes for tomorrow. It will be at your new place by the time we get there.”
He didn’t want us to go back into the house.
Which told me they had killed people in there. God knew what state it was in.
Yeah, I wasn’t in the mood to see anything like that.
I nodded, suddenly weary. “Okay. But please promise me no one will go into my office. No one will touch my babies. Only I can dismantle them and pack up that area and put them back together.” I stood. “Promise me?”