23. Chapter 23 #2
Addy effortlessly redirected the conversation, stepping half a pace to the side so her body completely blocked the woman’s view down the hallway.
“Well,” the old woman finally said, still sounding terribly suspicious, “good luck with your … stuff.”
Addy exhaled, too loud, but she turned it into a laugh mid-breath. “Thanks! Appreciate it. Truly.”
I felt something like pride lodge beneath my ribs and spread like warm honey.
Not because she had lied well — she really hadn’t — but because she had stood there and chose not to crumble. She could’ve run, could’ve screamed or even collapsed under the pressure of it.
Instead she trusted herself, and perhaps, in some reckless, unspoken way, she trusted me to only become a monster if I absolutely had to.
Obsession tightened in my chest until it felt almost painful, coiling deeper, darker.
My little devil was clever in her own chaotic way, untamed and untrained, yes, but also unafraid.
She had just shielded a stranger from my darker side. For her, I stayed hidden, suppressing the primal urge to protect what was mine regardless of the consequences.
I pressed back further into the shadows. My hand flexed, itching to pull her against me, just to feel her weight for a second. These possessive, stupidly protective thoughts hit me like a sledgehammer. She had no idea what I’d do if someone else looked at her, touched her or hurt her.
Mrs. Mendoza shuffled down the hallway and Addy exhaled in relief.
I let out a low chuckle, just loud enough for her to hear. The chaos she created was perfect fodder for the dark, possessive and obsessive side of my nature I thought had only existed in prison.
Addy didn’t look back, and this little act of rebellion made me giddy, bordering on insanity.
I had to get her out of here. Right the fuck now. She wasn’t in immediate danger, but she simply belonged somewhere else — somewhere far, far away from here. She had felt like she didn’t have anywhere to go, so surely she would learn to be happy at my side.
“Well,” I drawled, stepping out of the shadows and striding down the hall until my chest was just a breath away from her back. “That certainly was interesting.”
“Was it?” It was barely more than a whisper, but I could tell there was an underlying thrill, a dangerous excitement whispering, “You want more.”
I slunk to her side, slinging my arm over her shoulder and pressing her against me. My thumb brushed her collarbone every so often as I pulled her towards me, making sure she stayed close.
When we’d finally taken the last flight of stairs, I could feel the pulse of elation in my chest. Kyrill was waiting for us, the SUV a local ally had provided was hunched like a black shark at the curb, its engine purring low.
My best friend was perched behind the wheel with his arms crossed and his eyes scanning the block; he was always on the lookout for potential threats. He was terrifyingly efficient and undoubtedly on edge since we were running behind schedule.
Addy slowed down when she saw him and asked in a shaky voice, “Who is that?”
“Our backup.” I smirked, not breaking stride, my thumb brushing steadily over her skin. “That’s Kyrill, my second-in-command. He was in Blackwood with me and he’ll be with us.”
She stopped and watched him with furrowed brows. “Second-in-command? And what exactly would he be in command of?”
I huffed a laugh. “Baby, you didn’t think you were running off with some lowlife criminal, now, did you?”
“Hadn’t really thought about it, but now you mention it, that's probably the scenario I would’ve come up with.”
“Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I assure you, we’ve got big plans. Once we get out of this godforsaken place, that is.”
“Do you trust him?” She nodded towards Kyrill.
“With my life.”
“Alright then.”
Addy started moving again, and a thrill zapped through me. She trusted me to keep her safe.
No one could have warned me how good this would feel or how addictive it would be.
Kyrill scanned us with intense scrutiny, as if cataloging potential threats and obstacles, as well as the newest addition to our traveling party.
He rolled down the window and lit a cigarette.
“She’s tiny,” he observed flatly, the smoke trailing from his mouth as he spoke.
“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” I replied. She was mine to worry about, and I didn’t like his goddamn eyes on her.
Addy’s duffel went into the backseat, and she looked at me like the world had shifted and whispered, “I can’t believe I just did that.”
Opening the rear door for her, I watched her climb in, biting back a groan at the sight of her pert ass being in perfect view for a moment.
There’s nothing I would’ve loved more than to squeeze myself into the backseat with my girl, but we still needed to make it to port which meant I needed to be alert. If Addy was within reach, there would be no chance of that.
I traced her knuckles again with my thumb, slowly and deliberately. Obsession was something I rarely indulged in, but the way she willingly succumbed to it was intoxicating.
Her brown eyes flicked up at me and, for a second, the chaos, the danger and the lawless thrill of our futures collided in one dangerous pulse.
And I realized I couldn’t stop staring, not because of some fucking polite convention. I couldn’t stop because there was nothing concerning her I didn’t want to devour. Her body, her thoughts, every little expression and every annoying habit she might have — it was all mine.
Kyrill got out as I closed the door securely behind her and made his way to the passenger seat, flicking the butt of the cigarette away before getting back in. I rounded the car and slid behind the wheel.
Shoving the mask up on my head, I shared a look with Kyrill before watching my little devil in the rearview mirror. I was dying to kiss her, to find out if she still tasted of my cum, but it would have to wait.
Safety first, fucking later.
“Seatbelt,” I said automatically to Addy, even though I wasn’t sure she’d listen.
“I don’t do seatbelts,” she shot back.
Always with the sass. Running a hand through my hair, I looked back at her.
“I wasn’t asking.”
Addy sucked in a breath, her lips parting as she stared at my face, her eyes drinking me in. The corner of my mouth curled up in satisfaction.
Pretty sure she liked what she was seeing.
“Right. Of course,” she muttered, her gaze still locked on mine.
Kyrill finally averted his gaze from the road, just long enough to turn around and give her a deadpan once-over. “Do you always trip so much? You would have broken your neck coming down the stairs if boss had not been holding your hand.”
“Gee, thanks. I prefer to call it gracefully disastrous.”
Kyrill snorted. “Sure.”
I sneered. “She’s fucking perfect.”
It was like trying to explain the universe to someone incapable of understanding it.
Kyrill raised one dark brow. “Uh-huh. That’s what they all say before—” He paused, clearly reconsidering his choice of words, when I shot him a glare.
“She’s mine,” I reminded him smoothly, though a certain feral edge betrayed my tone. “Choose your words wisely.”
“Are you guys always this … terrifying?” she asked under her breath, her voice just above the hum of the engine.
“Aw, baby. You have nothing to fear from us.” I shot her a heated look in the rearview mirror and watched as a blush spread across her cheeks and her breath caught in her throat.
Pressing my foot to the gas pedal, the car lurched forward, and I directed my attention to the road. Kyrill didn’t speak again until we had left the immediate area.
“So… this is really happening,” he said flatly. His tone suggested a mixture of disbelief and mild amusement. “You sure about kidnapping her?”
I let my head fall back against the seat, glaring at him sideways. “She’s not being kidnapped. Does she look like she’s been fucking kidnapped walking out of the building, holding my fucking hand? I claimed her and that’s why she’s here.”
Addy snorted audibly from behind us, like she couldn’t help herself.
“Claimed. That’s weirdly romantic, I guess. In a terrifying way.”
“I’m capable of both,” I replied smoothly. I kept my eyes on the dark road ahead and my pulse steady, except for the little tug in my chest every time she spoke.
Addy’s laugh was sharp and defiant. “You’re insane.”
“Yes. And you’re about to find out just how perfectly it pairs with being irresistible. I’m exactly what you need, Little Devil.”
Addy tried to glare at me through the mirror, but the way she chewed on her bottom lip gave her away. She was a glorious, chaotic disaster, and I was eager to explore every inch of her, take control of her, and consume her.
“You’re staring,” she whispered.
“I am.”
She groaned softly, half-embarrassed and half-turned on. I let this little thrill buzz in my chest like a live wire.
“You’re lucky I didn’t make you crawl to this car,” I said quietly, with a hint of playful threat in my voice.
“You’re lucky I like chaos,” she shot back. “I’d probably trip, kick you in the face, and ruin both our lives anyway.”
“Then I’ll just have to hold you tighter. I don’t care if you trip. You’re mine now,” I repeated, almost smugly, letting the words sink.
Watching her trying to maintain some illusion of control while every instinct in her body screamed otherwise.
The car dipped into the dark streets of Miami, humid night air pressing through the cracked windows, and I let my gaze flick back to her one last time before focussing on the road.
My gaze flicked to Kyrill, whose stoicism was cracking slightly under the absurdity of our passenger.
“She’s … something,” he muttered, as if speaking to himself, and I let the corner of my mouth lift.
“Yes.” I nodded. “Yes, she is.”
The SUV sped through the city, and, for the first time in a long time, I felt like I was both unstoppable and entirely consumed by the one person I couldn’t leave behind — even if the entire world thought I should.