Chapter 17
Seventeen
MATEO
I’ll never get the image of Violet, beaten and shaking, holding that gun, out of my head.
I don’t know who Rosie is, and I definitely don’t know why Violet was there tonight, but I’m going to get to the bottom of it once and for all.
My girl is curled up beside me in the back of the SUV, with tremors still racking her body.
“Get Dr. Asgood to my penthouse now,” I say to Diego, working to keep my voice even. She’s scared enough as it is.
“Already on it, boss,” he says. “She’ll be waiting for us.”
“She wasn’t there,” Violet whimpers, and it breaks my heart. But she isn’t crying. She’s been on the verge of tears since I found her, but she hasn’t given into them.
“I’m so sorry, baby.”
“I don’t know where she is.” Her voice is so small.
Finally, we pull into my building parking, and I gingerly help Violet out of the car and hold her in my arms in the elevator on the way up. When we reach the top floor, Asgood is waiting at the door.
“What happened?” she asks, frowning at the woman I’m carrying.
“Got my ass handed to me,” Violet says. “So much for all of those lessons.”
“You kicked their butts too,” I remind her, and get her inside. “They were in rough shape when I found you, and you were about to shoot them, so I’d say you won, sweetheart.”
I was both incredibly proud and fucking terrified, all at once.
“Over here,” Asgood says, directing us to the kitchen counter, where I set Violet down and stay close to her. “I’m Dr. Asgood. I work for this one.”
She points at me.
“I’d like to examine you and make sure nothing is broken.”
“The ribs might be,” Violet replies, and my hands fist at my sides.
I should have taken both those motherfuckers to my cell so I could burn them alive. Instead, I’ll have to work just one over.
“We have to take your tank top off,” Dr. Asgood says, and Violet cringes as she helps to move the shirt over her head.
Christ.
She’s covered in bruises where they kicked her. Her gorgeous face is swollen and cut, and her knuckles are bloody and bruised from all the hits of her own she got in.
“I’m so fucking proud of you.” I lean in and kiss her cheek. “And you’ll never do anything like this again.”
Finally, Dr. Asgood smiles at Violet.
“I don’t think your ribs are broken. I’ll leave some pain reliever here. Your best friend is going to be time, I’m afraid. Ice for anything swollen or bruised. Get plenty of rest and drink a lot of fluids.”
Violet nods, and Diego escorts the doctor out, leaving with her to get his own arm tended to.
“Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up and comfortable.”
“Mateo—”
“I’m going to explain all of the reasons why I’m not in the flesh trade, but first I need to take care of you, Savage. Unless you want to go home.”
She’s not going home. I’m keeping her here, but I’ll give her the choice.
“I don’t want to be alone,” she admits, and the fact that she didn’t come back with a smart-ass remark tells me that she’s absolutely not okay.
Lifting her once more, I carry her up the stairs to the primary suite and right into the bathroom.
“Shower or bath?” I ask her.
“How bloody is my hair?” she asks.
“Only a little,” I reply.
“Shower.” She sighs. “I guess I have to wash it again.”
I nod and get to work starting the water and gathering towels for the warming rack. I strip down and then help her take the rest of her clothes off and lead her carefully into the shower.
She wrenched her ankle when she kicked one of the assholes who attacked her, so she’s unsteady on her feet.
My badass girl.
“I’ve got this.” I get to work cleaning her, letting the blood wash down the drain, and then I unravel her braid and wash her hair as well. It’s thick and takes a while to rinse, and then I use conditioner on it, but when I start to massage her scalp, she winces.
“They yanked on the braid. My scalp’s sore.”
The anger that’s been simmering beneath the surface flares at that statement. Not only did they touch what’s mine, but they also fucking pulled her hair. And that asshole in the cell is going to pay for that.
When she’s clean, I quickly wash myself off, and then I get her dry using one of the warm towels.
“I hate washing my hair right before bed,” she whispers as I pull one of my old T-shirts over her head.
“Come on, let’s go sit and let it dry for a bit while I talk to you.”
She nods, but when I go to lift her, she shakes her head. “I’ll walk. If I don’t, it’ll get stiff.”
Reluctantly, I agree and stay right next to her to make sure she doesn’t fall. I get her settled in the corner of the couch with a blanket, and then I put some water on to boil for tea.
“You’re good at the whole taking care of me thing,” she says.
“Not good enough. You were hurt tonight, and I have to live with that.”
I sit on the coffee table, facing her, and rub my hand up and down her thigh, needing to soothe us both.
“I grew up here in Vegas,” I begin, and her eyes climb to mine.
“I met Rome and Julian in high school, and we became fast friends. Julian’s dad was the head of the Greek Mafia, and now that he’s gone, Julian has the title.
But when we were kids, the three of us worked for Julian’s dad.
We got into all kinds of shit. I knew how to steal a car by the time I was sixteen. ”
I smirk at that, and she keeps listening.
“My mother’s family was from Mexico, and her brother was the head of the cartel in her city. He pissed someone off when I was fourteen, and one day, some bad fucking dudes showed up at our house here, tied me up so I couldn’t do a damn thing, and raped and terrorized my mom until they killed her.”
A tear falls from Violet’s eye, and I reach out to wipe it away with my thumb. Christ, that one tear just about rips my heart out.
I’ve never spoken about this with anyone aside from my brothers, but everything with this woman is easy. Not just because she needs to know this story if she’s ever going to trust me, but because something in me needs to share this with her.
“They were going to take her to sell her, to get back at my uncle, but she fought them. You remind me of her, so fucking strong and not afraid to kick someone’s ass. Anyway, she got some good hits in, and it wounded their pride. So, they killed her there in our kitchen.”
“Mateo, I’m so sorry. What happened to the men?”
I clear my throat. “My uncle killed all but one of them. The asshole went underground, and it took a long time to find him. He’s waiting in my basement for me to finish him off.”
She blinks in surprise.
“Julian’s family took me in. I had no interest in going to work for my uncle.
These days, my cousin runs that outfit, and we’re on good terms. I still have no interest in his business, and he doesn’t care about mine.
A few years out of school, we met Carson.
The four of us are brothers in every way that counts. They’re my family, Violet.”
“I’m so glad you have that,” she replies softly.
“We’re not good men.” I shake my head and let out a soft laugh, but the water whistles, so I get up to make her tea, pulling my thoughts together.
I set her mug next to her, but she doesn’t pick it up. Her eyes are pinned to me.
“I won’t tell you all of the shit we’re involved in. We all have our own separate legit businesses, and we have plenty that are a little more . . . nefarious.”
“Like the fight club.”
“What fight club?” I smile at her and take her hand in mine, gently brushing my thumb over her bruised knuckles.
“Yeah, things like that. But never, not once, have we ever dealt in people. I don’t sell women, Savage.
I don’t hurt women. None of us do. In fact, we’ve been working to find who’s behind the flesh trade in our city and wipe them out. That’s why we were there tonight.”
She nods slowly and swallows hard. “That makes sense.”
“Now, I need to come clean with you on a few things if I expect you to tell me everything I want to know.”
“Shit, what did you do?”
I let out a laugh and then kiss her knuckles. “I’ve been stalking you since the minute I saw you at my club.”
“What club?”
My lips twitch. “I’ve followed you, and I’ve had you followed when I was working and couldn’t keep an eye on you.”
“I knew someone was watching me.”
“I orchestrated which businesses you’d show up to so you could find me.”
Her eyebrows climb. “What? How?”
“Julian could see what you were searching, and he planted the information in the search engine that I owned the café and Rapture.”
“You don’t own them?”
“No.”
“Not even Rapture? But, I got VIP access, and you were there—”
“Rome owns it,” I reply. “And he got you everything I asked him to.”
“Jesus, and I thought I was a liar,” she mutters. “Why did you do all of that?”
“Because I want you. As far as I’m concerned, you’re mine.”
Her jaw goes slack. “That’s it?”
“What do you mean ‘that’s it’? That’s everything, Savage. Now, what I don’t know is why you’ve been doing a shitty job of tailing me. Because I don’t think you have the same reasons.”
She lets out a long sigh and closes her eyes as if she’s resigned. “Do you want your brothers to hear this?”
I narrow my eyes on her, going still. “I don’t know, baby. Do I?”
“You should probably call them. And I need some pants.”