Chapter 20
Twenty
VIOLET
Fuck, I ache. I feel like I got hit by a train and it didn’t have the decency to just kill me.
I can’t help but whimper as I roll over in the bed and my rib cage sings with pain. My face feels not just swollen but like it’s on fire, and my hands hurt.
There’s no way I can work this week with my hands like this. No one wants their ink fucked up because the artist is injured.
I crack an eye open as much as I can and glance around the dim bedroom. The sun is out, but the heavy curtains are pulled closed to keep it as dark as possible. Mateo isn’t here, but I can still smell him, and it comforts me.
When it finally sank in last night that he’s not part of the group that took Rosie and that he and his brothers would help me, it felt like the world had been lifted off my shoulders. I can finally trust someone. Not just with my body and my feelings, but with my sister.
And that hasn’t been the case in a really long time.
I manage to move to the side of the bed, every motion of my body so damn slow, you’d think I was a sloth, but I just can’t move any faster. When I see that it’s past noon, I blow out a breath.
It shouldn’t surprise me that I slept for such a long time. I’m still exhausted. And after I use the bathroom and find some water for my dry mouth, I’m going back to sleep.
I carefully make my way to the bathroom, but sitting down on the toilet is absolute torture. Standing back up when I’m done is worse.
And when I’m at the sink, washing my hands, I glance up in the mirror and just about pass out from the jolt of seeing myself for the first time.
Christ, I’m a fucking mess.
Not only do I feel like I was hit by a train, I look like it, too, with puffy lips and one eye almost swollen shut. I have bruises all over my face and torso. It’s no wonder that I’m moving so slowly.
I find the T-shirt and sweats that I borrowed last night and manage to slip them on, then make my way down the stairs to the kitchen.
With the brightness shining through the windows, I’m not quite as sleepy as I was before. It’s not time for more medicine yet, and I’m only taking ibuprofen and acetaminophen because I refuse to take anything that I could become dependent on. I don’t need that habit.
I fill a glass with water and walk over to the windows, sipping as I take in the chaos of the Strip. People bustle about, traffic is stop and go, and for the millionth time since I moved here, I can’t help but wonder if Rosie is out there, and if she is, is she at least safe?
Because I can’t bear the thought of her hurt and hungry.
You’re not alone in this anymore. Mateo and the others are going to help.
And I have to believe that, with them at my back, my sister will be by my side soon.
When I turn from the windows, I find Mateo standing about twenty feet away, his hands in his pockets, watching me silently. His hair is wet, like he just took a shower, and his eyes move over me, as if he’s cataloging my injuries.
“I didn’t hear you,” I tell him.
“You were deep in thought, Savage.” He tilts his head to the side. “I want to kiss you so bad, I ache with it, but I’m so fucking afraid of hurting you.”
“Maybe a gentle kiss,” I suggest, and he crosses to me in less than two seconds. He’s so achingly tender as he brushes his fingers through my hair and lightly ghosts his lips over mine.
He kisses my cheeks, my jawline, and next to my eye. He’s literally kissing all my hurts.
“I’m so sorry that I misjudged you.”
He shakes his head and takes the glass from my hand and sets it aside. “The thing is, you didn’t. Aside from what you suspected, I am the bad guy. I do a lot of really shitty things, Savage.”
“Yeah, well. So do a lot of people.” I lift a shoulder and drag my hands down his arms. “The people who were supposed to protect and serve, who were supposed to be the good guys, were also the villains. So at the end of the day, you’ve done more for me than any of them ever did.
I know you’re dangerous. I can feel it every time I touch you.
But I’ve never been afraid of you. Not even for a heartbeat. ”
“And you’ll never need to be.” He kisses my forehead, and I feel it all the way to my toes. “What do you want to do today?”
“Well, it’s my normal day off, but I’ll need to call the shop and let them know I’ll be out for a while and reschedule my clients. Which really sucks because I could use that money.”
Mateo frowns down at me. “I have more than enough money. You don’t need to work.”
I snort at that. “If you think that my independent, stubborn, savage ass is going to be a kept woman, taken care of by an organized crime king, you are sorely mistaken. Also, I don’t even know what this is between us. Are we exclusive? Are you my boyfriend?”
His dark eyes flash with that gold, and he tips my chin up.
“I would never ask you to give up your art because it’s fucking insanely beautiful and the world is a better place because of it.
But I will assign a detail of two men to you because people want to hurt me, Violet, and the way to do that is to hurt what matters to me. You matter.”
He kisses my forehead and then keeps talking.
“You’ll never be kept. That’s insulting. But you’re not alone, so take all the time you need to heal and don’t worry about the fucking money. You never have to worry about money. If you told me that you wanted to work full time for free just because you love it so much, I say do it.”
Well, shit, he knows how to make a girl swoon.
“And as far as what’s happening here, between you and me? I’ve told you a hundred times.”
He points to me.
“Mine.”
He points to himself.
“Yours.”
He waves his hand back and forth between us.
“Exclusive. If someone else even looks at you sideways, I’ll remove his liver from his body, cook it, and feed it to him.”
“And if someone touches you, she’ll get all of her fingers introduced to her fucking asshole.”
His lips twitch, but he clears his throat and doesn’t laugh.
“You really are savage.”
“I’m glad we cleared the air.” I lean in and press my cheek to his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “I should go home today.”
His phone rings, and he pulls it out to answer it.
“Report. When? Do you have them detained? Good. Call some soldiers to get them to the cell, and I’ll deal with them later. We’ll go over there to make sure nothing was disturbed.”
I frown up at him. “What’s wrong?”
“That was the man I’ve had tailing you. I had him staked out watching your apartment, and he just caught two assholes trying to break in.”
My heart lodges in my throat. “Into my apartment?”
“We have to go over there so you can look around. And we might as well pack up some of your stuff to bring back here. You’re safer with me, and I don’t want to be without you anyway.”
“We went from fuck buddies to living together really fast.”
“No, you did. I’ve been at living together since I first saw you. Let’s get this over with.”
When Bobby approaches the SUV, I realize that I recognize him. I’ve seen him around a lot the past couple of weeks, including when he dropped breakfast off to me, and all that time, I didn’t even realize that he worked for Mateo.
“Cat’s out of the bag,” I inform him.
Bobby has the decency to blush a little when he smiles. “Hello, ma’am. I hate to tell you this, but someone tried to break into your apartment.”
“But they weren’t successful?” I ask.
“No, I caught them before they entered.”
I nod and look up at Mateo. “I still don’t know who would want to go through my stuff. It was probably random.”
“Or, someone got your name and information from security cameras at the warehouse, and they’re after you now.”
My heart stops beating. “For fuck’s sake.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got you.” He kisses my head, and we walk into the building. I’m on the third floor, and I usually take the stairs, but despite moving around a little better since I crawled out of bed, my ankle throbs, so I push the button on the elevator.
“My place might be a little messy.”
“I don’t care, Violet.” He slips his hand in mine and links our fingers.
I nod, but I’m still a little nervous as we step off the elevator and I unlock my door and then step inside.
Everything looks the way I left it last night when I set off for the warehouse.
Jesus, was that just last night?
It feels like so long ago.
“I don’t see anything out of place,” I inform him as I walk into the bedroom and quickly pick up some dirty clothes and shove them in the hamper. “I don’t really have any valuables, so I don’t have to look to see if anything’s missing.”
I pull a bag out from the floor of my closet and start tossing clothes in it. Underwear, bras, workout gear, jeans, and tees. When it’s full, I reach for another bag and head into the bathroom to gather my toiletries, and when those are packed, I realize that Mateo never followed me in here.
“Mateo?”
I step back out into the living room and see him staring at my wall.
“Oh.”