Chapter 35
THIRTY-FIVE
MAVEN
Believe it or not, I choose to go to his place instead of mine. And when I step through the front door, I see boxes of my things stacked in the entryway. I make a beeline for my shoe room, and I sigh when I see all my heels lining the shelves in perfect precision.
“Do you like it?” I jump at the sound of a voice coming from behind me. When I turn, Boston is standing there, dressed as if he just finished work. His gun is still holstered at his hip, and his badge is attached to his belt.
“I do. It’s even prettier than I imagined.”
“And there’s still room for more,” he says, casually leaning against the wall. I eat up the sight of him.
“Did you bring me a strawberry milkshake so I can dip your cock in it and taste it?” Someone coughs from just outside the door, and I peer out to see Victor walking away. “Sorry, Victor!” I call out after him.
He waves his hand without looking back.
“I didn’t, but I can arrange one for later. I have to go out again. Will you be okay?”
I arch a brow. “I’ve lived most of my life by myself. I’m sure one night without my husband won’t kill me.” I laugh.
Boston leans down, and his lips land on mine, stealing my breath away. His tongue pushes into my mouth, and I open to give him access. His arm slides around my waist, pulling me closer.
I break the kiss, panting for breath. “Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you happy to see me?” I tease, waggling both of my brows. “I’ve always wanted to say that.”
He shuts me up with another quick kiss before resting his forehead against mine and murmuring, “Behave.” Then he pats my ass and leaves the room.
“What if I make a mess everywhere? Will you kick me out?” I yell down the hall.
“No.”
“I’m messy,” I warn him.
“I know,” he replies light-heartedly as he reaches the door. Opening it, he looks back at me, and says, “Make all the mess you want.” Then he walks out, shutting the door behind him.
I go into the living room, connect my phone to the television, pull up my playlist, and blast my music as loud as possible. I could never do this at my apartment because I had neighbors who complained, but Boston’s neighbors aren’t as close, so that’s a bonus.
As I dance around the house and begin to unpack a few things, I realize that I don’t feel uneasy. I actually have a little bit of hope. And I haven’t had hope for a long time.
I manage to get through three boxes, then realize almost four hours have passed, and my playlist has repeated several times.
But I don’t care because I love every beat of the music.
When I finally check my phone, I don’t see any missed calls from Boston, but I do see a camera notification from five minutes ago.
I’m a little confused at first because, for one, I haven’t really investigated his security system to know the inner workings of it, and I also don’t know where many of the cameras are positioned.
I’m well aware it could’ve been a cat, or other animal, activating it—it happens all the time. I click on the notification, and what comes up on my screen makes me freeze. Two men walk past the camera at the front. Both of them are dressed in black, and I can tell they’re up to no good.
Glancing around to make sure no one is watching me, I head to the kitchen and open the knife drawer.
I put two knives in the waistband of my jeans and am picking up a third just as the back camera alerts me to motion there.
I click on the notification to see the back door slowly opening, and I immediately drop down into a crouch.
My music is still blasting at an extremely loud volume, and the last thing I want to do is turn it off to make it easier for them to find me. I’m certain they have no idea where I am or that I’m even in the house. But little do they know that I know how to use a fucking knife.
My phone chooses that moment to ring, and the music cuts out.
Just as it does, I hear footsteps, then my phone stops ringing, but it’s only a second before the ringtone blasts through the speakers again.
It rings several times before it stops and the music picks back up.
I stay exactly where I am, but I shift to all fours and edge myself to the corner so I can peek around to see how close they’re getting.
The song ends, and I take a deep breath as I listen.
Footsteps draw closer, sounding more cautious with each step.
But the men aren’t careful enough to remain silent.
One of them whispers while the other looks around.
They can’t see me, and I’m thankful for that.
I sit back against the counter and take a deep breath, then I act.
“Hey, boys, are we lost?” I stand, and both of them swing around, their gazes locking on me.
I don’t recognize either of them, but they don’t seem surprised to see me here.
Is it me they were after? Maybe they’re after payback of some sort for Boston, and I’m collateral. Surely, it couldn’t be about me.
One of them turns off the TV, silencing the music.
“Are you robbing the place? Not a very smart thing to do, you know.” I make a tsking sound. “But I’m sure there’s a safe somewhere.” I glance around. “Though, I haven’t found it. Do you boys know where it is?”
They just stare at me.
I stare back, taking them in. One is slightly shorter than the other, and each holds a long, wicked-looking knife, not like the measly kitchen blade I have.
“Make this easy, come here,” one says, and motions toward himself like he wants me to stand right in front of him.
“Now, why would I do something like that?” I ask, and I see a tiny light flashing behind him.
There’s a camera in the room. How did I not see that before?
Though, it’s probably on the phone if I’d actually bothered to look.
How many cameras does this man have? I know he’s a detective and all, but that’s overkill.
“Because we can make this extremely difficult for you,” the shorter one says.
I roll my eyes. Seriously, why do men always think they have the upper hand when it comes to a woman? One hit to their balls, and they’re usually crying like a little a bitch.
My phone starts ringing and we all freeze.
“Don’t answer that. Hand the phone over, and let’s go. We have places we need to be. We’d prefer you to be conscious for the trip, but we’ll knock you out if we have to.” He shrugs, as if he really doesn’t care either way.
“Well, I hate to break it to you, but I’m not going anywhere.
You see, I was about to make myself something to eat before you rudely interrupted me,” I say, smiling brightly.
The camera light continues to flash, and I know someone is watching.
My guess is Boston, unless someone else has access to his cameras.
“I’m quite hungry,” I add, making sure to keep the hand that is holding the knife hidden below the counter.
“We don’t fucking care.”
“But I get hangry when I don’t eat, and trust me, you don’t want me hangry.”
“Fucking hell. Just take her and shut her up already,” the shorter one says. The other starts to make his way toward me, and I stop him by holding up my hand that isn’t clutching the knife.
“Can I just eat first? I promise, if you let me eat, I’ll be on my best behavior.” I give him my best puppy dog eyes. Well, I attempt it at least. The one closest to me looks back at the other guy, who I now realize is the one in charge.
“What are you doing? Stop letting her talk shit and take her.” He looks at his shiny gold watch with a green face and shakes his head. “We’re running behind,” he grumbles. “Move it, and shut her the fuck up.”
I hold up my other hand, showing them the knife. The one advancing toward me stops again. He glances at the knife, then back to me.
“Boys, boys… I was just trying to make food, as you can see.” I lift my chin to indicate the knife. “Why are we so hostile? Did you not get hugged enough as a kid?” I smile at them, my hand still up in the air.
“Let’s all have a calm chat. For one, I am not going anywhere with you. Two, you are both so stupid. Why would you choose to break into the home of a police detective?”
“We were sent to take you,” the angry one with the gold watch says.
“See, now we’re getting somewhere. I’m not the type of girl you can just take, though.” I arch a brow. “I’m a bit of a … what do you call it? Oh yes … bitch.” I grin.
“Or fucking crazy,” the one closest to me mutters.
“Yes, I guess I am. Thank you for that.”
“Cole, just fucking take the bitch,” the gold watch guy says, and my attention moves to Cole. He starts toward me again, and when his gaze slides from the knife in my hand to land on my face, I smile wider, knowing he just made a big mistake. I step back before he can reach me.
“I am terribly sorry, Cole, but you see, I have an issue with a man trying to touch me without my consent. We aren’t in the dark ages anymore.
” He pauses. “We’re in a time when a woman can be trained to kill.
” I tilt my head, and it’s then that he notices the other knives in my waistband.
He glances back at his friend, and I use that opportunity to throw the knife directly into his neck, hitting the exact spot I aimed for.
He lets out a sharp yelp, his hands going straight to where the blade is embedded in his flesh, but my focus has shifted to the man with the gold watch.
“Now, can I finish making my food, or do you want to try your hand at taking me?” I ask, smirking.
“You stupid fucking bitch,” he growls, and makes his way toward me.
Silly man.
He should have let me eat.