Page 34 of Beastly Armory

“Yes, darling.”

She lifts a slender arm, and bracelets that look like emeralds sparkle on her wrist. “This way, please.”

Livia turns, and I protectively place a hand to her back as she walks in front of me. Once we reach the door, Dilan bids us well, then leaves as we depart. The guards are still on the porch and only give us a cursory glance, as they continue to gossip in another language and puff out cigarette smoke in our direction. My car sits ready for us on the drive, and I open the passenger door for Livia, but before she gets in, I put my hand over hers to stop her.

“We need to talk strategy.”

She pauses after looking at our hands and stares up at me. “Okay, Max.”

The overwhelming urge to kiss her returns, but I know she’ll just shirk me off again. Letting her smooth hand slide out from under mine, I release her and she gets inside. Once I’m behind the wheel, I point us toward the Von Dovish estate.

“I have a contact, but I’ll call tomorrow. It may behard to get a meeting with him, but it’s all I know to start with.”

I nod.

“But Max? He’ll want something from us. I don’t know what.”

“As long as it’s not Arianna, I’m okay.”

“How is she, by the way? I haven’t seen her since she was just a tiny child.”

“You should come over. Meet her again.”

Livia gets quiet and looks out her window. It makes me rage. If I can’t kiss her, the burning violence is going to escape. I have to know why before I destroy something. “Why can’t I kiss you?”

Her neck twists as she snaps her eyes to mine. “What?”

“You won’t let me kiss you.” I eye her soberly. “I want to know why.”

She opens her mouth to reply, then shakes her head, rethinking things as she looks out the window again.

With my eyes back on the road, I mumble, “I’ll take it sometime.”

She doesn’t respond, so we ride in silence.

When I reach the Von Dovish gatehouse, her man opens it with a smile and a wave. As I approach her front door, I let my back tires drift on the small stones, throwing up dust. It clouds her side of the car. Livia whips her face to me and scrunches her brow, letting a disgusted sneer tug at her upper lip. “Ugh!”

She gets out, and before she can slam the door, I yell, “Call me!” Her shoulders rise to her ears for a moment,then drop as she spins and runs inside. I chuckle to myself.

I don’t hear from her for a few days.

Derichs is feeling well enough to start his own physical therapy, utilizing my gym I’ve set up in the old dungeons beneath the house. It’s makeshift and doesn’t have all the equipment I want just yet, but it will do for now.

The workers have been less restless since my meeting with Strauss. Most have moved from the manor to fixing up the old car wash, motorcycle shop, and body shops on the east side of Gnarled Pines. No one has hinted that there’s no money. Only Markus and I are very aware of that fact. I need those guns.

“Hit me.”

“I’m not hitting you,” I say, circling Derichs. “I’ll tap.”

“Fuck you, hit me. I can take it.”

I punch his bad shoulder lightly, and he groans, taking a step back, doubling over at the waist.

“You told me to hit you.”

He laughs. “I did.Fuck. Okay, maybe I’m not ready.”

“You will be. Here.” I grab a paper cup of water from the cooler in the corner and hand it to him. He wipes his face with a towel and sits on the rickety wooden bench, his normally curly brown hair flattened with sweat.

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