Page 40 of Devil's Game

“You don’t have to apologize.” She grinned, shifting to link arms with me as we ventured farther into the store. “You know how stubborn I am. I probably would’ve gotten myself into this, even if your crazy ex wasn’t trying to come after me.”

There was a lightness to her tone, but her words still twisted my stomach.

Glancing around the small store, I took stock of all the customers and workers, needing to keep my guard up. After the other day, I felt even more confident in my abilities to protect us, but I could never be too cautious. My gun was strapped beneath my jacket, easily accessible, yet hidden from view. I also had a baton stuffed in my purse—sure, it wasn’t a bat, but it would have a similar effect without being as cumbersome.

There wasn’t anyone suspicious in the store, but I caught the eyes of a few men out in the concourse who quickly turned as soon as my attention shifted to them. I loosed an exasperated breath through my nose, drawing Sophia’s attention from the dress she was inspecting.

“What is it?” she asked, her gaze darting around the store.

“It’s nothing,” I assured her, keeping my attention focused outside as I cocked my brow, giving each of the four men a knowing look. “The guys sent some chaperones, after all.”

She chuckled and shook her head, her worries immediately quelled as she held the dress up in front of her and posed with it in the mirror. “You can’t really blame them.”

“No, I can’t.” I sighed.

Despite the admission, I still kept a stern expression as each of the men turned back to sneak a look, noticing my knowing expression still locked on them. I rolled my shoulders and relaxed slightly, grateful that there were a few extra sets of eyes.

I wasn’t that conceited to think I could take on an army of the Barones’ men if they rushed the store.

At least our bodyguards were staying back and not glued to my hip, like one of the guys would be. I loved them, I really did, but sometimes a girl just needed a break from the testosterone, and a little time with her girl.

“That guy . . .” Some of the easy lilt had ebbed from Sophia’s tone as she put the dress back and turned to me. We’d talked about the other day briefly, but she hadn’t really wanted to go into detail. “He was the trainer, right?”

“Ryan.” I chewed on my bottom lip, eyes darting around us to make sure no one was too close. I wanted to give him his name—that was the least I could do now.

She’d taken a few classes with me but never really gotten to know him.

Sophia nodded, idly looking through a rack of clothes, despite her attention being somewhere else entirely. “Hearing about the stories is one thing, but actually seeing him . . .”

My stomach dropped. This was too much for her, too close for her—

“He needs to be stopped.” Determination strengthened her tone as her eyes locked with mine. They were cold and unyielding, so different from the fear I thought they’d hold.

I should have known. She was so much stronger than she got credit for.

I nodded in agreement. I couldn’t have said it any better myself. And, hopefully, what Spade and I had done the other night brought us one step closer to taking them down. The Barones were a well-oiled machine, too large to be brought down in one fell swoop.

And, honestly, it was even more fun this way. To play with him, let him think he had the upper hand, just to watch his empire crumble before him.

“So, the other night—” Sophia broke through the silence, cutting off my daydreams of Tommaso’s demise. “You went out with Spade, right?”

She waggled her eyebrows, and I nearly choked on my next breath. “Yes.”

“Come on, give me details.” She spun to the next rack of clothes, shoving a few garments at me while I stumbled over my words.

What was I supposed to tell her, exactly?

“I don’t really think that’s appropriate here . . .” I trailed off, glancing at the other customers surrounding us.

She opened her mouth, about to argue, before realization lit her eyes. “Ohhh.”

“Yeah.” I chuckled, throwing a few garments her way this time as I tried to change the subject. “How did training go yesterday?”

“It was good.” She rolled her eyes, frowning at my choices before she tried her best to subtly put them back. “He’s a lot grumpier when you aren’t there.”

My cheeks heated, and I couldn’t help the grin that spread on my lips. “Oh?”

“Yeah, I thought he was tough before, but it was clear you just had him in a good mood, because last night, I probably had to do double the warm-up, and none of my punches were hard enough, apparently.”

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