Page 16 of Savage King

"I want to speak to Scarlet," his voice tremors in outraged fury. I fully understand his emotions; being powerless sucks. It's about time that the good old Judge Lambert learns that lesson. He sounds as if he thinks he has the upper hand in this. He does not. I do. And he had better accept it quickly.

I switch the call to another incoming call. "Vito," I say more jovially than I feel.

He must notice it because there is a short pause before he speaks, "Boss?"

"No, the Easter Bunny."

"Oh, good, for a moment there, I thought I called Santa."

"Is there a reason for this call?" I sigh.

"I've put feelers out. So far, Carlos thinks it was an accident and that the girl burned with the rest of the building."

"Good, keep it that way. Who do we have at the local precinct?"

Vito is like a personal computer. He knows the name of every person on our payroll and how much we're paying them. He also knows everyone's weaknesses, details I can't always remember, and I'm glad to have him for it. There is no hesitation when he says, "Detective Mallard is good for this."

"Good. Stall Carlos for as long as you can. Hopefully, the bastard will be in jail before he figures out that his warehouse fire wasn't an accident. And Vito."

"Yeah?"

"Keep an eye on him. He's likely to do something else stupid now that his little blackmail scheme is done."

"Will do, boss."

I hang up and knock on the bathroom door. She's been in there long enough, and I don't want her to catch a cold on top of everything else.

"Are you okay?" I ask through the door. Through the door! Instead of pouncing in like I normally would.

"I'm… just a minute," she replies.

That's it. I walk in. "What's wrong?"

"I'm… I need to brush my teeth." She looks like she was about to say something different, but I'm not going to press her on this. Instead, wordlessly, I help her off the toilet and deposit her on the counter by the sink. A drawer underneath holds an assortment of new toothbrushes. I pick one, unwrap it, and hand it to her, along withmytoothpaste and a cup.

Silently, I watch her brush her teeth. She's such a dainty thing, awakening emotions in me I've never felt before, just like that damn sparrow. I want to hold and protect her. Make sure nobody will ever again lay a hand on her.

She's leverage, nothing else, my cold mind reminds me, and it's right. Yet, I can't deny the attraction I feel for her.

She finishes with her teeth. She keeps her glance averted when she asks, "So, you said I can call my dad?"

"Yes, let's get you back into the bedroom first," I suggest, not letting on that I already talked to her old man.

It's becoming a familiar routine; I pick her up again, pulling the damn IV pole behind us, and take her back to the bedroom. Her next words come totally unexpectedly and rob me momentarily of my balance. "I haven’t thanked you yet… for saving me."

I don't know how to reply.You're welcomedoesn’t sound quite sincere enough. It's also not the truth. She was and is a business agreement, nothing less, nothing more.And you better keep that in mind, I remind myself.

"No need to thank me," I respond with an edge to my voice. "Your father is the one who owes me."

A knock on the door interrupts us.

"I ordered breakfast brought up for you," I explain.

"For me? You don't want any?"

"I have to go to the office for a while. People will come and check on you, I promise. In the meantime, if you need anything…" I almost forgot. I dig out the phone I’d ordered programmed for her. "My number is the only one you can call with this, but if you need anything, just push contact one, alright?"

She doesn't look pleased, but she takes it.

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