Page 38 of Beautiful Soldier

He latches his gaze to mine. The same insecure Johnny who asked if I wanted to leave is back.

I’m quick to reassure him. “I’m staying, Johnny. I just think we both realize the same thing. It’s why you won’t tell your dad about Magnum’s cousin. Sometimes, the Crew isn’t so good.”

Johnny’s gaze hardens. “I know you know this, but those words can’t ever leave your mouth around anyone. Understand?”

It would be easier if I could just rip myself bare for him. Show him my insides instead of telling him. Words can be so inconsequential when they’re not saying what you truly want to say. “I think you have more friends than you know.” I press up onto my tiptoes and kiss him. “You’re a good person, Johnny.”

He laughs. The sound dark and dangerous, almost curdling my blood. “I’m not good, babe. I’m trying to be, for you, but sometimes invisible straps hold me in place.”

“I’ve got a knife,” I tell him, lifting one shoulder.

“The only good decision I’ve ever made is you.”

He cups the back of my head and pulls me forward, sealing his lips to mine. We don’t get far because the door to the room crashes open.

Johnny and I jump, and my towel completely unravels. I try to grab it, but it’s too late. I flash boob everywhere, and fuck me, but standing in the doorway is none other than Big Daddy K.

“Dad,” Johnny exclaims, moving his body in front of mine to shield me.

I quickly knot my towel again, holding my arms securely just under my chest. My face flushes with heat as if it’s been cooked from the inside out. Anger sweeps through me. What kind of fucking asshole doesn’t knock before he comes into a fucking bedroom?

Johnny’s tense voice says, “I thought you weren’t coming in until later.”

Big Daddy K’s piercing gaze goes right through Johnny as if he’s undressing me. The disgusting bastard got a pretty good look too. I throw up a little in my mouth and swallow it back down.

“The Cardinale’s got their private jet to take me. May I see you in the hall, please?”

Johnny goes to leave, but I reach for his hand, holding him back. He turns a surprised look at me, but I just smile and lay a kiss on him. Like he claimed me at the underground fight nights that first evening, I’m claiming him now. Johnny’s mine.

When I pull away, his gaze darkens. He turns without another word and closes the door securely behind him after his dad exits in front of him.

Fuck me.

I sit on the bed, silently seething. I want to punch something in the worst way. Instead, I move to the dresser in the corner and look through the drawers until I find something to put on. I pull on a pair of gray sweats, giving them the same treatment as the joggers yesterday, and then I tug a white shirt on next, taking the extra fabric bunched at my hip, pulling it out, and tying it in a knot. At least it won’t look like I’m walking around in a potato sack.

The last thing I want to do is disturb Johnny and his dad, so I stay where I am. My stomach growls for at least fifteen minutes before Johnny comes back in. I’d been staring out the glass doors, so I get up. Instead of saying anything, he walks right to me, throwing his arms around me and whispering, “You have to be careful, babe. Don’t piss my dad off. Whatever you do, don’t do that.”

I grip him tighter. “I wasn’t the one who doesn’t know how to knock.”

“He’ll do far more than that.”

“Like punch you? Like give you a black eye?”

A growl rips from his throat. “I defied him, and he made me pay for it.”

“That’s not a father, Johnny,” I whisper.

He holds me tighter. His arms are so tight they’re like a boa constrictor around my ribs. Finally, he kisses me just under the ear. “I have to go. We’re taking the asshole to the tower where we can properly interrogate him. I thought you might like to stay here. I’ll be back tonight. Absolutely no one knows where this place is, so you can have it to yourself while we deal with the problem.”

I nod into his neck, breathing him in. I hate to let him go, but a reprieve from being thrown back into the Heights world so soon sounds like heaven.

“The kitchen is fully stocked. Netflix, Hulu, cable, whatever you want to watch. There’s a hot tub out back. Think of it as a spa day, but not the Kardashian kind.”

I grin, chuckling into his embrace. “Sounds perfect.”

He pulls away. “I’ll be back.”

He pecks me on the cheek and strides from the room. I go out onto the back deck off the master bedroom and watch as they all get into cars. A black sack sits over our prisoner’s face again as they load him into an SUV. Johnny, Mag, and several other bodyguards get into one vehicle while K strides toward another. He pauses near the passenger door, and I must catch his eye because he gazes up at me.

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