Page 103 of Slayin Villain
“God, no.”I told them everything.
Well, almost everything.
About Villain.About Rome.About how I never meant to fall into bed with one or get tangled up with the other.How I lost myself somewhere between a song and a lie and found out too late what it cost.
When I finished, Cece returned and held my hand in that way that said she didn’t care how messy I was, just that I was alive.
Kingpin nodded.
“You’ll stay here for now,” he said.“With Cece.Irish’ll check in daily.If that ain’t safe enough, we’ll lock you in the basement at Royal Road.”
I gave him a look.
He almost smiled.“Joking.”
“Barely,” Irish muttered.
I took a breath, deep and sharp, then nodded.“Okay.”
Kingpin looked me dead in the eye.“Ember.You’re not a prisoner.But if you leave again without saying something?We won’t be the ones chasing you.Our enemies will.And they’ll play a whole lot meaner than Rome.”
I nodded again.
He turned to leave but paused at the door.“Villain’s still in the hospital.Ask Cece if you want to visit.But wait until he’s cleared.You two got enough fire between you.We don’t need an explosion.”
I swallowed hard.
Because what I wanted, what I felt, was nothing compared to what I had to do now.
Survive.
Chapter 46
Rachel
Moving in with Villain wasn’t something I planned.
It started with me showing up at the hospital to make sure he wasn’t dead, still unsure if I was walking away for good or not.But when the nurse gave me discharge instructions and a bag of meds, I somehow ended up driving him home too.One night became two.Then three.Next thing I knew, I was standing in his kitchen, barefoot and pregnant, unpacking groceries and thinking about paint colors for the nursery at his place.
I told myself it was temporary.Just until he could walk on his own without wincing.Just until I figured out what I wanted.
But deep down, I already knew.
It was early.The kind of quiet that only existed when the rest of the world was still asleep.I was folding a blanket on the back of the couch when Kingpin knocked and let himself in like he owned the place.
“Morning, darlin’,” he drawled, strolling in with the scent of motor oil and bourbon trailing behind him.
“Villain’s asleep,” I said.
He nodded, his eyes scanning the house like he was checking for damage.Or secrets.“You’re still here.”
“Yeah.”
He didn’t sit.Just stood with his arms crossed and that unreadable look on his face, the one that made grown men shut up and listen.
“You know too much,” he said.
I raised a brow.“Excuse me?”
