Page 58 of Vow to Protect
“Sit tight, Dólás.” This voice is distinct. The foreign articulation reminds me of Dexter, and the use of my alias confirms it. “We need to have a chat.”
“I’ve got fuck all to say,” I grit out, balling my palms.
“Believe me, you’ll have plenty to say,” Dexter replies.
My breath heats the material. Cracking out my neck, I internally beg the claustrophobic haze to pass. “I doubt it.”
I swear the snicker that follows is like speed dial to my inner fucking demon. If there wasn’t a gun to my head, I’d strangle the fucker with his own tongue.
The rest of the brief journey is quiet. Not peaceful enough to calm my fury, but enough to decide that it all ends here. Tonight. No more loose ends. No more danger for Shortie.
When the vehicle halts, cold air stirs the face covering. “Move.” The Irish guy jerks my shoulder. Drizzle dampens the fabric. “Walk,” he instructs gruffly.
They guide me into an echoed structure. I guess it’s a stairwell when I’m escorted up a few flights of stairs. Air moves as if a door opens. In a beat, they remove the mask in one swipe. Blinking repeatedly, my eyes acclimatize to shadows. I drag a hand through my hair and roll up my spine, rounding my shoulders. “Zatruc.” I greet his watchful gaze, adding his fighting pseudonym with a snarl. If he wants a fight, bring it on, asshole.He only let me go so he could continue the game another day.
He points down the poorly lit corridor. “Wait in there.” Mahogany wall cladding and equally depressing floorboards close in on me. I march further, focusing on the glowing room at the end. Inside, I pause in the calm. A lamp sits on a drinks cabinet, lighting the many books. Ancient Greek Mythology. Aristotle. Homer. Classics I’d studied in boarding school. Aside from the crowded shelves, coffee table stacks and a tweed style armchair, the room is otherwise empty.
“Brett.”
I recognise that hoarse tone. Energy whips up inside me, forming a muddle of relief and acrimony. Turning to face the husky timbre, I meet him. Malakai Fox.
The fleeting second of astonishment dissipates. I storm into him, throwing a right hook into his jaw. He flinches, composes himself with a fragile groan and extends his chin.
“Dexter shot you. What the fuck is going on here, Malakai,” I spit out. “And don’t think I’ll shake your fucking hand after what you did.”
“Take a seat. We need to talk.” He walks around me. With each step, I notice his stooped posture, compensating for the apparently fatal wound. The once robust man of steel is frail and injured. “Drink?” Malakai pops off the stopper in the whiskey decanter.
Liquid pours into two Scotch glasses. Smooth and provoking. Ice chinks. He angles around to face me with a glass in the air. After the trials and tribulations I’ve endured one drink would be heaven, and more than likely my downfall. If grief doesn’t swallow me up, the taste of whiskey will ruin me. I decline, flipping him the bird and sinking down into the old armchair. I want answers with a clear head.
“You’re lucky I haven’t fucking killed you, Law.” I flip my ankle to my knee. “How are you alive, and most importantly, why the fuck did you murder her?” The hitch in my tone announces my sorrow.
Malakai takes a slow sip and swallows, staring at me cautiously. “You and I have a bond, Brett. We always will have. There are some things I could never tell you for your own safety. We needed him alive.”
“Enough of the bond bullshit. If you brought me here to kiss and make up, then save your breath before I throttle it out of you.”
“Hear me out,” he sighs. “Dexter is one of us. He infiltrated Blaine’s company a few months before I went in. The guy worked his way up to become Blaine’s right-hand man.”
“And just because he’s an undercover cop doesn't mean I’ll forgive him for carving up my nanny,” I interrupt.
“Hedidn’t do it, Brett. The Butcher did. Dexter could only sway him from slitting her throat because Blaine wasn’t around to goad him. Dexter saved her, for fuck’s sake.” Malakai winces the more animated he becomes. “Look, I was caught up in a trafficking case. Blaine was leading us to one of the top guys. I needed him alive. He thought I couldn’t be trusted after you took Raen from the compound. His men were watching me. I’ve worked too damn hard to let you or Raen kill him out of vengeance. We have to find out who his main contact is.”
A silhouette appears at the doorway. My lashes flick up. The tiny figure lingers quietly.
“It’s okay. I'm talking over business with a friend.” Malakai sets down his glass. As he steps away from the lamp, light cascades over straggly copper hair and emerald eyes. Porcelain skin and freckles. A youthful complexion tells me the girl is a teenager. “Bunny, this is one of my oldest friends. He’s a good guy.”
Bunny stares at me with a thin crease worrying her forehead. An unshapely sweatshirt hangs to saggy jeans. Her arms fold over her stomach. As quickly as she takes me in, her uncertain gaze cuts to Malakai. The edges of her mouth hitch ever so slightly before she pads out of sight.
“Malakai?”
“I saved her from one of the shipping containers. She was the only kid. I couldn’t stand back and let some sick fuck buy her. She won’t speak to me or anyone else.” Malakai returns his gaze to the whiskey bottle, drowning another few ice cubes. “I had to get out of the game before I blew the whole cover. I’ve seen shit that will haunt me in the grave.” He sucks in the amber liquid and stares up at the ceiling. “She was cowering in a corner clutching a fucking one eared rabbit. That’s why I’ve called her Bunny. Fuck knows what her actual name is.”
“And that’s why Dexter shot you, so he can take down the Kingpin?”
“Like I said, it was time to bail out. Blaine and his men had to believe I was dead. Dexter was the one who had to do it, so he stays in the loop.”
“What will you do with Bunny?” I ask, battling the protective father instincts inside me. “I mean, you fucking murdered Raen, so what makes you think you can offer a teenage girl compassion and care?”
“I’ll adopt her if I can’t find her family.” Malakai props himself up on the cabinet. “She’s not dead, Brett,” he adds.
