Page 31 of Devious Truth (Vicious Sinners #3)

A drenaline pumps through my body every time I replay our conversation in my mind. She feels safe with me.

If I were a teenage boy, I’d be running down the halls at school pumping my fists in the air. But I’m not. I’m a grown ass man who can’t stop fucking smiling every time I play back the memory of her saying one fucking word. It’s been three days, and the adrenaline still hasn’t worn off.

As I approach Vee’s apartment, the door across the hall swings open and Vivek, a member of my security team, steps out. He glances at Vee’s door to be sure it’s closed before he approaches.

“It’s been quiet at her place, but there’s been some issues at the neighbor’s.” He gestures toward Maxine’s door.

“The brothers?”

He nods. “They don’t live there, just drop by at all hours of the night. There’s usually some yelling before they eventually leave.”

“They don’t come to Vee’s place?”

“No.”

“Good. Make sure they don’t. I don’t trust them.” I start to turn toward Vee’s door. “She hasn’t seen you?”

“Your woman? No. We moved in while both she and her friend were out. No run-ins with either of them so far.”

“Good.” Just as I’m about slide my key into her lock, the door swings open.

Vee, standing in her usual leggings and T-shirt draped off the side of her shoulder, leans against the doorframe.

“I’ve known about you being there since I got home on Monday night.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “Mr. Andersen used to live there, he died last month. And he never had one of those little security camera doorbell things before.”

She’s motioning to the security camera that’s been installed facing her door. There’re three others in the hallway that she probably hasn’t noticed yet.

“You would have fought me on having a man standing outside your door and you insisted on coming home.” I lift a shoulder. “I compromised.”

“You didn’t even have a conversation with me. You had an imaginary conversation with yourself.”

“Am I wrong?”

She snaps her mouth shut, shoots a glare at Vivek, then steps into her apartment.

“Good luck with that.” Vivek mutters as he goes back into the apartment we’ve taken over.

“You should have told me you were moving some of your goons across the hall from me,” she says as soon as I have the door shut behind me.

“What would you have done differently if you knew they were there?” I cross the small space and kiss her cheek. “Hello, by the way.”

She flushes. “I didn’t think you’d be coming over with the auction going on.” She sinks onto the couch, pulling her bare feet up beneath her.

“Why would I want to be at the auction? You’re here, exactly where you’re supposed to be.” I drop my jacket over the arm of the couch and take the seat next to her.

“I wasn’t going to sleep with anyone.” She uncurls her legs and drapes them over my lap as I guide them there. “I was just going to?—”

“I don’t want to know what you thought you were going to do.” I cut her off.

I’m in a relatively good mood, but if I have to think about what she might have done with whatever asshole bought her at the auction, that mood will sour.

“The car was brought over today,” she says, leaning forward. “You know I can’t take it.”

I run my hand over her leg. “What was the first rule I gave you?”

“Ivan.”

“What was it?” I snap my eyes to hers.

“Never try to return a gift you gave me.” She pauses just a beat. “But this is a car. It’s not a dress, or a piece of jewelry, it’s a whole ass car.”

I grin. “A whole ass one?”

“You know what I mean. And it’s brand new. Ivan, you can’t buy me things like that. Especially around here. Someone’s going to have the tires off it by morning.”

“That’s what the guys in the car downstairs are for.”

“There’s still guards on the street?” Her eyes go wide. “All this just for me? It’s a waste.”

I squeeze her calf. “Keeping you safe isn’t a waste of anything, but if you really want to conserve my men’s energy, you could stop being so damn stubborn and move in with me.”

She rolls her head to the side, resting it on the back of the couch. “You’re relentless.”

“When it’s something I want, yes.” I agree. “You’re keeping the car.”

“I can just take the bus to work.”

“There isn’t a bus stop within a mile of Obsidian. The distance from the gate to the club is half a mile long.”

“I can walk.”

The playful smile on her lips soothes the irritation building in my chest.

“I’ll keep the car.” She relents. “But only because you’ve stolen my actual car. And when this all goes to hell, I can sell it.”

“The only person who is going to be surprised at our wedding, is going to be you.”

“Don’t start the wedding talk again.” She draws her legs back, swinging them off the couch as she rises to her feet. “Are you hungry? I made pasta earlier; I can warm some up for you.”

“Is it any good?” I push up from my seat, following her to the kitchen area.

She pulls out a glass dish from the fridge and pulls off the lid. “It’s just spaghetti.”

“Sure. I could eat.” I lean my elbows against the counter watching her stick the dish in the microwave and hit a few buttons.

“That’s it, a few beeps and dinner’s ready?” I tease.

“I don’t have a full staff, sorry.” She grabs a fork from the drawer and hands it to me.

“You do have a full staff. They’re at home, though.”

She rolls her eyes. “Relentless.”

The microwave dings , and she grabs the dish with her bare hand. Hissing from the sting of it, she drops it and jumps back. It crashes to the floor, and the glass breaks, sending shards of glass and spaghetti everywhere.

“Vee!” Jumping over the mess, I grab her wrist, twisting it to inspect her hand. “You burned yourself.”

“It’s not bad.” She argues as I put her hand under a stream of cold water. “It’s just a little red.”

“Are you cut?” I search her bare feet, but with the red sauce from the pasta, I can’t tell if there’s any blood.

“Ivan. I’m fine.” She touches my shoulder. “It’s not the first time I’ve burned myself with that microwave.”

Grabbing her by the waist, I hoist her up onto the counter. “Keep it under the water.” I push her hand back beneath the stream.

“I’m not cut.” She leans forward to argue with me while I carefully wipe away the sauce from her feet with the kitchen towel.

She’s right, there’s nothing other than some redness from the hot tomato sauce splashing across her bare feet.

I turn off the water and inspect her hand again.

“You’re a danger to yourself, do you know that?” I kiss her palm, on the spot that’s still red, then I move to kiss the thin white scar from where the beer steins cut her at Obsidian over a month ago.

“I’ve managed this far perfectly fine.”

“There’s sauce all over your leggings. Go take them off, and I’ll get this cleaned up.” I scoop her off the counter and carry her over the broken glass.

“You’re going to clean my kitchen?” She feigns shock.

“Take off the pants.” I order with a slap to her ass. She yelps, and it’s the prettiest sound I’ve heard all day.

“Don’t you mean change my pants?”

“No.” I wink.

“Relentless.” She laughs, disappearing into her bedroom.

I finish cleaning up the sauce and throwing away the broken glass, then move back to the living room. Turning on the television, I sink into the couch.

“You watch the news?” Vee reappears, this time in a night shirt and a pair of cotton boxer shorts.

“I said to take off the pants.”

She tugs at the hem of the shorts. “I did.”

“Smart ass.” I drape my arm over the back of her couch, and she plops herself beside me, snuggling into me.

“Did you find out about the girlfriend? The one whose boyfriend died in your warehouse fire?” she says.

“I did. She’s being taken care of. The funeral is paid for, and her house is paid off.”

“Good,” she sighs. “I was thinking about her this afternoon.”

“She has family; they’re with her.” I rest my hand on her thigh.

“Isn’t that…oh, what was name?” She leans toward the TV as a photograph of Vasily Leonov appears on the screen while the anchor woman talks about his body being found on the shore of the east river.

“Vasily Leonov.” I supply for her, changing the station to a sitcom re-run.

“He was at Obsidian that one night. You threatened to cut off his hands if he touched me.” She says it like it bothers her, but I see the flash of arousal in her eyes.

The woman feeds off my protection. It envelopes her in the same manner my arms bring her comfort.

“Yes.”

“Ivan. What happened to him?” She pushes up from my chest.

“We found out he was trying to make a deal with the gambling commission to open his own casino in the same spot our new resort is set to break ground. I met with him to discuss it with him, and he assured me he was only interested in bringing his vodka line into the city. He wanted to sell the stuff at our casinos.”

“He lied.” She frowns.

“Yes. After the fire, we found out he was involved. He helped the arsonists gain entry to the warehouse. We’d given him permission to store product there, so he’d been able to get access.”

“He helped Marco DeAngelo?” Her brow furrows deep. “Why would he betray you like that?”

“Money and power.” I tuck her hair behind her ear. “It makes men do stupid things.”

“You did that then?” She points to the television screen.

“Not me.”

“On your order though.” Tension fills her voice. “You ordered him killed.”

“Yes.” I nod. I won’t lie to her.

“Should you be telling me that?”

“You asked.” I shrug. “Sometimes I’ll have to keep things from you, to keep you safe, but there’s no danger in you knowing about this.”

“I could tell the police.” She points out, but there’s no real chance of that happening.

“You could, but I trust you. You won’t.”

“I could tell them about Obsidian?—”

I laugh. “Do you think the police don’t already know about it? It’s an underground club that’s operated right out in the open. The mayor comes to play poker once a month, for fuck’s sake.”

She chews the corner of her mouth. “That’s true.”

“Besides, sooner than you think, you’ll be my wife, and wives never have to testify against their husbands.”

“You trust me?” She tilts her head, as though she’s trying to gauge how much of what I’m saying is sincere.

I mean every word. I would put my life in this woman’s hands.

“I do.” I brush my lips across hers, intending a quick kiss. But once I get my mouth on her, it’s not enough.

Leaning into her, I press her down until she’s beneath me. She pulls my shirt out of my pants and runs them beneath my button down. Her fingernails scratch across my chest, spreading heat throughout my body.

“You’re dangerous,” she mutters against my mouth.

“Not to you.” I vow, leaning up to look down at her. “I will never hurt you, Vee. Everything I do will be to protect you, provide for you, make sure you have everything you could ever want or need.”

“I don’t need that much,” she whispers, reaching up to kiss me.

“Vee,” I frame her face with both hands, readying to tell her. To say the words she needs, the words that barely express the weight of my feelings for her.

“Vee, I lo—” A howling meow interrupts me. Claws did into my back, making me lunge off the couch.

“Marion!” Vee rolls off the couch as the cat tumbles from my back to the floor, scurrying beneath the couch. “She must have snuck in when you got here.”

She pulls the cat out from beneath the couch and cradles it in her arms like it’s a precious little angel and not the devil’s spawn from hell. I reach back, trying to rub the place the damn thing scratched me and find a tear in my shirt.

“Maybe she thought you were hurting me.” Vee laughs when I twist around to show her the damage her little friend caused. “I’ll take her back to Max’s.”

She leaves the apartment door open while she carries the feline felon home, and I sit on the edge of the couch, checking my phone that’s been buzzing with messages.

“Sorry about that. I’ll get you a new shirt,” Vee says when she comes back.

“I don’t care about the shirt.” I scroll to the next message from Alexander.

She touches my arm to get my attention. “Everything okay?”

“I need to get back to the club. There’s been some issues with the auction.” I grab my suit jacket from the back of the couch and press a hard kiss to her lips.

“Oh, okay.”

“I’ll be back tonight, though. Keep your door locked. I’ll text you when I’m on my way.” I kiss her once more, knowing it’s not enough to get me through the next few hours.

Soon, I’ll have this woman in my bed every night, and then it won’t have to be like this.

“I’ll probably be asleep.”

“Then I’ll wake you up,” I grin. “Trust me, I’ll make it worth the wait.”