Page 136 of Savage Hearts

The drive to his home from the airport lasts under thirty minutes, but by the time we get there, I’m a nervous wreck. Even the incredibly beautiful views of the city passing by the windows can’t distract from my panic.

I feel frazzled and strung out, like I’ve had way too much caffeine. After the tranquility of the woods, everything is too loud, too close, too bright. My heart is palpitating.

We pull into the parking garage of a glass tower and stop infront of a bank of elevators. Four hulking men in black suits step forward. One of them opens my door, another one rounds the back of the car and opens Mal’s.

He doesn’t need to instruct me to stay put. My intuition tells me there are rules here, new rules I’m not aware of. The primary one being to follow his lead.

Mal exits the Phantom, walks around to my side, and holds out his hand.

The men in suits step back to form a line in front of the elevators. Hands clasped behind their backs, faces impassive, they look off into the distance.

I take Mal’s hand and step out, feeling shaky. He curls his big hand around mine to steady me.

One of the men in black presses a call button for the elevator, then goes back to pretending to be a statue.

When the doors slide open and Mal and I walk past the men, all of them bow in unison.

I wait until the doors slide shut and the elevator starts moving before I say, “What the heck was that?”

He says simply, “Respect.”

“Are those your bodyguards?”

“I don’t have bodyguards.”

“Why not?”

He slants me a look.

“Oh. Right. You’re the guy other people need bodyguards for.”

He looks at me for a moment, his eyes half-lidded, then takes me by the arm and pulls me against his chest. He cradles my head in his hands and kisses me.

It’s a firm kiss, but not a passionate one.

It’s a kiss that tells me to calm down. That he’s in control, and I have nothing to worry about.

That he won’t let anything bad happen to me.

I drop my forehead to his chest and heave a sigh. “Thank you.”

“You needed that.”

“Yes.”

“I know.”

Despite my jangling nerves, I smile. “So what happens now?”

“Now we get you settled, then I go to work.”

Work. So much violence contained in so few letters.

The elevator slows to a stop. The doors slide open. Mal takes my hands and leads me into the foyer of a dark apartment. The view of the city through the floor-to-ceiling windows lights up the space in a ghostly glow.

“Holy shit.”

“You like it?”