“You good, Short Stuff?” Ryker asked, his blue eyes studying my face and looking for a sign of weakness he wouldn’t find. Simon paced around the main living area, studying everything in that observant way any decent bodyguard had. Scar tested the lock on the door, leaning down to examine the doorknob before he straightened and closed it behind him.
“I’m good, Meatball. Assuming you guys are going to clean up the blood. It just does not go well with my color palette.” I waved a hand dismissively, disguising the genuine concern I felt over the stains. The Bellandis didn’t need to know.
Ryker laughed. “Yeah, she’s good. Got anything?” His attention shifted to Scar as quickly as it had settled on me.
“Picked the lock,” Scar confirmed. “Scuff marks and dents around the keyhole on the outside. Minor though, so our guy knew what he was doing.”
Stepping over to the body, Ryker hauled him up into his arms and slung him over his shoulder. It seemed the stalker was in a hurry to get back to the warehouse and get his interrogation underway.
“Did he say anything to you before you bashed his head in?” Scar asked, and I watched the gears turn in his deep brown eyes.
“Just that he was going to bring me back to Murphy black and blue. We didn’t exactly sit down and have a tea party with crumpets.” Scar leveled me with a glare that probably made weak men shiver in their boots.
But I was no man, and I definitely wasn’t weak.
Matteo cleared his throat, pressing his lips together to hide the quirk of a smile that threatened to consume him. Scar shifted his attention back to his boss as he spoke, listening intently for anything that might affect his ability to do his job. Protecting my best friend, who happened to be Matteo’s wife, from certain death at the hand of their enemies. “This is Bryan. He’s going to keep an eye on you from now on until things settle down and we have a better idea of where we stand. You shouldn’t have been Murphy’s first real move against us,” Matteo said. He scratched the stubble on his cheek thoughtfully, shaking his head in annoyance before coming over to wrap Ivory in his arms. “For what it’s worth, I wish we’d seen it coming and had you protected. We won’t make that mistake again.”
“I’m out!” Ryker called as he stepped into the hallway.
The man had a brain. If only Matteo had been that smart.
“Um, fuck no?” I asked, glancing at Ivory. Had she lost her ever-loving mind that she thought I’d be okay with a babysitter?
“Ivory wants you to come stay with us. I do not think that would be wise, seeing how I’d probably feed you to Ryker by the end of the week,” Matteo admitted. “You would still need security while you were out of the house, at any rate. And since we know you won’t just stay put when I tell you to, that means I have to allocate a man to you.”
“Please, Sadie. Do this for me,” Ivory begged. “This will get ugly and you were already attacked in your home. You need protection if they’re going to come after everyone we love like this.”
“Did you miss the part where I defended myself just fine? I’m not sure if you noticed, but he is the one who is concussed. Because I bashed his head in with a bat. He has a broken arm and probably leg too. I’m just fine on my own,” I told her, waving my hands in the air as I spoke. She eyed them and backed off, seeing the writing on the wall.
“She’s pissed,” Ivory said to Matteo.
“Thank you, Angel. I deduced as much on my own,” he whispered to her with affection and amusement tinting his voice.
“Miss Hicks, I can sleep on the couch. I’ll try to be as unobtrusive as I can,” Bryan said.
“Look, Bry. There is no way that anybody is sleeping on my couch. I live alone for a good reason. I will walk from my bathroom to my bedroom, ass naked. I am not Chef Ivory over here, and I am not going to feed you. You are not staying here, or I will send your balls back to your mama before the night is out.” I couldn’t have a houseguest. They touched things, moved things from the place where they belonged. There was no way I could live with someone and not have them notice how particular I was.
“Unfortunately for Bryan, he takes orders from me,” Matteo inserted.
“Right, so I hope you know that I will sneak out every chance I get. I will draw dicks on his face while he sleeps, and I’ll steal his clothes while he’s in the shower for good measure. Are you sure he’s up to the task? He seems a little green to me. I promise you I will attempt to torment him every second of the day if you leave him here.”
Matteo glared at me, and there was a pause while I returned the look. He might be able to seduce Ivory into a puddle of submission, but I wouldn’t be so easily swayed.
Yuck.
“Bryan, go home,” he said finally, surveying me as he tugged his phone from the pocket of the jeans he’d slipped on before coming here. The other man looked grateful before he slipped out the door like he’d escaped punishment.
Even I had to admit he had.
“You promised me you’d protect her!” Ivory whispered, looking at him like he’d lost his mind.
“Oh, she’ll be protected all right. I already know I’m going to regret this. Fucking woman will be the death of me,” he muttered as he stepped out the front door of the apartment. The other man I didn’t know followed him, a silent sentry to guard him while Simon and
