“Of course not.”
“Good. I don’t think I would have risked my life for her.”
“Gage . . . “ I didn’t know what to say.
“Relax. I’m kidding. Sorry if it’s too soon.”
“What are you going to do about your boss?”
“We’ll see. I honestly don’t have a plan yet.”
“What about that man?”
“Don’t worry about him. Kuzma wasn’t a good person.”
“I’m not worried,” I said. “I’m glad he’s dead.” I was surprised that I said those words, but I knew they were true.
Gage nodded, watching me for a few seconds. He didn’t seem fazed by my comment.
“I don’t know what you want from me,” I said suddenly, blurting it out.
A small smile crept across his face. “Who says I want anything?”
“I don’t know,” I mumbled.
“I do want one thing, but I’ve never pretended otherwise. I want your tight pussy dripping all over my big dick.”
“Gage,” I said, shaking my head. “Why are you always so crude?”
“Not crude, just honest.”
“You say honest, and I say dirty.”
“You don’t mind the dirty. We both know that.”
I sighed. He was right. Coming from him, I didn’t mind anything. Somehow he made even the nastiest comment seem incredibly sexy, maybe because he was so crude.
“I can’t stay here forever, you know,” I said.
He laughed again. “Good.”
“But I can’t go back to my job.”
“No. You can’t.”
“What am I going to do?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. But I do know that we’re not out of the woods yet. This shit isn’t over, Sadie. I know you don’t want to hear that right now, but it’s the truth. You need to be prepared.”
“Prepared for what?”
“Whatever is going to come. It could get bad.”
“Worse than it already is?”
“Much worse.”
Fear tickled at the edges of my spine. “Okay,” I said softly.
“I’m sorry. I’m not trying to worry you.” He reached out suddenly and took my hand, surprising me. It was a tender gesture, something I didn’t really expect from Gage. “I just need you to be ready. I’m going to keep you safe.”
I nodded, not pulling my hand away. He stared at me, eyes intense and serious, and I realized in that moment how much he cared.
It should have been obvious already. He killed for me and rescued me from one of his own people. But for some reason I couldn’t see past the fact that he was Gage, that bad boy from my past. He was a mobster and everything that I was supposed to hate, but he was also my ex-boyfriend, that one that got away.
I was confused, so damn confused. I didn’t know what I wanted from him or what he wanted from me. But the feeling of his hand on mine was so reassuring that I just knew, deep down inside of me, that he really cared.
There was no second-guessing that. He cared about me and I was stupid for not seeing it sooner. I sent him away that night because I was too angry over what he had become. I was blind to the man that he still was, the man that cared for me above anything else, the sexy and incredible and strong man that I found myself irresistibly pulled toward.
He pulled his hand away and finished eating. I picked at my food, mulling over what was happening to me. The events of the night before were still fresh, but somehow dulled from the fact of Gage’s protection. I knew that he wasn’t going to leave me behind or let his people have me. I knew he wasn’t going to give me up for dead and wash his hands clean of me. He’d already killed for me once.
Did I deserve any of this? I had no clue. Probably not, especially not after I sent him away once. That didn’t seem to matter to him, though. He made a promise and he was keeping his word because that’s the kind of man Gage was.
I didn’t deserve it. I didn’t deserve any of it. I didn’t deserve the mafia coming after me and trying to rape me, and I didn’t deserve Gage’s devotion and protection.
When he finished, he looked up at me. “Time for me to go,” he said, standing up.
“Okay, yeah. Sure.”
“Come here.” He motioned for me to follow him. I got up and he led me back into his bedroom. He opened a drawer and moved some socks aside, revealing a gun. “In case you need to run or you have to protect yourself, this is here and it’s loaded.”
I stared at him. “I’ve never shot a gun before.”
“It’s easy. Point and squeeze the trigger. There will be some recoil, so hold it with two hands, like this.” He hefted the gun and showed me. “Now you.”