“Alright, let’s table this issue for now. Not like we’re going anywhere for the moment.” He looked around the room. This place isn’t going to be big enough for the four of us. I’m going to head downstairs and talk to the girls, see about getting some more rooms.”
Pyke snorted. “Whatever you get, make sure they clean them first—and I meanreallyclean them.”
Ajax laughed, getting up out of his seat.
I glanced over in the direction of the other room, the one where Vic was staying.
“I’m going to talk to the princess,” I said. “No doubt she’s going through a hell of a time after everything that happened earlier. I want to see if she’s got anything in mind for our next step, too.”
“Good idea,” Ajax agreed. “Pyke, stay here with Kid.”
“You got it,” he said, giving a jokingly playful salute.
Ajax and I headed over to the door, and he opened it for me as we stepped out.
“See you in a bit,” he said before heading down the hallway and going down the stairs to the first floor. A pair came up after him, a scantily dressed young woman leading a middle-aged man by the tie, a dreamy look on his face as they stepped into one of the rooms and locked the door behind them.
I went over to Vic’s room and knocked. At first, there was no response. My initial instinct was to leave the poor girl alone, to give her time to process everything that had happened. But I thought better of it. There was no way a young woman who’d just been through a firefight, watched someone get shot, and nearly bleed out, would be up for the task of sorting through her feelings after such a thing.
I knocked again. “Vic? You in there?”
No response. I started to get worried, but before I could think too long about it, the door opened. Vic was there, dressed in nothing but an oversized T-shirt that barely covered her hips. Despite everything, I couldn’t help but notice how damn gorgeous she looked. Her eyes were ringed with red though, a clear indication that she’d been crying.
The sight of her like that, so innocent and vulnerable, moved something in me. I felt an overwhelming urge to protect her, to shield her against anything that might make her feel that way ever again.
“Hey.” Her voice was weak. I could sense she wasn’t sure what to say, that she didn’t have the energy to carry on a conversation. I was also damn sure that she shouldn’t be alone.
“Just wanted to come by and see how you were feeling,” I said. “Don’t mean to be a dick, but you’re not looking so good, lass.”
She smiled a bit, laughing through the sadness.
“It’s…I don’t know.”
I gestured toward her room. “Mind if I come in? We can talk about it.”
A small smile formed on her lips. “Yeah. I’d like that.”
She stepped aside, letting me into the room and shutting the door behind me. A pile of clothes was on the bed, along with some used tissues that were most likely to have been drying tears. Once we were alone, she stared off into space, not sure what to say or do.
I started.
“Look, I know this is hard for you. You don’t do what we do without going through stuff like this on a regular basis. The boys and I…we’ve dealt with it enough that it’s just another day at the office for us. That’s not to say that we still aren’t affected by it. But you, you’re not used to it. I know you’re feeling scared right now, unsure of how to process it all. Let me tell you this—you’re safe. You’re here with us, and not one of us is going to let the bad guys get anywhere near you. Got it?”
She raised her blue eyes up at me.
“That’s just it. That’s what I’m scared of.”
I was confused. “Now, I know you’ve only seen us in action once, lass. But let me assure you, we’re the best damn team in the game.”
Vic smiled. “That’s not what I mean. What I mean is that I don’t doubt for a second that you guys would take a bullet for me. I know because that’s exactly what Kid did.”
The picture was starting to become clearer. I placed my hand on her shoulder and led her onto the bed next to me. She sat close enough that her bare leg brushed mine.
“I was so scared when I saw Kid, saw him covered in blood like that, no idea if he was going to live or die. All I could think of was how I wouldn’t be able to handle it if he died, especially with the fact that it would’ve been my fault.”
More tears trickled from her eyes. I grabbed the tissues and pulled a few out for her.
“No, Princess. You’re wrong about that. Kid getting shot wasn’t your fault at all—you didn’t do a damn thing that led to him getting hurt. Never,everforget that it’s the bad guys who did that to him. Kid’s resting right now, but I can bet you all the royal jewels back at your palace that if I were to ask him if he’d do it all over again if he’d put his life on the line to keep you safe, he’d do it in a heartbeat. Though, I have to imagine that he’d try to remember to step out of the way of the bullet this time.”