She purses her lips. “I can’t guarantee he won’t burn the place down the second he gets here, though.”
I laugh, then scratch the area around the stick-on bandage. “Let him try, Little Swan,” I say with a grin. “Let him fucking try.”
37.
“Are you out of your goddamn mind?” Mave yells, and tires screech against the asphalt when he stops his Range Rover atFinesse’sentrance before making his way to me.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he questions with pure rage in his eyes, then gives me a once-over. “And what thehellare you wearing?”
When I’d called him fifteen minutes ago and asked him to meet me here, I hadn’t waited to hear his response. And yeah, I was expecting him to be mad, but this – this is an entirely different shade of anger that I’m not sure I want right now.
I glance at the sweatshirt hanging off my frame, and Dorran’s too-big black boots covering my feet, then look up at Mave.
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”
He pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a deep breath.
He’s in jeans and a red flannel, which means he drove here from his place. At least he didn’t defy my order of staying in and reporting late.
“You.” He points a finger at me, then at his car behind him. “Get in there –right fucking now.”
“Can you just calm down for a moment?” I say, then push my hair away from my face when a gust of ice-cold wind blows it over wildly.
“Cignette.” There’s a warning in his voice, one that brings goosebumps to my skin. Also, he used my name instead of calling me Nettie, which means he’s seriously pissed.
“I’mfine, if that’s what you’re worried about,” I tell him.
“What I’m worried about right now is getting you out of here before you attract unwanted attention, and I want you to fucking get in my car so that I can take you the hell away from this place.” He’s seething, and it’s absolutelynotworking in my favor.
“Look…” I bring my hands in front of me. “I want you to trust me, and I want you to follow me. There’s something I wanna tell you, but I can’t do it here.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “No.”
“Mave, come on–”
“I said:no,” he grits.
I clench my jaw. “Then you can go back the way you came, because I’m not coming with you.”
He scoffs and takes half a step back, then an entire one forward. “You don’t get to fight me over this,” he tells me. “Do you even know where youare?”
“Outside Dorran Ledger’s garage and loft,” I say easily, earning a look of complete surprise from Mave. “I know exactly where I am.”
“You–”
“Are you coming with me, or not? Because I’ll only ask once.”
“What the fuck have you done, Nettie?” he questions, then swallows before running a hand over his jaw. “Fine,” he relents. “I’ll give you twenty minutes, and then we’re getting outta here.”
I sigh. “Thanks.” I grab his hand and start leading him to the back of the garage, where there’s an emergency door meant only for Dorran and his crew. And me, too, I suppose, given that Dorran gave me the code to unlock it.
I feel rustling behind me, and turn to find Mave pulling his gun out of the back pocket of his jeans.
“Fuckingseriously?” I hiss.
“I’m coming with you, aren’t I? You don’t get to comment on me taking necessary precautions.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I mutter, then focus on the door again.
