Maestro climbed in beside her, retaining possession of her hand. “Steele’s got you, babe. I’m right here and you’re safe.”
TWENTY
“I wish I could have seen the way the merry widows distracted the outside security guards,” Azelie said. “It must have been hilarious.”
Maestro was finding it hard to retain a sense of humor, even though Code had footage of the three women flirting and acting like tourists when they approached the security guards. Doug played the part of China’s long-suffering husband while she prattled on about dancing and what was the difference between the Adventure Club and the Pleasure Train.
The swelling had gone down quite a bit on Azelie’s face, but she was still heavily bruised, and her lower lip was a mess. She would have scars. She had stitches in both thighs, three places in her right thigh. One laceration had been deep enough that she’d had to have stitches inside and outside.
He was happy to have her in Caspar at his home. The first few days she’d been on the coast with him had been spent in Steele’s home, where Steele could watch her closely for infection. Knife wounds tended to become infected. Sometimes the stab wound wasn’t that deep or in any way life-threatening, but the bacteria on the blade was deadly.
“Code has video with audio,” he told her, trying to contain restless energy by pacing up and down the length of the bedroom.
He hadn’t thought about decorating his home when he’d first bought it, other than with his piano and other musical instruments. He had an extremely large workshop that was well stocked with every kind of tool he could possibly want or need. But his house…He hadn’t really considered it home, and he rarely stayed there.
While Azelie was at Steele’s, he had a very good bed brought in, along with a few other items Lana and Alena helped him choose. Breezy, Steele’s wife, sat with Azelie while he was gone, reassuring her that she was safe and so were her friends. His brothers and sisters in the club hastily put his house together, including stocking the pantry and refrigerator.
Maestro wanted the chance to be alone with her. He liked taking care of her, but now that she was there, looking pale beneath her bruised and swollen face and body, he feared he might have insisted on bringing her home too early.
“You’re frowning.”
He wasn’t. Inside maybe, but he had on his expressionless mask she wasn’t supposed to be able to read. He deliberately scowled. “Zelie, you aren’t supposed to be able to read me.I’mthe one that readsyou.”
She flashed a small smile and then gasped, putting her hand over her lower lip where the gash had been sewn. “Don’t make me laugh.”
His scowl deepened. “You’re supposed to take the things I say very seriously. There are rules in place for a reason.”
“Well, give me the reason, because I always know when you’re frowning. I don’t like you upset and need to do something to make things better.”
“I’ll look like a fuckin’ pussy if I show too much concern. You have no idea how I’ve already had to eat my words, thanks to you. If the others have any idea how you’ve wrapped mearound your little finger, I’ll never live it down. At least pretend you can’t read me.”
She tilted her head and studied the mask that settled over his face. He might joke with her in an effort to put things right between them, but how was he ever going to make what happened to her right? He couldn’t. Her eyes were still a little swollen and very bruised, but she still gave him that penetrating look of hers. She knew he was bullshitting her, trying to throw her off the subject.
If he voiced his underlying fear aloud, it would give her an opening to tell him she wanted to leave as soon as she was able. The worst of it was he knew the merry widows and Doug and Carlton were on their way from San Francisco. Doug had called and made it very clear that they were coming to see “their” girl, whether he approved or not. It wasn’t said in so many words, but the resolution was there. She would have a way back to San Francisco if she wanted to leave.
He knew the merry widows would take care of her. They’d be more than glad to have her in their homes while she was recovering. He might be able to convince them the doctor didn’t want her traveling yet, that the danger of infection was still too high.
“Talk to me, Andrii.” Her voice was very soft. Persuasive. Loving.
“I can’t lose that.”
“What can’t you lose?”
“The way you look at me. That tone in your voice.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m waiting for you to tell me you’re out of here the moment you’re able to fend for yourself,” he admitted. “The widows are coming with Doug and Carlton to see for themselves that their little chick is alive and well. You know they would do anything to be the ones to take care of you through this.”
“And you think I’d want to go with them?”
He couldn’t read her this time. Not even her speculativetone. “I told you I’d protect you, and I didn’t. I thought Billows was dead and you were safe. They pulled your protection and didn’t tell me. I should have checked that Rock was still on you, but I went to the debriefing with the thought that once it was over, I could get back to you. It didn’t occur to me they’d send Rock to look after the women.”
She didn’t ask who Rock was. She didn’t ask about the women or what that meant. She looked at him, her eyes looking like two bruised flowers pressed into her face.
“You haven’t asked a single question,Solnyshkuh. Not one.” He ran both hands through his hair in agitation. “It stands to reason you aren’t asking because you’re leaving me. You don’t want to know because, like with Billows, you know things I do aren’t exactly legal.” Harshness crept into his voice.
She sighed. “I haven’t asked you any questions, Andrii, because I’ve been in so much pain and I didn’t want to think about what happened. I know my fingerprints are in the club, and once the cops sort through everything, they’re bound to think I was involved with whatever the Billows family had going on. I wanted to enjoy the way you were spoiling me, not making me think about anything that happened or was going to happen. I figured you would talk to me about everything given time.”
