Ruthless Game (GhostWalkers, #9)(109)
“And right,” Rhianna said. Again she glanced at Javier and then looked away. “Being alone is no fun when you know no one has your back. Looking out for one another is what family does, and we’re a tight family.”
Rose looked around the room at all the faces. They weren’t her sisters, the women she’d grown up with, but they were offering her a home. A real home. She found herself smiling. “I think I can live with knowing I’m always surrounded by people willing to help me. I hope you know I would do the same for you.”
She looked Kane right in the eye when she said it. He persisted in thinking she was a fragile little flower that needed protection.
I know better, baby. It’s just that you’ve become my world. When a man’s had nothing, and he finds that one woman who owns his heart, it’s damned hard not to lock her away from any danger.
But you know better.
Logic doesn’t enter into this, he denied. “Go then, Rose. But Rhianna, you don’t leave her side. Not for one damned minute.”
Javier stirred, drawing attention, but he subsided when Rose shook her head. “That’s not fair, Kane, and you know it. Rhianna is not less than I am. We’ll all look out for each other.”
Rhianna burst out laughing. “We’re going to the market, Kane, not to a war zone. We’re highly trained professionals. They’re freakin’ drug dealers. Sheesh. Have you all lost your minds? Come on, Rose. Let’s get out of here.”
Gideon and Ethan rushed up the stairs toward the rooftops. Lucas left the room. Rose put Sebastian in Kane’s arms.
“You can do this, Kane. I’ll sometimes have to watch him while you go out without me. You have to be comfortable knowing the team will look after me, just as they look after you.”
“Damn it, Rose.”
She laughed. “You seem to be stuck on that little theme.”
He caught her chin and kissed her hard, kissed her until her heart was pounding and her knees were weak.
“Just come back to us,” he demanded. “And for your information, it’s bullshit for me to be relegated to babysitter when you’re putting yourself on the line.”
She raised an eyebrow. “For your information, it isn’t called babysitting when it’s your own child. Sebastian is far more at risk than I am.”
“I don’t think so, Rose, not anymore. I think Whitney believes I won his game by stopping him from taking both of you. But he wants you back.”
“If you really can’t stand this, Kane, then we’ll do it your way,” Rose capitulated.
Kane was far too distressed for her to try to prove a point. Sebastian would be safe with Paul. She trusted him. If it meant that much to Kane to guard her back, then she needed to concede to him this one thing. Over time, when nothing happened, he’d mellow out—she hoped.
“I really can’t stand it.” Kane jumped on that, knowing she expected him to reassure her that he would be fine staying at home. “I need to be out on the street watching over you.” No way in hell was that going to happen. She could think it all she liked, but if she walked out that door, he was going to be shadowing her every step of the way. If she really knew him, she would have known that.
Rose made a face at him and turned away without arguing, which, in his opinion, she should have done in the first place. It would have saved a hell of a lot of time. What kind of man did she think he was? He protected his own. She was his woman, and when she put her life at risk, he was going to be guarding her precious little ass whether she liked it or not.
Mack leaned close. “You have steam coming up out your ears.”
“Why the hell do they have to be so f*cking unreasonable?” Kane demanded.
Mack shrugged. “You’re asking the wrong man, Kane. I haven’t figured out anything yet, and I doubt if I ever will. None of them make sense to me, but I have to give you kudos for trying to discuss it with her. There were a couple of times I thought you might explode, but you didn’t show it.”
Lucas, you in place? Javier’s voice filled their minds even as he walked beside them, trailing behind the three women at a more leisurely pace. “Personally,” he told them aloud, “I think the only answer is to lock them up. It’s a matter of sanity.”
“Then what was that bullshit about Rhianna?” Kane snapped. “It wasn’t helpful.”
“Hell. What difference did it make? It got the argument over, and everyone knew, with the exception of Rose, that she wasn’t getting out the door without you.” Javier shrugged. “It saved time. And it’s the truth, not bullshit. Rhianna can get the job done.”
Kane knew it was the stark truth. Rhianna had grown up on the street, a hard, brutal life, and she was a survivor. She grew up clawing and fighting her way through the worst kinds of criminals as a child. Her body was a killing machine and her mind cool and brilliant. Everyone underestimated her in the same way they did Javier. She looked a certain way, and they took her at face value. No one would ever think she could be lethal. It was generally the last thought they had before they died.
Kane kept Rose in his sight, strolling down the street after her. She paused, and he saw her face light up. She threw her head back and took a deep breath. Had he been keeping her prisoner? It probably felt that way to her. He hadn’t deliberately locked her away from the world. The sun was out, and her hair shone almost blue black under the blaze. He loved the way she moved, flowing silk over concrete.