Savage Hearts (Queens & Monsters #3)(18)

“Getting snacks. This sounds juicy. Keep talking.”

She waits until I’m sitting across from her in a chair, tearing into the plastic wrapper on the Twizzlers box with my teeth, to continue.

“There was a fire in a warehouse—”

“Where? Here?”

“New York.”

“Which part?”

Sloane says tartly, “Would you like me to draw you a map?”

“Sorry. Just trying to get a good visual of the action. Go on.”

I chow down on two Twizzlers at once. For a moment, Sloane watches me chew with a constipated look on her face, then starts talking again.

“Diego was found at the warehouse when the fire department arrived to put out the flames. They’ve taken him to the hospital.”

“So he’s injured?”

She nods. “We don’t know how badly yet.”

“Why would someone try to make it look like he was murdered but keep him alive?”

“We don’t know that yet, either.”

I chew thoughtfully. “I bet he was tortured for information by a rival syndicate.”

Sloane’s voice comes out faint. “That’s a likely scenario, yes.”

“Were you close with him, this Diego?”

“No. I never met him.”

“Then why are you so upset?”

Taking a moment to gather her thoughts, she passes a hand over her face and exhales.

“Diego…had a lot of information. About a lot of people. Secret information. Things that could be devastating if they ever came out. Many people could be affected.”

Her tone makes me understand that by “affected,” she means killed.

“Holy shit.”

“Exactly.”

We sit in silence while I devour another piece of candy. Then I’m stopped by a horrible thought. “Is Declan in danger?”

“He’s always in danger,” she says softly. Then she closes her eyes, pinches the bridge of her nose between two fingers, and whispers, “Fuck.”

I’m about to go over to the bed and attempt to comfort her, when a knock comes on the door.

“Come in.”

Declan enters, his eyes hunting for Sloane. He spots her sitting on the bed and strides forward. “I’ve got to leave.”

She stands, looking alarmed. “Leave? When?”

“Now.”

He takes her by the shoulders and stares into her eyes with ferocious intensity. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. In the meantime—”

“No way, gangster,” she interrupts loudly, her face turning red. “No fucking way are you going anywhere without me.”

He glowers at her. “Sloane.”

“I’m coming with you. It’s not a negotiation.”

Her voice is flat, but her expression is murderous. Declan looks to me for help.

I hold my hands in the air. “If you think I can change her mind, I’m flattered. But once that horse is out of the barn, there’s no putting a saddle on it.”

Sloane scowls at me. “Where are you getting these stupid metaphors?”

“It was in the last manuscript I edited. I thought it was a good one.”

“It’s not.” She turns her attention back to Declan. “Here’s the deal. If you try to leave me behind, I’ll book a commercial flight and follow you.”

He growls, “I’ll order the men to keep you on the property.”

She lifts her brows. Regal as a queen, she says, “Do you really think they’ll listen to you over me?”

Declan’s face turns red. A vein pulses in his neck. His jaw is as hard as stone, and he’s grinding his molars again.

I think his head is in danger of exploding.

“Goddammit, woman—”

“End of discussion. Let’s get going.”

She wrenches herself free of his grip and heads to the door. He turns, glaring at her back.

I eat another Twizzler, anxious to see what will happen next.

Apparently Declan realizes he’s lost the battle. He drags his hands through his thick black hair. Muttering a curse, he stalks off after her.

“Hey!”

Halfway out the door, they turn and look at me.

“What am I doing? Are you gonna fly me home now?”

At the same time, the two of them pronounce, “You’ll stay here.”

“Here?” I look around the enormous bedroom in horror. “By myself?”

Sloane says, “You like being by yourself, remember?”

“Yeah, in my own place with all my own stuff. Not in the Bermuda Triangle Colosseum.”

Declan says sternly, “This is the safest place for you at the moment, lass. Nobody on earth knows about this location.”

The underlying message is that majorly bad guys would do majorly bad things to Declan and whoever’s in his vicinity if they knew where he was.

For the first time, I understand how dangerous Sloane’s situation is. She’s literally risking her life to be near him.

She’s risking her life for love.

I stare at her in disbelief. In a history full of reckless decisions, this one takes the cake.

She snaps, “You’re not leaving, Smalls.”