I doubted Sadie would react well to dead bodies. “Come here.” I crooked a finger at her. She readily st epped forward, but her brows pulled together when I gripped her waist. “I’m carrying you to the door . It’ll be quick.” That didn’ t help any of her confusion. “But I can walk.” “Sadie. Please.” She didn’t look happy about it, but she obliged, st epping even closer with her broom and resting a hand on my shoulder . I went to lift her, but Sadie squeaked—bracing her arm to stop me. “Wait!” She glanced over her shoulder at Malcolm before leaning closer to me until her lips brushed my ear. It was a welcome distract ion. “Um... You don’t happen to still have my underwear in your pocket, do you? I’d rather not flash everyone again.” A choking sputter es caped me, and my hands froze on her waist. ... Again? I’d forgotten her underwear was back at the compound, and now she’d been k ept captive by the Ali brothers without it. That itch to wring =ain’ s neck returned with a vengeance. Forcing myself to focus on the present and not how much I’d like to murder him, I placed a kiss on Sadie’s temple. “I left it in my office, but I’ll find you some as soon as we get out of here.” The tension eased from her shoulders, and she smiled she epishly. “Thank you.” But she still hadn’t let go of the freaking broom. “And Malcolm will carry the broom for you. Deal?” Sadie’s lips twisted, but she reluctantly handed it over to him. “Deal.” I didn’t miss the flat stare Malcolm shot me over her shoulder . Sadie st epped into my arms without hesitation, and I picked her up— dropping one hand to hold her skirt against her ass when she wrapped her legs around my waist. Like always, she felt good in my arms. 5 emembering what we were about to walk into, I nudged her face toward my shoulder . “Close your eyes and ke ep them shut.” “Why?” Sadie whispered, but dutifully closed her eyes. “I don’t want you to see this.” I tucked her face into the crook of my neck and turned to the st eps. She audibly gulped and clung tighter to my shoulders.
We descended the stairs with Malcolm shadowing us. It was all business when we reached the foyer. I wove through the bodies littering the floor, while my men roamed the area—talking and packing up cases of weapons. Vince was stationed near the front door, with a dirty little street thug squirming in his grasp. Fessy held up both hands as I approached. His face was as pale as a ghost, while he shook like a leaf. “See?” he called, pointing a quivering finger at the girl in my arms. “I told you she’ s fine.” “Is that Fessy?” Sadie asked against my neck, voice muffled. She tried to lift her head, but I held it down—earning a soft huf f from her . “ Davian .” I quickly dismissed Fessy, instead focusing on Vince. “Any sign of =ain?” “Shane has him. Caught him trying to sneak out the back,” he answered. “No one else gave us trouble.” I shifted Sadie in my arms. It’d been almost too easy, but what could I expect from a kid who’d just gotten the keys to his dad’ s kingdom? “Good. Finish up here, then meet outside,” I said. I needed to get Sadie somewhere safe before I dealt with =ain. Vince opened the door for us, and I walked to the nearest SUV. Malcolm veered off to do his own recon of the property , leaving Sadie and me alone exc ept for a handful of my men loading the vehicles. I set her on her feet next to the SUV . “You can open your eyes.” She blinked them open, quickly spotting the other men. “You brought all these guys with you?” “Most are still inside taking care of Ali’s men, so we can talk now. You were explaining why you ran of f without talking to me first?” Her head jerked back to me, brows shooting up. “You want to talk about that now ?” “You wanted to talk about it when we were still upstairs,” I reminded her, amused. “Now you’re safe, and we’re mostly alone. And I’m very interested in knowing what else you were going to say .” I remembered something about a souf fl©. “Oh. 5 i ght.” Sadie leaned back with a wince before sighing. “Well, I was saying you were right about me being scared. And I really wanted to talk to you first— honestly —but then your father kinda freaked me out, and
then that man in the shed said you were going to kill him, and that definitely freaked me out —” “Man in the shed?” I asked, eyes narrowing. She’d mentioned that on the phone, but I hadn’ t gotten the details. (ven though only a few of my men were in the cul-de-sac, Sadie looked to both sides before leaning closer to me. “ Lor enzo, ” she whispered. “Oh. Him.” I frowned. How the hell did she know his name? She hesitated, squinting at me. “... Are you really going to kill him?” “No.” My frown de epened. “I have no reason to kill him.” Not yet, at least. He still had some worth to us. Sadie let out a breath. One she’d clearly been holding in. “That’s a relief. But what happened with =ain is exactly what Vince warned me about. Why it’s risky for anything to happen between us,” she continued, dropping her gaze. “=ain used me against you, and I was so worried about you getting hurt that I almost didn’t want you to come save me.” I could only stare at her. She’d been tied to a chair, with a man cutting her shirt of f, and she’d been worried about me ? I couldn’t remember the last time someone had been worried about me. (ver . It made the urge to touch her even stronger , and I couldn’ t resist st epping closer to slide a hand around the nape of her neck. “I’ll always come for you, Sadie.” Her nose scrunched, and she still wouldn’ t look at me. “You shouldn’ t have to.” “Says who? If it were the other way around, I have no doubt you’d come for me, too.” Tucking my thumb under her chin, I tilted it up so she had to look at me. My lips twitched. “Probably with your Happy Tails crew and broom in tow .” That pulled a small reluctant smile out of her. “I would, Dav. I would come for you, too.” My chest didn’t snap like I’d come to expect around her. Instead, it cracked wide open. “Then let’s get one thing straight. I don’t give a shit about Vince’s opinion of us. He has no say in who I date.” “That’s what I said!” she cried, before biting her lip. Her gaze turned shy. “Wait... Does that mean you still want to date me?”
A smirk slipped through. “Sweetheart, maybe you didn’t hear me on that call, but I want to do a lot more than date you.” My candor was worth it when her eyes lit up. “Good,” she whispered, cheeks turning that appealing shade of pink. “That’s good. Really good, actually , because the feeling is definitely mutual.” Stifling a laugh, I pressed my lips to her forehead and lingered there. I hadn’t wanted to stop touching her since I rescued her . “Hey.” Sadie frowned up at me as I drew back. “Y ou missed.” I raised a brow, and her frown morphed into a sweet smile before she reached for my neck. She tugged me down to kiss her lips, and I took full advantage—de epening the kiss and pulling her into my arms. It was only natural to ease her backward until her ass met the bumper of the SUV. Lifting her and holding her against the trunk was the next logical move—if only to get better access to those sweet, delectable lips. She clung to me, pulling me closer and demanding more, which I was only happy to give as a fierce hunger gripped me. Sadie might’ve seemed harmles s at first look, but in reality, she was a whole different brand of trouble than I was used to. Unexpected, unpredictable, and straight up intoxicating. It was so easy to get lost in her —which had led to a few oversights on my part. One example being I was so distracted kissing her, I almost didn’t hear the hundred-plu s-pound beast sprinting flat out down the street, straight toward us.
S a d i e Sadie’s Guide to Hostage-T aking Being T aken Hostage Forming a Partnership with Y our Hostage Embracing the Hostage Lifestyle Not Freaking Out Es caping Being T aken Hostage (Again), T ip #34: Celebratory kisses ar e an underrated perk of being r escued by your ex-hostage. The horny demon had won again. At least, that’s how I explained finding myself pressed up against an SUV with Davian Reed’ s tongue down my throat. I couldn’ t recall why I’d ever thought this was a bad idea. I was even two seconds away from unbuttoning the suit jacket I’d borrowed from him, when Davian broke the kiss without any warning. It was just in time for a giant furball to come flying in our direction— only to be stopped by Davian grabbing him by the scruf f of his neck. “Not this time, hellhound,” Davian grumbled, surprisingly hostile considering he was talking to a dog. But I was thrilled. “Bear!” I beamed. The poor boy looked so confused, standing frozen on his hind legs where Davian still held him. “Oh, I’m so happy to see you.” I threw my arms around him with a laugh. Bear’s tail was putting in overtime with how fast it wagged, and he fought against Davian’ s hold in his efforts to lick every inch of my face. I couldn’ t stop giggling as I gave him a healthy rubdown. “I love you, too, buddy .”