Demon rolls his eyes, but I catch the faintest hint of a smile before he turns away. “Don’t make me regret this.”
“You won’t,” Wrath promises, already grabbing his bag with renewed energy. “I’ll make you proud.”
“Just try not to die,” Demon mutters. “That would be sufficient.”
Dragon claps his hands once, drawing everyone’s attention. “Alright. We’ve wasted enough time. Let’s move out.”
The room erupts into activity, men grabbing their gear and heading for the door. I watch, my heart in my throat, as Roman shoulders his own bag. He looks for me, and when our eyes meet, he holds my gaze for a long moment. I try to memorize everything about him in that instant; the hard planes of his face, the intensity of his blue eyes. Just in case.
Then he nods once, a silent goodbye, and turns away, following Dragon toward the door.
I feel someone move to stand beside me and glance over to see Maddie, her arms wrapped around her midsection, her face pale but composed as she watches the men file out. Her eyes never leave Dragon’s broad back until he disappears through the door.
“This part never gets easier,” she says softly, and then looks self-conscious, as if she’s revealed too much.
I reach out and squeeze her hand. “No,” I agree, “I don’t imagine it does.”
She seems surprised by the gesture, but squeezes back, a silent acknowledgment passing between us. We stand there together, long after the door has closed behind the men.
Finally, Maddie turns to me, a determined set to her shoulders. “We should find something to keep ourselves occupied,” she says. “Otherwise, we’ll just drive ourselves crazy waiting.”
“What did you have in mind?”
A small smile touches her lips. “Gigi keeps a stash of very good bourbon that she adds to her tea on nights like this. And she knows more stories about these guys than anyone alive.” Her smile widens. “Including some that would make them die of embarrassment if they knew she was telling them.”
Despite everything, I find myself smiling back. “That sounds wonderful, actually.”
34
Chapter 34
Kayla
“So there he was,” Gigi says, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes, “hopping up and down in my kitchen, stripping off his clothes until he was buck naked, screaming about ants in his underwear!”
Maddie snorts into her tea, her freckled cheeks flushed. “No! How old was he?”
“Sixteen,” Gigi says, her eyes distant with memory. “Six-foot-two already, voice deeper than his father’s, and hollering like his ass was on fire. I don’t think Henry ever forgave Christopher for that one.”
“So, what did you do?” I ask, unable to stop giggling at the image of the intimidating Dragon being brought low due to a bunch of tiny insects.
“What could I do?” Gigi shrugs, her tiny shoulders rising and falling beneath her oversized cardigan. “I laughed so hard I had to sit down right there on the kitchen floor. Their father came in, took one look at the situation, and walked right back out. Some battles even he knew better than to fight.”
We dissolve into another round of laughter.
“Can I ask you something?” I say. “Roman told me not to ask any questions about the club name, said to just call it the Inferno. But why if it’s—”
I stop when both Maddie and Gigi start laughing again.
“Dragon grandfather, my husband, founded the Inferno,” Gigi finally explains with an eye roll, “and he thought that calling it Drago’s Inferno would impress me. Because I was raised Catholic and he thought Drago was the Latin word for Dragon.” Gigi is quiet for a moment, remembering her long dead husband. “Idiot. Called himself Drago for a while too until he got tired of his men mocking him.”
The door swings open, cutting off Gigi’s story. Molly stands in the doorway, her blonde hair disheveled, a scowl darkening her pretty features. Her eyes dart around the room, finally landing on me.
“Has any of you seen Todd?” she asks, her voice irritated.
I set my cup down, sobering instantly at the mention of Todd. With everything that’s happened, I’d almost forgotten about him. A knot of guilt forms in my stomach. “Not since this afternoon. Why?”
Molly steps fully into the room, closing the door behind her. She runs a hand through her hair in an attempt to tame it, but that just makes it stick up even more. “Dragon assigned me to keep an eye on him,” she says, her scowl deepening. “Make sure he didn’t wander into any places he wasn’t supposed to or just generally do something stupid that might get him killed.”