“You will,” he murmured, and caressed her cheek. Dodge couldn’t help himself and tried to justify it as part of the play, in case anyone had followed them or sent a team ahead to monitor the girl’s apartment building. He needed them to think he and the architect were about to go upstairs and have some fun. So he nuzzled against her cheek and breathed her in, grumbling in anticipation as she turned into him, her eyelashes brushing her cheeks as she looked down. He could barely drag his thoughts back to what he was supposed to be doing – saving their lives. “It’s the adrenaline, baby. Nothing’s going to work right. Don’t panic. Just lean on me, maybe gaze up at me adoringly, let me grab your ass, you know. Whatever sells it.”
Thatgot her attention. She blinked and retreated, nose wrinkled. “Let you what?”
Dodge snorted. “Just making sure you were paying attention.”
He kissed the tip of her nose, since it was damn adorable like that, and levered himself out of the car before she got her thoughts together and decked him. Persephone was still sitting there, startled, as he went around and opened up her door. Dodge winked as he helped her up and shut the car door behind her, looping his arm around her waist to keep her upright as she swayed.
They got about halfway through the parking lot – him carrying her purse, too, since Persephone was still struggling with the adrenaline dump that would have knocked anyone down – before she turned to look at him in consternation. “How do you know where I live?”
“I googled you,” he said under his breath. He couldn’t help it. Her forehead wrinkled as she pondered and he damn well couldn’t stop himself from leaning down to boop her nose. “You’re cute when you’re confused, you know.”
“I’m not confused,” she said, and tried to elbow him away to stand on her own as they reached the door. “I’m mad.”
“I’m sure you are.” Dodge hit the elevator button and hoped it showed up before anyone else did. He didn’t want to share a moment of being with Persephone with anyone else.
She fished around in her purse for the keys, muttering under her breath, and he didn’t intrude. He couldn’t imagine what she was going through, trying to re-orient to a world that had changed significantly in the space of a few hours. Her breathing hitched and her hands tightened into fists, and as he nudged her into the elevator, Persephone gulped for air. Dodge pulled her against his side as she started shaking. “Just a few more seconds.”
“Wh-what?” she said, her voice going high.
“I know,” he said. Dodge couldn’t stop himself from pressing his nose to her hair and taking a deep breath. He didn’t like the hints of death and panic that still clung to her. He even closed his eyes briefly. How the hell was he going to take care of her? “We’re almost there.”
Her shaking grew worse as they stepped out of the elevator, though his senses went into high alert as he searched the hallway for signs that someone else had been there. Her door looked the same as when he’d been there earlier. Her hands shook too much to get the key in the lock, so he relieved her of the keys and did it himself.
Dodge moved her inside before closing and locking the door, then maneuvered her so she was in the adjacent kitchen. Her knees started to give way so he helped her sit on the floor and lean back against the cheap cabinets. He crouched down to murmur, “Stay right here. Don’t move. Okay?”
Her eyes were glazed as shock took over. He cursed under his breath. She’d been doing so well. He hadn’t paid close enough attention to her breathing, her state of mind. She’d been talking, been fine... He clenched his jaw and squeezed her shoulders. “Stay here, Persephone. I’ll be right back.”
She made a small sound when he stepped back, almost reaching for him, and part of Dodge’s stone-cold heart cracked. He muttered gruffly about checking the apartment and fled like a damn coward so the lost look on her face wouldn’t be his undoing. He searched each room from top to bottom, secured and re-secured the window, and checked the vents in case there were cameras or mics dropped in. It didn’t look like anyone had gotten there ahead of them. Either they didn’t know Persephone had been there as they chopped up the bodies, or they didn’t knowyet. Either way, he was ahead of the game.
She was still in the kitchen when he returned, which was a good sign, though she was crying big, fat tears that dripped off her cheeks and almost sent the wolf into pure panic. Dodge debated what to do. There was no telling how long she’d stay in shock or whether she’d slide toward being full-on unresponsive. There was also no telling if they’d have to move fast that night. Maybe in the next hour, even. He ran his hands through his hair as he looked down at her. Damn it.
He really didn’t like being a dick to women. He didn’t. But he needed her alert enough to take direction, at least until the immediate danger had passed.
Dodge leaned down to pick her up, putting her on her feet as the architect stared at him, and walked her through the apartment to her bathroom. He sighed and held her close against his chest, rubbing her back, as he fiddled with the shower knobs. “I’m really sorry about this. I hope you know that.”
She looked up at him, forehead starting to wrinkle, as he put her right into the stream of cold water.
Persephone hollered like a furious cat and practically climbed the wall of the shower as she tried to get away from the soaking spray. She puffed right up and almost line-backered right through him to get out, shrieking loudly enough his ears rang. Dodge bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing as she stood on the rug and smashed her fists into his chest. “Why the fuck did youdothat?”
“You were going into shock,” he said, as calm as could be.
She looked down at her dripping clothes. Dodge was only too happy to follow her gaze to where the t-shirt clung to her breasts and waist. Persephone fixed him with a look of pure murderous intent and pointed at the door behind him. “Get. Out.”
“Change your clothes,” he said, trying to be helpful. “Don’t want to catch cold in those wet ones.”
She shrieked again and he took that as a clue to skedaddle. The door slammed behind him, practically bouncing off his ass. He shook his head as he wandered into the bedroom and tried to figure out how to defend it if anyone came looking for them. He’d lost his damn mind.
It wasn’t long before Persephone reappeared, looking furious but much more alert, in layers of pajamas that reminded him of armor. Good. Better that way. He couldn’t afford to think of what she might look like under the cotton and flannel and God only knew what else.
He held out a glass of water and a protein bar. “You should eat and drink. Keep your strength up.”
She scowled at him but took both before sitting on the edge of her bed. Dodge leaned back against the door to watch her, debating. Persephone made a face at the protein bar. “You can sleep on the couch, or you can leave.”
“Not safe for us to split up like that,” he said. “Not if the story is that we came back here to knock boots.”
“No one cares about this story but you,” she said. “And no one is getting into this apartment, so it’s not like –“
His eyebrows rose. “Confident, aren’t you? I broke into here earlier today, sweetheart. It’s not that hard. You haven’t changed the locks and they’re cheap.”
