Page 67 of Sinful Lord

… And I might just give her the shovel. Because as Melina’s body calms and her breathing relaxes, I feel the fluttering in my heart harden into a steady pound.

Fuck.

She looks so angelic. So pure. So peaceful. Even after what I just did to her, she looks too good to be in a dump like this. My gaze drifts over her body, and I notice the faint redness on her shoulders. The fading scrapes from her near-death experience.

My hard heart splinters with rage.

Suddenly, the cracks in the wall above her bed seem too deep to ignore. The rusted bedposts holding up her flimsy mattress too fragile for what I plan to put her through. When my foot shifts, I feel the shards of the door I busted down to get in here. There’s no fixing those hinges, I fucking shattered them.

Melina deserves better than this. And I’m going to make sure she gets it.

Even if it means using another woman.

With a great deal of reluctance, I lift myself from the side of the bed.

Melina’s eyes immediately snap open.

“You’re leaving?” she asks, her voice cracking.

My hand falls over my pocket. The phone is still vibrating with new messages. Yasha better shut up soon before I change my mind.

“I’ll be back,” I promise. “Don’t go anywhere.”

With a lazy heaviness, Melina turns her cheek and looks past me.

“The door…”

“I’ll take care of everything when I return,” I assure her. “Just don’t leave. Promise me that, okay?”

I can see the gears whirling in her head as she slowly looks around the apartment. Each time her gaze falls on one of the gifts I’ve gotten for her, a new level of acceptance seems to come over her stunning hazel hue.

Is she starting to trust me?

Shit. Already?

“Okay,” she whispers, her voice so tired that I imagine she’ll fall asleep the second I leave. Hell, I’ll probably be back before she even wakes back up.

“Thank you, angel. I won’t be far. If you need help, just call my name.”

Without thinking, I reach down and take her limp hand. It feels strange to be so tender, but as I rub my thumb across the back of her hand, it just feels right.

I want Melina to be comfortable. Right now, that’s all I want. But I also need her to be safe.

Killing those wannabe mobsters who kidnapped her was a good start, but there’s still some monstrous shadow wandering the streets out there.

Apparently, it’s the devil. And somehow, he knows my dead father’s name.

For Drago.

That message was left for me. It had to be.

But why?

I have to figure that out. First, though, I have to get Melina to a safer location. Somewhere close enough to continue my investigation, but far enough that she’s out of harm’s way.

I think I know just the place.

The problem is, to get there, I’m going to need Yasha’s help. And I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to control myself around her. Not after what she did.