Page 40 of Vow Of Fire

“Dante?”

I turned, frowning. “Yeah?”

“If you’re not going to let me come with you, can you at least pick up some of my things?”

I glared at her. I wasn’t a fucking courier.

“Since you’re keeping me locked up here, the least you could do is bring back some personal items for me,” she challenged.

I guess she had a point. I hadn’t let her bring much that first night, but then I hadn’t planned on her still being here.

My guys were outside, and she wasn’t going anywhere.

I gave a tight nod. “What do you need?”

“Toiletries and…” She hesitated. “Underwear.”

I inhaled through my nose. The last thing I needed was to go rifling through her fucking panty drawer.

Still, she was looking at me, waiting for a response, a faint embarrassed blush staining her cheeks.

I nodded again.

“Thank you. Oh, and if you can ask one of the guards to pick up something from the store, that would be good too.”

I rolled my eyes. Jesus.

“Anything else?” I asked sarcastically.

I’m not living on cans for the foreseeable future. I need something fresh, preferably green.”

“I’ll dispatch Kyle to the nearest Whole Foods,” I said sardonically.

“You know them, don’t you?” she asked, as I reached for the door. “Those guards outside.”

“Yeah. I hired them.”

“I mean, you know them well.”

I paused, my palm on the handle. “What makes you say that?”

“The way you act around them. I can tell you’re close. Was it the military?”

I turned around, my frown deepening. “Who told you about that?”

“Nobody. Just a guess. But it wasn’t hard to figure out. You’ve got a military tattoo on your arm and they’re hired soldiers. They’re well trained, not just random thugs or rent-a-cops.”

I grunted, impressed by her deductions, but I didn’t want to talk about it. That subject was off limits. To everyone.

I didn’t even think about it anymore.

Instead of answering, I pulled open the door. “Be good. I’ll be back later.”

I parked a block away from Evelyn’s brownstone and walked the rest of the distance with my hood up, head down, hands buried in my jacket pockets. I didn’t think anyone was watching her place, or me, but I couldn’t be certain.

It was the middle of the day, but I was hoping most of the residents would be at work, seeing as it was a Monday, and wouldn’t see me slip inside.

The building was a tasteful brownstone. Four floors with wrought-iron railings and flower boxes that added a pop of color to the façade.