Page 66 of The Villain

But the voice drew closer instead. I could hear it on the other side of the door. I held my breath as the doorknob turned, and the door swung open. A massive figure stood in the doorway; a man’s body crowned with the head of a lion. Then its jaws opened, and the lion roared my name.

I jerked awake to strong arms wrapped around me.

“That’s it,” Cian murmured, his voice a confusing mix of soothing and commanding. “Wake up.”

My breathing slowed as I blinked my eyes open. With my face pressed against the uninjured side of his neck, Cian’s lion tattoo filled my vision. I took a minute to collect myself before pulling away.

He gripped my chin with his thumb and forefinger. His brow was furrowed, and his eyes searched mine. “All right?”

My chest shuddered as my brain struggled to process the changes in my usual nightmare plotline. Cian had opened the door.He’d come for me.Because of course Cian was strong enough to invade even my subconscious. And the hope? That stupid fucking hope hadn’t died while I slept like it usually did, and now I felt it burning in my chest like an ember.

This was bad. This was really fucking bad. What was I supposed to do with this bullshit feeling? I couldn’t feed it, couldn’t let it grow into anything bigger and brighter.

Because hope could go fuck itself.

I vaguely registered that Cian had asked me a question. Was I all right? No. Not even a little. But for now, I nodded and leaned back against the pillow, brushing my hair out of my face. My body ached, and my mouth tasted like something had died.

“You need to eat.” This brand-new soft tone Cian had been using since the night of the warehouse was going to be the death of me. He still gave commands that demanded to be followed, but now his tone was tinged with the sort of care that washed over me like warm rain. It terrified me how much I liked it.

He was still very much Cian, but his treatment of me had shifted from desperate, angry obsession to quiet possession. I’d thought I preferred the former. Turns out, I craved the latter.

“Ham or turkey?” Cian pointed to two sandwiches on a plate in front of me. Thick slices of whole wheat bread were stacked high with layers of meat, cheese, lettuce, and tomato. He’d even brought small plastic cups of condiments—mayo and some sort of fancy mustard—along with a heaping bowl of still-steaming mac and cheese. “I brought both. There’s roast beef too, if you’d rather have that.”

If only to get him to quit being so weirdly nice, I snatched the ham sandwich off the plate and took a big bite. Everything still hurt. But I was warm, and this sandwich was so good that I nearly forgot I’d been beaten to shit a few days ago.

“You need to eat too.” I nodded toward the other sandwich before also offering him mine. “Or did you want the ham?”

“Finish it,” he said as he picked up the remaining turkey sandwich and took a bite. He spoke around a mouthful as his fingers grazed my ribs. “The whole thing. You’re already too skinny.”

“Well, some of that’s on you. Hard to put on weight when you kept me on a steady diet of protein bars.”

Cian’s face darkened, and he looked away as he chewed. “Yeah, well. That was then. This is now.”

I took a moment to study him while he ate. Dark circles marred the skin beneath his eyes, and he held himself funny, like he was in pain.

“Hey,” I said. “Did you sleep? When’s the last time you took some painkillers?”

“I’ll rest soon.”

“What the hell were you even doing while I was asleep? I thought you’d lay down with me.”

“I had to talk to Rhys and Jace.”

Oh. Yeah. The two who very much wished I’d been on the receiving end of that bullet. “How’d that go? Did they lament my survival?”

He sighed. “They don’t want you dead.”

I barked out a laugh before wincing in pain. “Oh. They absolutely do.” And for the first time since I met Cian, I felt a twinge of regret over that. I liked Rhys’s calm presence and unwavering loyalty, and Jace had something feral in him that called to me. I could’ve been friends with them once. Maybe in another lifetime.

“They know not to fuck with you,” Cian amended.

Low bar, but I’d take it.

“Hack is checking CCTV footage in the area around the warehouse for cars.” He laid a hand on my thigh. “Did you see anything?”

I shook my head. “I couldn’t see the street past the shooter. But he wore a full-face mask and dark clothes. Either has dark hair or was wearing a beanie. And he was probably somewhere between us in height. That’s all.”

“Yeah, that’s about all I can remember too.” His blue eyes were hard and distant. “They knew where the cameras were, the ones we installed outside to watch the entrances. They covered them right before I got shot.”