Page 40 of Chasing Kit

“Want to go for a walk?” He batted his eyelashes at me overdramatically.

I rolled my eyes and slapped him on the side of the ass. His weight was comforting on my lap, and I didn’t particularly want to move. But he was buzzing with excitement, and I didn’t want to kill that feeling. After learning so much about his father and his family, he deserved to be happy for a little while, even if I hated the thought of being in a crowd. There were a lot of reasons why going to the mall was dangerous, but I’d be there with him. I’d take a bullet for him if I had to.

“Fine.”

He pumped his fist. “Hell yeah!”

12

KIT

I’d seen a lot of funny things in my short life, but this one took the cake. I’d never seen that look on War’s face, and I hadn’t thought he was capable of making it.

“Come on, they’re awesome.” I held the swim shorts higher, making his face twist deeper in disbelief.

“They are a lot of things, but awesome isn’t one of them.” He grunted in disapproval, eyes never leaving the offending piece of material. “If I wear those, I’ll be seen from space.”

I looked down at the bright pink swim shorts with the fuchsia flamingos dancing on them and shook the material at him. “I won’t lose you this way.”

He groaned but took the shorts from me anyway. He held them between his thumb and pointer finger like they’d bite him if he touched them any other way.

“Will you wear them?” I gave him an overly sweet smile. “Please? I’ll wear a similar pair.”

He made a sound that told me I’d won, and I didn’t jump for joy like I wanted to because that would only convince him it was a bad idea. “I’m choosing for you, too, then.”

I didn’t argue. “Make sure they match yours, though. Let’s get couples swim shorts.”

“Is that a thing?” He gave me an incredulous stare over the hot pink material he was holding, and I laughed so hard my ribs ached. I’d never seen this many hilarious expressions on War’s face. He rarely did emotions, certainly not the kind where his nose scrunched up and mouth twisted with revulsion.

“Probably not, but we could totally make it a thing. I could get a matching pair.”

“You can get hot pink, too, then.” He picked up a pair of shorts identical to his own, in my size, and passed them to me with a smug expression. “Then, they can see us both from the International Space Station.”

I cackled and shrugged. “I’m game.”

War made a face that had me doubling over in laughter. I snatched the shorts from him and took them to the counter. To my surprise, he didn’t argue.

After I paid, we walked out of the mall, not interested in stopping anywhere else. He slid his hand into mine. I glanced at him, and he smiled down at me. My heart did a funny little hop-step, and I melted, tightening my fingers around his. His palm was warm, heavy, and goddamned perfect. This was the first time I’d held a guy’s hand, and the fact that it was War made everything better than I’d ever imagined. Despite all the shit happening in my life, I was one lucky guy.

When we returned to the hotel, Cassian was waiting for us inside. He offered us a huge grin, but something I didn’t particularly like lingered in his expression. Especially now that I knew he was working directly for people like Scalia and Riccardo Sabbatini. These were two men I’d never met, but it was already clear they had a lot of reach. Did Dad have the same kind of power in New Gothenburg? My stomach churned as the images Sky had sent me flashed through my mind. How did he get them? I still had so many more questions.

Cassian stepped in front of us, his uniform as crisp as it had been earlier. But now I knew something deeper lurked under his façade. I didn’t know how I’d expected to do criminology when I hadn’t recognized him as a danger earlier. But now he was an open book, laid out in front of me, and all I could do was read him. He held himself upright, but his fingers lingered near the edges of his jacket, where I bet a gun was hidden. His eyes were sharp and cold, and what I had mistaken as overly polite customer service was vigilance and preparation. He was ready to fight if needed.

War stepped half in front of me, his spine straight. He held out an arm, holding me back.

Cassian’s smile turned colder. “Good evening, sirs. I overheard you earlier saying that you were going for a swim. May I offer you our VIP pool for privacy?”

“Why?” War’s voice drew a fearful shiver from me. I’d never heard him so emotionless. He was a soldier ready for battle.

Cassian raised his eyebrows. “You are our very important guest. Mr. Scalia was clear to make sure you are taken care of.”

I opened my mouth, but War silenced me with a look over his shoulder. I trusted him, so I snapped my jaw shut.

“We’ll take it,” War grunted.

Cassian’s smile twisted into a smug grin as he held out a key card. “Level twenty. Please return the key when you’re done. You will have it for the entire duration of your stay.”

War gave a curt nod and took the key card. He turned, guiding me past him to position me on his opposite side away from Cassian. We walked in silence directly to the elevator. Once inside, War sighed.