Page 14 of Merciless King

London wrapped her arms around herself, looking lost. “Thank you, Detective Daniels, for everything.”

He dipped his chin, and back stiff, walked to the door. I followed him out, pulling the door behind me.

“You know what we’re dealing with here?” I asked.

Connor shook his head. “Going by her statement, what this fucker said to her, we could be looking at a copycat.”

That threw me. “Fuck.”

“Yeah.” He pinned me with a hard stare. “You need to leave this to us, Van.”

Like fuck. I didn’t bother answering him or feeding him lies. We both knew nothing would stop me. I turned back to London’s apartment door.

“Take care of her,” Connor said.

Who the hell did he think he was? No one could take better care of her than me. And if that was his way of staking some kind of claim over her, he’d have to do a fuck of a lot better than that. I ignored him and went inside.

London was still standing in the middle of the room. She hadn’t moved an inch, eyes lost, focusing on nothing, hugging herself, and shivering.

I moved in, pulled off my jacket, and placed it on her shoulders. Deep satisfaction rolled through me at the sight of her smaller body swimming in the thing, of her wearing my clothes. That was unexpected, and I chose to ignore it.

Her big blue eyes lifted to me, like she’d only just realized I was back in the room. “Van…look, really, you don’t need to do this…”

“Yeah, I do.” It was as much for me as it was for her.

She clamped her mouth shut and looked up at me in a way that made my gut ache, and finally gave in.

I wanted to do it. I wanted to be the one who took care of her, who kept her safe. I didn’t understand why it had to be me, but I needed to be there. So I would be. I couldn’t say that, though, so instead I motioned to the couch. “Why don’t you sit down, sweetheart?”

I went to her small kitchen and made her a hot cocoa.

Now that I had her where I wanted her, I didn’t know what the hell to do. I chased down the bad guys for a living, I didn’t deal with their victims. Honestly, I felt pretty fucking useless.

One thing I did know how to do, though, was keep someone safe, and I would take down anyone who wanted to harm London. That need was all-consuming. I had no choice but to go with it.

She was still on the couch with my jacket wrapped around her when I handed her the drink. Then I stood there like an idiot, watching as she sipped it.

I noted that she’d showered and changed. Her hair was still damp, the ends curling up, the thick strands getting wavier as it dried. Instead of the dress she’d been wearing, she had on tights that accentuated her lush figure and a soft-looking blue sweater that made her eyes look even bluer. Her feet were bare and tucked up under her, and her toenails were painted pink.

London had delicate feet and hands, dainty wrists and ankles.

The woman was incredibly beautiful.

I wanted to pull her onto my lap, all soft and sweet, and breathe her in. I inwardly frowned at my thoughts. If I wanted a woman in my bed, I thought about fucking her, not holding her, not cuddling her close, and definitely not breathing in her sweet scent.

“You want me to call anyone?” I asked her. She’d told Daniels back at the store she had no one, and I knew from two years ago that was the truth. But it had been a while since then. “A friend…boyfriend?” I tried and failed to keep the growl out of my voice when I said the last.

She shook her head and took another sip of her cocoa. After putting the mug on the coffee table in front of her, she looked up at me. “How did you…I mean, why were you at my store tonight?”

“Daniels. I was with Connor when he got the call about your shop. I was worried.”

Her lashes lowered, thick, dark crescents resting on her cheeks. She looked tired. “Thank you,” she said, then stood, wincing a little as she moved toward me, round hips swinging as she walked. She slipped the jacket off her shoulders and handed it to me. Her sweater was soft and it clung to her curves. It was also low at the front and I couldn’t help but eat up that peek of her pale flawless skin. I wanted to drag my nose along it, breathing her in as I went, right up to that soft, warm spot below her ear.

I took my jacket back and noticed a small cut on the side of her finger. Something about that had my gut in knots. It added to her vulnerability and cranked up my protective instincts. “Where else are you hurt?” I said.

“Pardon?”

“You winced when you stood. You’re hurt.” I’d been making calls while she gave her statement and I’d missed most of it.