Leo (Vigilance 3)

“As far as I’m concerned, it is.”

I grinned. “Let’s go home, and I’ll show you better magic than that.”

“I…”

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t usually… I’m not good at casual.”

“There is nothing casual about the way I feel about you.”

His eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped open. I was nearly as shocked I’d said those words as he was. “There’s not?”

“No, but now isn’t the time for a conversation like that.”

“You’re making it hard to remember I should be freaking out. I watched you kill a man.”

“I would never hurt you.”

He nodded. “You protected me.”

“That’s right. I don’t hurt innocent people.” Not anymore. “Just the ones who deserve it.”

9

Ezra

Leo was quiet on the drive to his house, which gave me far too much time to think about what had happened. The feelings racing through me were confusing as hell. Anytime I thought of what had happened in the alley, terror rose, choking me, but I was still half-hard from Leo’s kiss. I wanted him more than I’d ever wanted anything.

He’d killed a man, and he would’ve killed another. He’d done it like it was nothing. The skill and confidence it took to shoot that man when he was aiming for us and make a perfect shot like that… Maybe Leo really was magic.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to dismiss the vision of a man with blood pouring from his head. I was horrified, but if Leo was telling the truth, the dead man had been working for someone who was pure evil.

My instincts told me I could trust Leo. If he hadn’t killed that man… I shivered as I imagined what could’ve happened.

Leo reached over and laid a large hand on my thigh. “It’s okay. I’m right here.”

“I’ve never seen a dead body before.”

He slid his hand up and down, soothing me. “I hope you don’t have to see any more.”

“But you will.”

“I have a specific skill set, and I use it to help people.”

“I didn’t mean—”

“Don’t worry about me. Just know that my team and I are very good at what we do.”

“Are you, like, some secret government agency?”

He glanced over at me, a genuine smile on his face. “No. We no longer have any government ties. We’re just a group of people who want to see justice done and have the ability to make that happen.”

“You’re vigilantes.”

“That’s one word for it. We call our group Vigilance, but some people would say were criminals and just as bad as the people we bring down.”

I shook my head. “You’re nothing like that man in the alley. You care about the people who work for you, about your friends, and—” I almost said he cared about me, but that was moving back into frightening territory.

Leo turned off the road, and we headed into an underground parking garage. I hadn’t been paying attention to where we were, but I sensed this was a very exclusive building. It wasn’t where I’d expect someone like Leo to live, not that it was fair of me to make such assumptions.

When Leo turned off the engine, I started to open the door, but he laid a hand on my arm. “Let me check our surroundings first.”

He studied the garage from his seat, then he opened his door, and I saw he’d pulled out his gun. My heart started to pound. I didn’t think I could handle any more death tonight.

A few seconds later, Leo leaned back into the car. “It’s okay. We can go.”

When I walked around his vehicle, he wrapped his left arm around me, keeping his gun in his right. There was a security guard at the door who didn’t seemed disturbed by the fact that Leo had a weapon, and I forgot all about it myself when I saw the adorable gray and white pit bull that was sitting by the man’s side.

As we approached, the dog started wagging his tail. Obviously, he knew Leo and liked him.

“Good evening, sir.”

Leo nodded at him. “Frank. How’s the night going?”

“Quiet. Just how I like it.”

“That’s good.” Leo leaned down and scratched the dog’s ears.

“Can I pet him?” I asked looking at Frank.

“Sure. This is Rollo. Most people are scared of him. That’s why I bring him to work sometimes, but he’s really a big baby, and I can tell he likes you.”

“Awww. I love dogs.” I knelt in front of him and rubbed his head. He thumped his tail against the ground and looked at me with his big eyes. A few moments later, Leo tugged on my arm, and I remembered we needed to go inside.

Frank hit the call button for the elevator. It opened immediately. I stepped inside with Leo and he pressed the button for the fifth floor.

I kept my eyes focused on my shoes. The tension between us was so thick it was hard to breathe. I wanted him desperately, but I was also afraid. Afraid of how easily he killed, of what he was involved in, that he was going to break my heart.