“What the hell are you doing back here?” he snapped at me.
No hello or stupid comment on his part, just rudeness as usual. I was shitting myself by being here, but I couldn’t not be a smartarse to him.
“I could ask you the same thing,” I said and stumbled to stay upright when he advanced forward.
Kane glared at me. “No, you fucking can’t. This is no place for someone like you.”
I knew that good and well after witnessing a bound man being assaulted, but what in the hell did he mean by that?
“Someone like me?” I asked, as I tried to narrow my eyes at him, but found it difficult.
He was mad and I didn’t know how to handle mad Kane. Teasing Kane, or annoyed Kane I could deal with, but mad Kane freaked me out quite a bit.
Kane continued to stalk forward, and I continued to back up. “Yeah, someone like you.”
I walked backwards until my back hit a wall. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I squealed when Kane surged forward and gripped both of my arms with his hands.
“It means,” he hissed and leaned in close to my face, “that good girls don’t belong here. Understand me, babydoll?”
Babydoll? Was he for real?
“What makes you think I’m a good girl?” I asked trying to get the tremor of fear out of my voice.
Kane looked at me for a long moment as a ghost of a smile curved his lips. “I don’t think you’re a good girl, babydoll, I know you are.”
I didn’t know why I felt insulted, but I did.
“That just goes to show you really don’t know me, because I do belong here... I hang out here all the time. I’ve actually hung out in Darkness since before you moved here. I’m practically an OG of this place.”
Kane grinned at me. “Oh, really? Then tell me something, OG, why do you look lost walking down these hallways?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but quickly closed it because I had no idea. Skull said these rooms where for Brandon’s business associates, and I was definitely not one of those. I honestly never even knew Darkness had back rooms, though I shouldn’t be surprised. Brandon was a shady fucker.
I was too stubborn to admit that to Kane so instead I said, “I don’t have to justify meself to you, Slater.”
Kane chuckled as he roamed his eyes over my face. “That you don’t, babydoll.”
I tried to pull free of his hold, but his grip tightened on me.
“Jesus! Let go of me... and what the hell is with this babydoll crap?”
Kane smirked and shrugged his shoulders. “You need babying, and you look like a doll so... babydoll.”
Did he just call me childish and fake in one sentence?
“You dick. How dare you call me childish and fake!”
Kane grinned. “I didn’t call you childish or fake you little weirdo.”
Little?
“Now you’re callin’ me short? You’re a real—”
Kane’s low laughter cut me off.
It shocked me to silence because I had never heard him laugh like that before. I don’t think I have ever heard him laugh at all. I’ve seen him grin and smirk but never smile like he was doing right now.
He looked so different.
He looked stunning.
Damn him.
“You need to calm down. I’m not insulting you. Firstly, all I’m saying is you need looking after. You being here proves my point so that’s what I meant by babying. Secondly, you look gorgeous, fucking unreal, so that is what I meant by a doll. Put them together and you get babydoll, babydoll.”
His smirk irked me.
I swallowed. “And little?”
Kane grinned. “You’re a little bitty thing, what can I say?”
I was oddly flushed with pleasure that he thought I was gorgeous. I was also touched that he wanted to look after me while I was here, but my stubbornness wouldn’t allow me to admit that aloud.
“Your observations and sugar sweet words won’t get you anywhere with me so you can let go of me arms.”
“Make me.” Kane grinned.
I glared at him. “I don’t have time for this. I just saw somethin’ I shouldn’t have and I have to leave before they find me—”
“I already found you,” Kane cut me off, his eyebrow raised.
I stared at him for a moment then gasped, “You were in that room?”
He shrugged.
I shoved his chest. “Get away from me.”
Kane held up his hands. “It’s not what you think—I was more of an observer than an active participant in that room.”
I scoffed, “So you watched a helpless man get attacked? How noble of you.”
“Shane? A nice man? He is anything but nice.” Kane humourlessly laughed. “Darling, you take people at face value too often.”
I swallowed. “I clearly do because I thought you weren’t into anything bad. Looks like I was wrong.”
I rounded on Kane then and turned right, trying to find my way out from the maze of stupid hallways.
“I’m not a bad man, Aideen,” Kane said as he followed close behind me.
I grunted. “What are you doin’ back here then?”
“Working.”
I stopped walking and turned to face him. “What type of work?”
Kane sighed. “It’s nothing that concerns you, darling—trust me.”