Free Deep by Skye Warren - Deep

night. No, this was a minefield being set off all at once. This was destruction.
    How could I let him walk away, knowing he’d wanted me all this time?
    But how could I go with him and leave my entire life, my entire future behind?
    He solved my dilemma with a half-smile and a tap of my nose with his forefinger. It was the way an adult would treat a child, a return to our roles within this little play. It was a reminder that he had never asked me to go with him, so it wasn’t like I even had a choice.
    “Don’t worry about me,” he said.
    “You aren’t invincible.” I ran my hand over his side, an inch away so I didn’t touch his injury. The whole area radiated intense heat, as if the destruction and fire came from within. As if the violence had always existed inside him, just waiting to get out.
    “I’m going to die one day, kitten. And I don’t want you to mourn me.”
    The thought of his fierce light going out made my heart clench. “That’s not up to you.”
    “Isn’t it?” His expression darkened. “Everyone in this city does what I tell them to. You should listen if you know what’s good for you.”
    “Did the person who did this listen to you?”
    Philip’s expression was grim. “He didn’t live to regret it.”
    I snatched my hand back, burned. A killer. That was what Philip was. Of course, if the person had been hurting him, it would count as self-defense. Somehow I doubted Philip was innocent in the whole thing, though. I couldn’t straighten out the tangled-vine morality of bad men doing bad things to each other. That wasn’t for me. He wasn’t for me.
    “Well,” I managed to say, my voice uneven, “then I’m sure you’ll be perfectly safe now that he’s gone.”
    That was a lie, and we both knew it. There would always be men lurking, waiting to take Philip down. It was a parting shot, because once he left, I doubted I’d ever see him again. This night would feel like a dark dream, much like the days hidden away in his house felt now. I’d fallen down the rabbit hole and somehow found my way out.
    I didn’t think I’d be so lucky a second time.
    His voice sounded hollow as he echoed me, “Perfectly.”
    My heart twisted. Our relationship may have been frozen in the wasteland of impossible dreams, but I still cared about him. I still needed him to be safe.
    The shrill of the phone made me jump. I wasn’t sure I had ever heard the landline ring before. Mostly I used my cell phone. The beige plastic phone attached to the wall came with the room.
    Philip must have seen the trepidation on my face. “You expecting a call?” he asked.
    I shook my head. Why would someone be calling now, right when I had a big, dangerous, wounded man in my room…unless it was about him?
    “Answer it,” Philip said softly, no mercy in his gaze.
    This was one of those moments with the earth shifting beneath me, splitting apart right under my feet. Like finding out my parents had adopted me. Like meeting Philip and discovering the dark side of myself. This was one of those times when I knew everything was about to change—had already changed, and I was just going to find out how.
    “Hello?” I said, my voice strangely normal.
    “Ella?” A whisper. “It’s me.”
    Confusion flickered through me. Why would he be calling me? “Sloan?”
    “There’s some people asking about you. Cops.” Then I remembered he worked in the building office downstairs.
    “Cops?” I squeaked. Philip’s gaze sharpened.
    “They’re on their way up,” Sloan said. “Are you okay? Do you need me to—”
    The line went dead. Philip had his finger on the button.
    “Hey,” I protested faintly.
    He wasn’t listening, though. He was already crossing the room toward the window, stopping only to pull a gun from his suit jacket. “How much time do we have?”
    My heart stopped at the glint of black, the smooth barrel. The confidence and grace with which he wielded it. This was who he was. A criminal. A killer.
    “Not