Embrace the Darkness (The Maura Quinn Series Book 1) - Ashley N. Rostek Page 0,94

his shoes and his hair. His sneakers were neon red, which was the only color of clothing he wore apart from black. His hair was bright pastel blue and had a spiky messy style to it. Compared to his pale skin and dark clothes, the two colors popped in contrast.

His age really threw me. He was just a kid. Eighteen or nineteen, maybe.

“Vincent, thank you for coming,” Stefan greeted, and I stood from my chair.

“You really didn’t give me much of a choice. I still don’t see why I can’t do this from home,” the kid grumbled. I smiled. He had spunk.

“As we discussed, my daughter will be the one working with you, and for her safety, it’s best you stay and work together here rather than at your home.” He made the word home sound like there was something wrong with it. What is so wrong with where this guy lives?

At the mention of me, Vincent’s eyes traveled to mine. I gave him a schooled expression as I continued to study him. Stefan hadn't shaken his hand, therefore, I didn’t either. The poor kid seemed ready to bolt. Not that I could blame him. How the hell did he get mixed up with Stefan?

I looked to the goons towering over him and stepped ahead of Stefan. “I got it from here, gentlemen, but on your way out, can you tell Dean I’d like a sandwich and some chocolate chip cookies? Oh! And some French fries and a chocolate shake. Would you like something?” I directed my question to Vincent. He appeared a little surprised by my offer. “You can order anything you’re craving. It’s lunch time. Unless you already ate…”

Vincent’s eyes shifted down. “A sandwich with some fries sounds good,” he said in a low voice.

I looked back to one of the goons. “Please pass on our orders specifically to Dean and tell him we’ll receive it in my room.” I smiled sweetly. One of the goons nodded before pulling out his phone on their way out the door.

“Oh, I didn’t want anything. Thanks for asking though,” Stefan said sarcastically.

I turned my smile to him and saw that he wasn’t at all hurt. “I’m sure Brody already has lunch on its way for you.”

“And why didn’t you give your food requests to Brody or the kitchen staff?” he asked.

“Angela might be in the kitchen. I don’t want skank with my food.”

Stefan sighed, slightly annoyed. “What about Brody?”

“Dean is my Brody in training.” Plus, I got a twisted pleasure from ruffling his feathers. He was too easy to rile, and it was highly entertaining. Was I being a bitch? Yup, but it was all in good fun. Mine, specifically.

“Maura, he already has a job and that is to protect you.”

“He can do both.” I brushed off Stefan’s protests with a wave of my hand. “Has anyone told him he’s been assigned to me yet?”

Stefan paused. “No. I haven’t passed on that news to Louie yet and I don’t think Jameson has either.”

“Good. I want to do it.” I turned back to Vincent, who had been quietly watching our exchange. “I guess we better get started.”

CHAPTER 28

Dean was not happy, especially after I told him about his new job responsibilities, which he doubted right away and called Louie. Stefan, I assumed, had informed Louie of Dean’s new position in between the time we'd left his office and when Dean showed up with my and Vincent’s lunch. Dean physically paled as Louie confirmed what I had already told him.

“I wouldn’t look at guarding me as a bad thing, Grumpy. It’s a promotion,” I tried to reassure him while fighting back the bubbling laughter in my chest.

Louie showed up soon after that to take Dean away to go over what his new position entailed. The following day, I found Dean standing outside my room looking like one of Stefan’s personal goons dressed in an all-black suit. Gone were his cargo pants and steel-toed boots. He reluctantly got into the routine of watching over me and making sure I didn’t starve only after I told him that keeping me alive included feeding me.

Poor Jamie got neglected over the next couple of days. The first night he came to my room, it was late at night. The way he had reacted after seeing I was still up working and not alone had me biting my cheek to hold back from laughing. He didn’t even question what we were doing or why Vincent was there. Obviously,