Page 66 of His Obsession
He gives me a look. “Not a chance in hell.”
That almost makes me laugh. Almost.
“She’ll hate it,” he says.
Before I can answer, Val appears in the kitchen doorway with her laptop tucked against her chest.
“What will I hate?”
Neither of us answers fast enough.
Her eyes narrow. “Amazing. I hate it already.”
Nico gives me a look that saysgood luck, then grabs another piece of cheese for the road. I wait until he leaves to bring it up properly.
Val is back in the library by then, curled in the corner of the sofa with her laptop open and a legal pad on her knees. Crackers sit on the coffee table next to a glass of water she’s ignoring.
I stop in the doorway.
She looks up. “You have the face again.”
“What face?”
“The one that means you’re about to say something I won’t like.”
I loosen my tie. “We need to leave town for a while.”
Her laptop closes immediately. “Wow. Straight to it.”
“It’s temporary.”
“No.” Her answer is immediate.
“You don’t even know what I’m asking.”
“It doesn’t sound like you’re asking.” Val’s eyes stay on mine, sharp and tired. “It sounds like you’ve already decided.”
“Adrian is escalating,” I say. “He’s getting too close to my properties, and he has information he shouldn’t have. Until I know where it’s coming from, I want you away from LA.”
She sits back slightly, like she needs distance from the sentence. “You want me away from LA.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“I haven’t decided.”
She laughs once, but there’s nothing amused about it. “That’s incredible.”
“Valentina…”
“No, really.” She sets the laptop beside her with too much care. That’s worse than if she’d thrown it. “Somehow you made it worse with every sentence.”
“I’m trying to keep you safe.”
“That is becoming your favorite excuse.”
“It’s not an excuse.”
