Page 72 of The Mafia King's Reign
"It would have been a step in the right direction."
"Didn't seem like that's how you felt in the library today."
Silence stretches between us, thick and suffocating. I think about his leg trembling under my hand. The way his breathing steadied at my touch. The secrets he shared.
He breaks first.
"Where do you need to go?"
I release a breath I didn't know I was holding. "I have a standing monthly thing with my friend Lindsay. She won't let it go."
"Ah. The prosecutor."
"It's just dinner and drinks. A few hours. She's my best friend, and she's worried about me, and if I don't show up, she's going to do something drastic like file a missing persons report."
"Would she?"
"She absolutely would. She's dramatic like that." I pause. "Also she's smart and stubborn, and she won't stop digging until she finds something. You want an ADA investigating where I disappeared to?"
He's quiet for a moment, studying me with those dark eyes that see too much.
"One of my men will accompany you."
"No." The word comes out too fast. "How the hell would I explain that to her? 'Oh, this giant guy with a gun? Don't worry about him, he's just my... driver?'"
"He'll stay out of sight."
"She's very attentive. She'll notice people who are trying to stay out of sight."
"Then he'll be very good at his job." Salvatore's tone brooks no argument. "You go nowhere without protection. Those are my terms."
I consider walking out, but Lindsay's voice echoes in my head. If you're not there, we're going to have a problem.
"Fine," I grind out. "But if she notices him, I'm not responsible for whatever happens next."
Something that might be amusement tugs at the corner of his mouth. "I can live with that."
I turn to leave, my hand on the doorknob, when something makes me pause. I don't know why I say it. The words are out before I can stop them.
"Feel better."
I don't look back to see his reaction. I close the door behind me and walk away, my heart pounding.
I care whether he heals.
I care, and I hate that I care, and I don't know when that happened or how to make it stop.
My life was simple with a clear sense of right and wrong.
Now I'm comforting a mafia boss. I don't know who I'm becoming.
I’m not sure I want to find out.
But as I make my way back to my room, I realize something terrifying.
I'm no longer counting the days until I can leave.
I'm counting the moments until I see him again.
