Page 128 of Drawn Together

He nodded without letting go of me. He held the back of my neck and placed his mouth close to mine. “There’s not a day that I don’t regret everything I’ve done, and I assure you there’s not a day that I don’t try to make up for it.”

I stood completely still, searching his eyes for the truth. “How?”

Sebastian closed his eyes for an instant, as if afraid I might see into his soul. “I’m still here, aren’t I?”

“Are you saying that you’re trying to redeem yourself by getting into my pants?”

“Enough!” he said, shooting me a furious glance. “Don’t talk about what we have, fuck. You know perfectly well that you’re not just another chick to me. For the love of God, I could’ve fucked you the first week we met, and look where we are, months later!”

“Are you insinuating that I’m easy? Is that what you’re saying to me right now?”

“I’m insinuating that what I feel for you is the only thing keeping me here, risking my life for you, do you understand?”

“Well, then, go! I don’t want you to protect me; someone else can do it. I don’t need you! Not anymore!”

Sebastian took a few seconds to process my words, and then he released me. “Well, your wish is about to become reality. I’m not going to be guarding you anymore.”

What? No.

“What do you mean by that?”

Sebastian took his cell phone out of his pocket. “I have orders to take you to Marcus’s house. He’ll be the one making the decisions about your safety from now on. Apparently, my work last night was unacceptable. He’s replacing me.”

I started shaking my head as soon as I heard him say Marcus’s name. “You can’t leave me with him…”

Sebastian pressed his lips together, and the rage we both felt seemed to give way to alarm and fear as he took my face in his hands and rested his forehead against mine. “It’ll just be a little while… Let me figure out a way to solve this.”

My eyes filled with tears, and I looked at him, terrified. “He’ll kill me, Sebastian.”

“No, he won’t. He wants you for himself.”

“He’ll hurt me!”

“Do what I’m asking, Marfil. I promise I’ll get you out of there.”

“NO!” I shouted, pulling away from him and rushing over to my purse. I picked up the phone to dial 911. “I’m going to call the police.”

Sebastian looked frightened for the first time, moving closer to me and reaching for the phone. “Don’t do it, Marfil! They’ll discover your location—they’ll come for you. Hang up!” He shouted so loudly that I jumped, and the phone fell from my hands. Sebastian picked it up before I could react and put it in the back pocket of his jeans. “No one can know anythingabout this. They’ll already be looking for us because of what happened at the club! Don’t you realize?”

“Don’t include me in this! I’m not a drug lord! I’ll tell the police everything I know and leave it in their hands!”

“You’d be dead before you could count to three.”

“Don’t say that!” I sank to the floor and hugged my knees to my chest.

God, wake me up from this nightmare.

Sebastian walked over to where I sat and crouched down next to me. “I’d give my life for you, Elephant,” he said in a conciliatory tone. “I wouldn’t take you to Marcus if I thought he might seriously hurt you. As much as I hate to say it, it’s the safest place for you right now.”

“Since when is the home of a murderous narco rapist a safe place for anyone?”

Sebastian waited a few seconds before responding. “Ever since the Russian mafia set out to kill you.”

I looked at him, terrified.

“I know it all sounds horrible. I’m not saying Marcus is a great guy, but he has a lot of resources, and he won’t stop until he gets rid of everyone who wants to harm you.”

“Why would he go through all that trouble?”