Doesn’t mean she’s going to like it.
I lean forward, elbows on the desk, locking her in with my gaze. “This morning, I found Detective Miller Campbell loitering around your new bakery. He shouldn’t know it’s yours. Hell,nobody should, not yet. But there he was, sniffing around like a hungry dog—it can’t happen, Sienna.”
Her lips part, surprise flashing across her face. “He… what? Why?”
“Because men like him are obsessed with getting their hooks into me. They’ll use anyone close to me to do it. Including you.”
She swallows hard. I see the shift in her expression. The realization that she’s not just playing a game with me anymore. She’s already in the crossfire.
“That’s not all,” I continue. “Arlo tells me you’ve got a delivery scheduled for Mayor Wilson’s office. Red velvet cupcakes.”
Her brows knit. “So?”
“So, red velvet’s a code. Been that way for years in this city. It means blood. It means somebody’s marked for death.”
Her mouth falls open slightly, then snaps shut.
She shakes her head. “That’s…that’s ridiculous. They’re just cupcakes, Ben.”
“Not in this business, they’re not.” I lean back, running a hand through my hair. “Mayor Wilson doesn’t make moves without me. Not anymore. If he’s sending signals, either he’s lost his mind or someone’s pulling his strings. And I’d bet my life that someone is Nikolai.”
Her eyes widen at the name. She doesn’t know the half of it, but she feels the weight when I say it.
I take a breath, my voice dropping lower, more controlled. “I need you to understand something. You are in this now.Whether you like it or not. Which means you follow my lead, you take a man with you, and you don’t argue.”
She bristles immediately, shoulders squaring while her chin lifts. “So that’s it? I justrollover and let you bark orders at me?”
Christ, she tests me in ways no one else dares.
I close my eyes briefly, then open them and fix her with the truth. “This isn’t about control. It’s about keeping you alive.”
My voice cracks slightly on the last word, and I hate that she can hear it.
Hate that she makes me feel.
She falters, just for a split second. Her mouth opens like she’s ready to argue again, but then she shuts it, lips pressing tightly together.
“I don’t like being told what to do,” she mutters finally.
“I know. But I need you to do it anyway. For me.”
The silence stretches between us, heavy and loaded. Her eyes meet mine, and it’s like the air shifts. That tight string pulling me toward her gets stronger, pulling us both into dangerous territory.
She lets out a long breath, shoulders dropping. “Fine. I’ll take one of your men.”
Relief loosens my chest, though I keep my face still.
“Good,” I murmur. “That’s all I ask.”
For a second, we just sit there, staring at each other across the desk. My control slips a little as I take in the flush on her cheeks,the way her lips press together like she’s holding back more words.
She’s beautiful.
Infuriating, but beautiful.
And mine.
I shift in my chair, trying to ground myself, but I can’t stop watching her. The timid way she walked in here is gone. Now she looks…present.
