I ghost my thumb along her cheekbone.
“You know I won’t unless you make me,” I murmur.
She glares harder for half a heartbeat before donning a sickly sweet expression.
“Carlos already made copies of the security footage and ensured the other guards will notify him if anyone tries to tamper with the originals.”
My insides clench at her openly exaggerated approval of another man, and even though I know it’s irrational, I long to bury my fist in Lopez’s face.
“Liam took your jacket to some world-renowned tailor in his contact list and apparently that guy already had a suit in the works for you, so he finished it and sent it over.It’s hanging in the bathroom.”
Her attempt to goad me further falls flat as she rolls her eyes at how ridiculous she thinks the situation is.
As the saying goes, the suit makes the man.I can afford the luxuries of life because I worked my ass off, so I feel no guilt for booking the most sought-after tailor in New York.
My baby doll deserves the best, too.I run my fingers through her hair, enjoying the way her curls bounce and cling to our shoulders as I hold her close.
“You’ll go with me the next time I visit the tailor, and I’ll add you to my apartment’s security system,” I say.
“What?Why?Don’t—”
“Even if you never visit my place, I’ll feel better knowing you always have somewhere safe to hide.”
Her expression softens.She flattens her lips to hide their trembling and quirks a sarcastic brow.
“Fine, whatever,” she says.
I chuckle and run my fingers through her hair again, but she wraps her delicate ones around my wrist and halts me with my hand against her face.
“What did you mean last night?”
My brain blanks as I desperately search for hidden intimacy in her words, but then I recall my last thoughts before the drug took effect.
Despite her anxiety, she relayed all the information she had about my situation before asking about hers.
I don’t deserve her.
“Donald knows your mother’s new location,” I say.
Her pupils shrink and she pales.
“What?How?I just moved her on Monday.”
Her entire body trembles.I pull her closer.
“I think the scumbag has a mole in her caretaking team.”
“But I paid off the old team and hired brand new,” she murmurs.
“And how much money do you think that asshole threw at them?”
Even more color drains from her face.
“You’re right.I was stupid to think I could win with money.”
“That’s not what I meant, Audrey.People like him exploit their way to the top.His power comes from weaponizing everyone’s secrets.It’s the only reason his money works.”
Her expression closes down, but not to escape.She contemplates my words in silence for a few minutes.I stroke her hair and splay my fingers around her thigh, enjoying the firmness of her muscles.
