“I wasn’t even brave enough to tell you how I felt until I thought I’d never get the chance! I’ve lived my whole life scared to live.”
“Not anymore. No more fear, okay? It’s just you and me against the world. Forever.”
“Forever?”
“Until the last beat of my heart, and probably even then.”
The certainty in his words allows my body to give in to the exhaustion tugging at every limb, and I fall into a blissfully dreamless sleep.
FIFTY-NINE
COLTEN
Laken is still asleep on the couch when I slip out of bed to make Lexi something to eat. She refused dinner last night despite not eating all day, and I let it slide because in that moment, she knew her body couldn’t handle it.
But no more. She’s eating a balanced breakfast this morning, and I’m not going to take no for an answer.
I find Nico in the kitchen, leaning against the counter so he has a good view of Laken each time he looks up from his phone.
“Hey,” I say softly as I step past him toward the fridge. “Sleep well?”
“Not a wink, you?”
“Nope.” I pull the carton of eggs out along with some bacon. “Has she slept okay?”
Nico finally drags his gaze from Laken and turns, leaning back against the counter. “She had one nightmare a few hours ago but settled quickly. I think the adrenaline crash got her good.”
“Same as Lexi.” I tug the freezer open and retrieve a bag of tater tots. They’re her favorite and should be easy on her stomach if she’s still feeling off when she wakes up.
One of the skills I’ve honed over the years of stalking Lexi is my ability to be quiet, and I make use of that particular skill set as I silently prepare breakfast for everyone.
The only sound in the kitchen is the air fryer, but it’s more like white noise than anything, and I doubt it will be what drags either woman from their slumber.
“So, what are you planning to do to keep her?” I ask, looking up from the stove to catch him watching Laken.
His attention turns to me, his cheeks heating slightly. I’ve met Nico on a handful of occasions, but he always gave off fuckboy energy. Every moment since he met Laken has been the exact opposite of that. “I called the matchmaker this morning and requested our profiles be run against one another. There was some pushback because of her father, but after I reminded them how much I’m paying for their services and the Sinclair standing within the Mafia community, they agreed.”
“And if you’re not a match?”
“We’re a match.”
“You seem very confident of that.”
“Says he who hacked the algorithm to match himself with who he wanted,” he challenges.
I smirk. “I sure did.”
“If we’re not a match, I’ll likely offer some kind of deal to her father. I just need to do some recon as to what it is he wants.”
I nod, flipping the bacon and stirring the scrambled eggs to make sure they don’t stick. “He’s a real asshole if that one conversation I had with him is anything to go by.”
“The way she tenses anytime going back to Philadelphia is mentioned makes me fucking homicidal.”
“Welcome to the obsessed Mafia man club. We meet on the last Tuesday of every month.” I chuckle.
“Fuck off.”
“You’re in elite company with Cruz and me. You’re going to need to get your own bit, though. Cruz is the golden retriever with Riley. I’m obviously the stalker with Lexi. What’s going to be your thing?”
