“I’m sorry, Ari.”
She pulls back abruptly. “Why are you sorry? You didn’t know she was coming up here. You came to rescue me like a knight in shining armor.” She stops suddenly and frowns. “How did you know she was here?”
I look sheepish and turn my head to look at the little black dome placed in the ceiling in the middle of the hallway.
“You had more CCTV installed? When? Why?” she asks.
“I’m not keeping tabs on you, I promise. I just…I needed to do what I could to make sure you were safe.” If I could install cameras everywhere I would. But I know I can’t do that. I’ve been encouraging her to be independent, learn how to be herself, but she can’t do that if I’m stifling her. But damn if it’s hard for me to find a balance between protective and obsessive. It’s an underlying compulsion to make sure she’s safe when I can’t be with her.
“Den—”
“Wait,” I say, holding my index finger gently to her lips, “before you get all shouty, and insist that you are fine, and that you’ve managed well enough up until now with no one looking out for you…just hear me out, okay?”
She giggles. “I wasn’t going to say that, but okay…”
“Amy has been getting increasingly…difficult to work with. She was only ever supposed to be a silent investor, but I…I was stupid and blurred the lines. She’s crossed way over the lines, and now she’s hurt and angry.”
She moves her lips to speak, but I press against them to keep them closed.
“And…I know I’ve done everything I can to locate your ex, and I’m sure he’s not a problem anymore, but I want to be as safe as we can from crazy assed exes, okay? It makes sense to have one up here, anyway and I don’t really know why I didn’t do it before.”
I then lift my finger from her lips, so she can speak.
“Finished?” she asks, with a smirk.
“Yep.”
“Thank you,” she says and reaches up on her tiptoes to kiss me. I can’t help but reach down and cup her ass cheeks with my hands. I pull her closer to me, until she can’t tiptoe any higher.
“That was it?” I say against her lips. “That was all you wanted to say?”
“Yes,” she says simply, running her palm down my chest. “Thank you for looking after me. You’re right. I have looked after myself for as long as I can remember, and I don’t need you to look after me too, but I like that I want you to. Does that make sense?”
“Perfect sense.”
“Have you put any secret cameras anywhere else you want to tell me about?”
I chuckle. “No, nowhere else.”
“You haven’t snuck one in my bedroom and hooked it up in your office?” she jokes.
“No, but that’s a damn good idea.”
She smiles at me and drops down so her feet are flat on the ground.
“I have to go and sort this shit out,” I say reluctantly.
“Okay,” she whispers. I know she’s not happy about it, and neither am I. It’s the last thing I want to do. I’ve been putting off this conversation, because I know Amy won’t go quietly. There will be yelling, and she’ll probably try to throw something, or claw my eyes out. That’s why I want the security there. Not because I can’t defend myself, but where Amy is concerned, I need witnesses in case she pulls an underhanded tactic, which I wouldn’t put past her. Then I can’t be held responsible for my actions. She seems to bring out the worst in me, and while I would never intentionally hurt a woman, Amy pushes every damn button, and consequently, pushes my patience too.Watching her on the camera feed, saunter out of that elevator and across the hall to Arianna’s apartment, triggered a fury in me that hasn’t been there in a long time. Seeing her touch my girl made the rage swirl in my stomach like a white heat that builds at the center of a volcano. I couldn’t get up here fast enough. So, it’s better to have other people in the room with us if she kicks off. Witnesses that will not only observe anything underhand she might try, but will also serve as a reminder to me to not lose my shit.
“Let me carry you in,” I say, realizing that we are still standing in the doorway.
“I can walk, there’s nothing wrong with me.”
“I know. But I like carrying you. Just humor me, okay?”
“Okay.” She giggles, and it’s the sweetest sound to hear her so carefree.
She wraps her hands around my neck, and with a little jump, her legs are wrapped around my waist. I get to hold on to her butt, which I’m not displeased about, at all.
