“There you are,” I murmur as I sit back. “Perfect again.”
“Aren’t you . . . Why aren’t you running after tonight?” he grumbles.
“Baby, I knew who you were, and seeing it is no different,” I admit. “You were kind of sexy as hell tonight.”
He barks out a laugh, and I grin as I take his hands and kiss them. They killed for me. How could I not love this man?
“We come from different walks of life, Zia, but it doesn’t mean we can’t fit together. We are both fighters, that’s what we have in common, and I will always fight for us. I never believed in any type of religion, but if I had to, I’d pick you, Zia Xander, my divinely beautiful man.”
I press my lips to his. “I will love you until the day I die, Zia. It will never change, so show me your demons and cruelty, and I’ll show you my kindness and love. We’ll fight this together.”
He shuts his eyes and moves closer, our hands trapped together. “I was so scared you would get hurt.”
“Me too,” I murmur.
We stay like that for a moment, both of us just breathing each other in, our worry dissipating. I won’t stop him from doing what he has to. I can’t begin to understand the threats he faces, but I silently vow he will always have a safe place to come home to.
A phone rings, and he pulls it out as we break apart. “It’s from one of the guys who attacked us. I was hoping someone would call for areport. Let’s see who’s behind it, shall we?” he hits accept and puts it on speaker.
“Well? What’s taking so long? Is it done?” a female voice snaps.
Zia pales, and he even seems to stop breathing. I glance from him to the phone.
“Well? Answer me, damn it!” she roars, but he just hangs up, throwing the phone down and staring at it.
“Z?” I asked worriedly.
“I know who is behind it,” he croaks as he looks at me. “The very last person I ever thought it could be.”
I frown, and he blinks, licking his lip. “Can you hold me?”
I lift him into my arms and walk to the bedroom. I help him into my shirt and boxers, then I pull him back into my arms. Whatever happened, whoever was on that call has shocked him, and I can feel his pain. I want to ask, but he’s retreated into himself.
There’s nothing I can do to take it away, so I just hold him tightly, promising him things will be okay, and I hope it’s true.
FORTY-SIX
Nikko is sleeping, wrapped tightly around me, but my mind won’t calm down enough for me to rest, so I slip silently from his hold and replace my body with a pillow so as not to wake him. He wraps himself around it, and despite the situation, I can’t help but smile at how cute he is.
If you can call a six-foot, three-hundred-pound boxer cute, that is.
Taking my phone, I leave the apartment and jump up onto the railing, wincing when it pulls my shoulder. I forgot I’m injured, but I don’t want Nikko to overhear this. He’ll only worry.
I dial Yuki’s number, and he answers on the first ring, no doubt waiting for me. “Sir, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, just a flesh wound. I’m at Nikko’s.”
“I know. I’m on the street with your guards.” I lift my head to see headlights flash, and I smile in relief. “Give me one second.”
“No, if anyone is watching, we don’t want them to know you’re here. The phone is fine,” I assure him. “I know who is behind all of this. We need to keep it extremely quiet until we can confirm it for sure. This won’t just affect us, but the entire city. I want my father on lockdown, double the guards. No one, and I mean no one, in or out. I want guards on Nikko, Julies, Chen, and Faiz,” I order, knowing he’slistening. “For the next part, I’ll text you. I want it done as soon as possible. Until we can confirm, we are going to act like nothing is wrong. They’ll be watching, so we won’t give them anything to suspect.”
“Sir, do we know them?” Yuki asks, no doubt sensing my mood.
Glancing back at Nikko’s door, I swallow. “Yeah, we know them. Yuki, I’m trusting you to keep my family safe.”
“Always, sir. Get some rest. I will arrange for a doctor to visit in the morning to check your wound.”
“Thank you.” I sigh as I clutch the phone, not quite ready to say goodbye yet.
