“Will do.” Ax nodded. “Mr. Accetti,” he answered as he drifted into the hallway and shut the door behind him.
“Well?” I gazed at Sable, preparing myself for the inevitable. “Where do you want Ax to take you?”
“I’m scared.”
Her mind was made up even if I didn’t want to face it. I couldn’t expect her to choose me but that didn’t make this situation any easier. My heart still wanted what it wanted.
“I’ll make sure nothing happens to you.” I reached into my pocket and took out the bracelet. “I need you to put this back on. Can you do that for me? If you have it, I’ll be with you. Remember?”
“I want to be with you.”
“I can’t come to the safe house,” I said. “That defeats the purpose of keeping things secure. I could be followed. My enemies could find you. I’ll have to move your location in a few days. I'm not sure where I’ll send you yet, but it will be somewhere comfortable, I promise.”
I would take care of her forever. I would give her the life she deserved even if I couldn’t be in it. If I did this right, maybe we could have a shot at a future. I didn’t dare hope. Not now.
“Didn’t you hear what I said?” She shook her head. “I don’t want to go to the safe house. I want to be where you are.”
“You want to come home?”
“This has been the worst two weeks of my life, and trust me,” she said, “things were never easy for me. Well, not until I met you.”
“If I remember correctly, you didn’t care for me much that night.” I smirked. “You didn’t want my help.”
“You wanted to kill my brother.” She held up her hand. “You had your reasons.”
“Finally, you’re seeing things from my perspective.”
“What I’m trying to say is, I may not understand your business or how your mind works, but I can’t be without you. I want to be with you every night, falling asleep in your arms and waking up curled against you.”
“I’ve never wanted anything more.”
“I’ll go to the main house,” she said. “I want to understand who you are and where you come from. Being with you is the only way I can learn.”
“I don’t expect you to understand everything, but I need you to know that what happened to you tonight was my fault. I failed to keep you safe, but that won’t ever happen again. I won’t let it.”
“I’m sorry about what happened at the cabin.”
“I am too.” I clasped the bracelet around her wrist. “This is more than a piece of jewelry.”
“What do you mean?”
“I had a device put in it so that I would know where you are.”
“That’s why you said you’ll always be with me.” She rested her palm on my cheek. “That’s how you found me at the cabin.”
“I won’t apologize for doing what I have to do. If you want to understand who I am, you have to accept that I have my reasons for everything I do.”
“You don’t have to apologize for wanting to protect me.” She touched the bracelet. “I’ll never take it off.”
“Thank you. That gives me some sense of peace.” I tilted her chin and placed a tender kiss on her swollen lip. “I can’t keep my father waiting any longer.”
“Can you promise me something?”
“Anything.”
“Come home to me.”
“Always.”
