“I know.” I tightened my towel around me before sitting on the edge of the bed. “I was there.”
“Then you should know why it’s imperative for you to go away.” He went into the walk-in closet. “Medina isn’t going anywhere, not without a big fight. I don’t need you in his path.”
While he worked out his issues as he got dressed, I dried off and threw on one of his t-shirts I found in the dresser drawer. When he emerged from the closet, he had on sweatpants and a hoodie that zipped up the front.
Very casual for a man who normally wore designer suits that cost more than some people’s rent. That could be a good sign. No Armani meant he didn’t intend to leave the penthouse tonight. Which meant that I wasn’t going anywhere either.
“I don’t want to fight with you.” I sat on the bed again. “If you’re bent on sending me away, I know I can’t change your mind.”
“No, you can’t.”
“Do you really think that Medina will come after me?”
“I don’t have the luxury of guessing what he will or won’t do. I have to go with my gut and take action.”
The thought of that vile man being anywhere near me, much less having to be alone with him, shook me to my core. I knewa sinister person when I saw one, and he was the worst kind of evil. He preyed on innocent women and took their voices away. He stole their independence and made them suffer.
Milo was right to want me to leave. But as terrifying as it was to think someone like Medina could get to me, my belief in Milo was stronger. My heart wouldn’t let me down.
“I can’t underestimate him.“ Milo crossed the room and stood in front of me, taking my chin in his hand. “I have to anticipate every possible move. If I don’t see it coming, you could end up paying the price.”
“I’m with you all the time,” I reminded him. “And when we’re not together, I’m with Ax. I live in Nico Accetti’s house, which happens to be surrounded by guards all the time. I don’t see anyone breeching that security system.”
“Anything is possible.” He sat down next to me. “My father didn’t think someone would plant a bomb in my mother’s car or that she would die in front of our house with all of us in it.”
“That was a long time ago.” I wasn’t discounting his feelings. I only meant that what had happened to his mother didn’t mean that another enemy would come after me.
“Feels like yesterday.” He shrugged. “Other days, it seems like a lifetime ago. It’s getting harder to remember what her voice sounded like. I don’t ever want to forget what yours sounds like.”
I couldn’t argue with his reasons. His mother’s death validated his fears, but my heart told me we were stronger together. I needed him to believe I was an asset and not a liability. As painful as the memories of his mother were for him, I was glad he chose to share them with me.
“I don’t want you to leave.” He pulled me into his lap. “I would go insane not seeing you every day. If I could come up with another solution to keep you here, I would.”
“My bracelet.” I held out my arm determined to win this battle. “You can’t lose me if I’m wearing it.”
“No, I suppose I can’t.” He caressed my wrist. “You’re the most important thing in my life.”
“I’ve never had a home before.”
“You’ll always have a home with me.”
“Please don’t make me go.”
A few days later,Milo seemed a bit calmer. I wouldn’t fool myself, because there was always the possibility that if the situation got too tense and he sensed I was in danger, he would send me away. I figured that out when he had my passport expedited.
There was no sense worrying about it. I’d already persuaded him to let me stay, but I couldn’t keep defying his wishes. He wouldn’t be able to stay focused if he constantly worried about me. If he asked me to go into hiding, I would have to listen. But in the meantime, I would keep following the rules and do everything I could to stay off Medina’s radar.
I promised myself I would make things easier for Milo if the time came for him to send me away. I prayed we wouldn’t get to that point.
I tapped on Nico’s door at the dealership and waited for him to respond. I had some new contracts that Milo wanted me to bring to him. I usually gave them to Angela, but she was running a few errands, so I had to deliver them personally.
“Come in," Nico said before mumbling something in Italian.
When I entered his office, his head was buried in a pile of files on his desk.
“Do you have the documents I asked for?” He looked up and took his glasses off. “I need them to make all of this in front of me make sense.”
“Right here.” I handed them to him. “It’s everything you asked for. I double-checked the numbers twice.”
