I got out of bed and gathered my scattered clothes, trying unsuccessfully to understand why he’d leave.
That bond I felt when I knotted him wasn't my imagination or the heat of the moment. It was real and permanent, and now he was running from it.
From me.
6
CARMINE
My mind was racing with a million scenarios as I drove toward the airport. Leaving felt like the thing I should do after I got up to use the bathroom. But as soon as I stepped out the door and could still hear Dom softly snoring in the room, it took everything in me not to go right back in and climb into bed again. He had slung his arm over my pillow as if he was reaching for me in his sleep.
The connection between us was not something I’d imagined.
But we lived on opposite coasts. We were both hired assassins who were loyal to different families. How could anything come from that?
I needed to get him out of my head because the longer I thought about him, the more tempted I was to turn around and go back to that motel room.
Back to Dom…my alpha.
I inhaled a deep breath and tried to convince my racing heart that last night was just a one-night stand. Nothing special.Nothing permanent. Just two people who happened to be in the right place at the wrong time.
But that was a lie.
The way my body still hummed with satisfaction felt like proof that something magical had occurred. Something more intense than I’d ever imagined possible. And my chest ached with each mile that I put between us, as if a string was being pulled tight and could break at any moment. And what happened if it did? Would I find my way back to him?
We had to be fated mates. There was no other way to explain the way I felt.
Only my life didn’t have room for fate. My work didn’t exactly lend itself to the whole white-picket-fence thing.
My phone was in the cup holder, and I glanced at it every few seconds waiting for him to call and beg me to stay. Before I left the motel, I grabbed Dom's phone from the nightstand and added my number to his contacts. Then I'd texted myself so I had his number too.
I wasn't sure why I did it, but I couldn’t just leave without any means of contact. It didn’t make sense, but even as I was running from him, I needed to know he could reach out if he wanted to.
And I could reach him if I needed to.
I needed to.
The airport exit appeared in the distance, and my stomach twisted. Once I got on that plane, I'd be three thousand miles away from Dom. Back to my normal life where I didn't have to think about alphas or mates or any of the complications that came with them. Where I was completely alone.
My phone rang, and Lorenzo's name flashed across the screen. I hit the button on my steering wheel to answer. "Hey."
"Carmine." His voice was warm, but I could hear the question underneath it. "How did everything go?"
"Good. The guy who saw me was an enforcer from the Ferrini and Menetti families. They sent him to handle Webb, but I got to him first. He’s not a threat."
"You sure that’s all there was to it?" He didn’t sound convinced, but I could answer that question without hesitation.
"Absolutely."
Lorenzo was quiet for a moment, and I could practically hear him thinking through the phone.
"The families out there are good people, but they're not our people. You need to be careful about who you trust, Carmine. Especially after a job."
"I know." He was always looking out for me, even when I didn’t need him to. This time perhaps I would be smart to listen. Then again, that ship had already sailed. It wasn’t as if I could take back the last twelve hours.
"Do you?" His voice sharpened slightly as he lost his patience. "Because from what I heard, you spent quite a bit of time with this enforcer. Had breakfast together at a diner then went back to your motel."
Fuck. Of course Lorenzo had eyes on me. He always did. "It wasn't like that."
