“I don’t think about those things,” I reply over my own cup of noodles. “Noodles are what we have so eat. It’s all you’re getting.”
“Fuck that,” she mutters. “If I have to put up with you hanging over me like a gloomy shadow and no privacy even when I pee, then I deserve something nice to eat.”
Watching her, I slowly push her noodle cup toward her. “Eat.”
“Stop saying that! Fuck! I can’t stand this. How long are we supposed to stay here?”
“Until I decide it’s safe.”
“Safe? Of course it’s safe. I want to go home.”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
My teeth catch briefly on the inside of my cheek. “Because your father hasn’t given the all clear.”
“Giacomo’s not back yet?” Her voice is suddenly different, slightly softer, and her brows pinch together. “Why does that affect me going home?”
I chew slowly on my tasteless noodles. “Your father’s rules. I follow them.”
“Is that all you do?” she remarks bitterly. “No. I can’t do this. I can’t do open doors and noodles. Fuck this.”
The moment she shoves back from the table and stands, I’m on my feet and my hand catches her forearm. “Sit. Down.”
“No! I’m goinghome.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes I am! And you can’t stop me. You’re just…you’re just a bodyguard, okay?I’mthe daughter. I’m the heir and I can do whatever I want to do!” She jerks away from me but is unable to dislodge herself while her hair cascades in a wave down one shoulder.
“You seem to think you have a choice here,” I remind her. “I work for your father, not for you.”
“Oh really?” She jerks herself away from me again but is once again unable to free herself. “Let me go! I can’t stand this, I can’t stand it here. I want to go home and you can’t stop me.”
“Aerin!” I snap suddenly, raising my voice and using my grip on her arm to pull me closer. “This isn’t a punishment, it’s to keep you safe! Don’t you see that? You almost died in that warehouse. Doesn’t that scare you?”
“No,” Aerin snaps, jutting her chin out. “It wasfun.”
“You’re lying. I can see it in your eyes. You’re scared. And I understand that.”
“Understand?” Aerin laughs bitterly. “What do you know about fear?”
My grip tightens faintly around her arm, then I release her. “Acting out gets you nowhere. You can’t beat me in a fight, and I’m not letting you leave until we get the all clear. You want to yell about it and act like a child? Fine. You’ve already shown you can’t be trusted, so this makes no difference to me.”
Aerin stares at me with wide eyes and her mouth falls open. “Wow.”
“What?”
“I didn’t know you were capable of more than one sentence at a time.”
If I weren’t so annoyed by her attitude, I’d be amused. “Eat your noodles.”
As I turn back to the table, Aerin suddenly slips her hand into mine and my heart jumps right up into my throat.
That touch, soft and warm, immediately silences the rampant hamster wheel in my head and my stomach flips.
Until something hard and cold locks around my wrist with a sharp click. I whip around immediately.
