“I won’t do nighttime surveillance anymore. And I’ll make sure it’s still light when I leave work. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“Sofia.” It’s lower. More commanding.
“You don’t have to worry about me. Not like you’re worried, I’m not saying that. But you don’t have to… I don’t know, feel obligated to keep an eye on me. Just because of last night. Because you don’t. I don’t expect anything.”
“Sofia.” Nico touches my arm. His gaze is dark and intense as it burns into mine. “You can’t go home. It’s not safe.”
“I have to. There’s no place else to go.”
“What about Brian?”
My head jerks back. “How do you know about Brian?”
“I looked you up. Last night.” There’s no apology. Just a straightforward admission. “I know Brian owned A1 before he sold it to you. And he lives in Florida. That’s far enough?—”
“He lives with his son. And his son’s wife and children. There’s no way I’m going to stay with him. Not a chance.”
“Well, your aunt wouldn’t be ideal, since she’s more vulnerable, but she does live in Arizona…”
“You looked up my aunt, too?” My voice rises. “Is there anything you didn’t look up about me? My DNA? What I bought at the grocery store last week?”
“I was worried,” Nico snaps. His cheeks flush. “And for good reason. Considering when I came back?—”
Then he stops. Stalks over to the window and stares out it. His shoulders rise and fall several times. When he turns back to me, guilt has replaced the anger in his eyes. “Shit, Soph. If I hadn’t come back, if I’d been a few minutes later…”
My stomach lurches. “But you came back.”
“I shouldn’t have left. I should have known better. It’s my fucking job to protect people, and I just left, knowing you were in?—”
“Is there a problem in here?” A nurse pokes her head inside the room. She glares at Nico before looking at me. “Are you okay, Miss Shaw?”
For just a second, I consider saying no. That Nicoisbothering me, and that he needs to leave. Nico wouldn’t want to make a scene, so he’d have to go.
But I don’t. Instead, I force a weak smile and say, “I’m fine. Mr. Parisi is just upset about the situation.”
The nurse looks at him again, and he smiles at her. “I apologize for raising my voice,” he says. “I’m just very concerned about my friend’s safety.”
She practically dissolves into a puddle. “Oh, of course, Mr. Parisi.” All of a sudden, she’s not worried about me anymore. “It’s good that Miss Shaw has someone looking out for her.”
He shoots her one of those panty-melting smiles that used to drive me mad. “Oh, absolutely.”
My teeth grind together.
Once the nurse leaves, I snap, “Maybe you should go after her. Ask for her number.”
His forehead creases in confusion. “What?”
My face heats. Great. Now I sound like a jealous ex. Which I patently amnot.
“Nothing,” I mutter. “Anyway, I have to go home. That’s the end of it. Whenever I’m released?—”
“This afternoon.”
“What?”
“This afternoon,” he repeats. “Assuming you have someone who can look after you, you’ll be released this afternoon.”
“How did you?—”
