The man grunted and held his hand out to me. Once I was off the vessel, he ushered me up the iron steps, not answering until we were on the lawn. “I've never worked for Romano a day in my life, nor will I ever. Mr. Stevens recruited me.”
The front doors opened, Bella waiting in the foyer with a kind smile on her lips. A man was behind her, one I'd seen around before. He started showing up after the Romano cousins cornered me.
My brows came together as I processed his words, stopping to face him. “So where did he recruit you from?”
He smiled, his teeth flashing in the night. “Prison, Ms. Jones. Mr. Stevens gave me a second chance at life, which is why I let you have your way in the jet. He told me that if I so much as thought of touching you, he would cut my hands off.”
I gulped.
He chuckled. “After you, Ms. Jones.”
“Oh, you can call me Karina. I don’t mind.”
He nodded. “Mr. Stevens said you would say that. He also said that if I called you by your first name, he would rip my tongue out with a pair of hot pliers.”
“That’s a bit extreme.”
Another chuckle. He found this funny.
Bella greeted me, tipping her chin down. “Welcome back, Ms.—”
I lunged for her, wrapping her in a tight embrace. “I swear to God, if one more person addresses me like my grandma, I will riot.”
Her soft laughter filled my ears, and my eyes met very protective ones. The beast of a man who was behind her, propped against the wall, was watching my every move.
I’d put a pin in that for now.
“Is Haley gone?” I whispered to her.
“Yes. The FBI came for her two days ago.”
I released her from my embrace, my eyes scanning the foyer. “They didn’t hurt anyone or damage anything, did they? I told James not to.” When confusion settled over her features, I added, “I ran into James in Boston. He's the FBI Agent on the case. Was he nice?”
“There was no man named James here, Ms. Jones.”
What?
The man shrugged, pushing off the wall to stand behind Bella. “Just some Latina and a man named Jeremy.”
My stomach plummeted.
My brother had been here.
After my slight breakdown, I decided to head up to my room.
I hadn’t anticipated the extra security, but it made sense. It also made me worried Collin did something.
Something bad.
Whether I had returned to St. Louis or not, this was my demon’s home. His solitude. The fact that the most dangerous man in the world needed extra men on site had my stomach twisting.
I waited in my suite until the early morning, taking a shower and changing into some silk pjs. The crescent moon was high in the sky, and the fog from earlier remained, lingering over the dark water, hiding this fortress from the world.
Cracking open my door, I looked left and right down the hall before stepping into it. I knew where Collin’s room was; I had just never been in it. Seeing as how he had been inside me, it was only fair I got to be in his room.
That was where I would sleep every night until he returned. I knew what his motivation was. He was trying to protect me, but he failed to realize that a life without him wouldn’t be a life at all. Collin gave me the power to enjoy breathing again, instead of living my life in a safe bubble.
He didn’t want to fight for us, and I couldn’t blame him, not after the monsters that he'd to fight. I knew in my heart that accepting my love would be difficult for him, but he was worth it.
