Haley was here, had been for three weeks. He told me I couldn’t see her but that she was safe. I didn’t know why he told me that. He didn’t have to, but something compelled him to, and that something was what I was fighting for. Bella told me that Haley was safe, and she checks on her every day.
He won’t tell me what happened. Every time I tried to bring her up, he shut it down.
I had to trust him.
I had to trust him.
Haley was alright. He wouldn’t hurt her.
The golden light disappeared as he shut the door, his footsteps slow behind me. A moment later, I heard the chair on the other side of the bed groan slightly under his weight.
I kept my gaze ahead, focusing on the high moon outside the window as I tried to focus on the sound of waves outside. Some nights, he would talk, while some nights he would remain quiet. Silently, I prayed this would be a night he wanted to talk. We hadn’t spoken to each other in days. Some nights, he would leave my room at four in the morning and not come back until ten at night. Bella said he had errands to run for Mr. Romano.
Whatever errands, he always managed to be back before midnight.
Why?
“You should be sleeping, Karina.”
I jumped at the sound of his voice—deep, rich, and somewhat strained.
“Right back at ya,” I said quietly. I heard movement, perhaps him shifting in the chair.
“I’ll sleep when I'm dead,” he murmured. I turned then, rolling over to face him.
“That’s a long way off,” I returned, adjusting my pillows to avoid looking at him. His chuckle caused that plan to fail. As my head fell back against the pillow, my eyes gravitated to him, the breath in my lungs damn near knocked out of me.
Why was the man I was supposed to hate so painfully beautiful?
He was leaning back in the cushioned chair, his right ankle resting atop his left knee, dressed in black pants, black dress shoes, and a black shirt. It was nothing out of the normal compared to his daily wardrobe, but tonight, the top two of his shirt buttons were undone, revealing his tattooed skin. Usually, it was just his neck I got to see. Every inch of him had to be covered in ink, aside from his hauntingly beautiful face.
He was staring out the window, the moonlight shining down on the bed and him. His skin was pale, which made him look even more menacing, and his ice blue eyes could pierce anyone’s soul. His high cheekbones, straight nose, and perfect lips made him look like an angel.
But he wasn’t an angel.
He was a demon, loyal only to the devil himself, Ray Romano.
I was going to do everything in my power to change that.
“How was your day?” I asked softly, changing the subject because the thought of him dying didn’t sit right with me.
Those ice eyes slid to my face, and I expected a snarky comment or a look of disgust. I held my breath, mentally preparing myself for the blow, but instead—
“Long.”
Well, not snarky, but it also didn’t give me a lot to go on. I nodded and looked to the other side of the room, where the built-in bookshelves stood tall. We sat in silence for a few minutes, and then he broke the silence.
“Has everyone been treating you alright?”
I nodded, keeping my eyes away from him.
A few weeks ago, I made him think some of his men tried to harm me. He didn’t like that. It wasn’t exactly a lie; two brothers tried harassing me a few times. They were related to Romano, and at first I thought they were his sons. Both tried to corner me in the kitchen, and I told them to fuck off.
That was a few weeks ago…and I hadn’t seen them since.
“Words, Karina.”
I looked back to him, his head back as he slouched slightly, his hands resting on the armrests.
