“But your house is full of surveillance equipment. None of that was normal IT-level stuff.”
“It’s for my job. What did you see anyway? There’s a reason that room was locked.” He tried to hide it, but I heard the concern in his words, which made me even more curious about what he did.
“Nothing. You look like the sort of guy who has everything password-protected, and I didn’t have time to look to see if you kept it written on a Post-it stuck somewhere on your desk.”
He growled, making it clear that he was pissed off that I’d broken in. “So you know your way around security?” I asked, changing the subject.
He shrugged. “A little.”
“Right, well, I need to break into a house, but I need someone on the outside to help,” I lied, unable to just say I was scared to go there on my own; scared of what or who would be there waiting for me. He pointed to himself, his eyes wide. “And you’re forcing me to help?”
I blew out a breath, my shoulders sagging. “I mean, if you need me to say I’m forcing you to protect your moral compass or something, then yes, but really I’m hoping you’ll want to help because it’s me.”
He moved slowly, each footstep seeming to take forever as he closed the distance between us. When he was in front of me, he took hold of my face, tilting my head upwards, his eyes bouncing between mine. “This isn’t fair, you know.”
“What isn’t?” The sun beamed in the small, dirty window, lighting up the dust motes that drifted through the air, distracting me momentarily.
“You’re using how I feel about you to get what you want. You know I won’t say no to you… that I can’t say no to you.”
“I need you, Ro.” My voice was barely a whisper, my admission burning through me like a flame about to ignite an inferno.
“I’m still so fucking angry with you. I don’t know what’s going on, and I’m not just going to let that slide and pretend all this,” he glanced around the cabin, “didn’t happen, but say it again.”
He released his hold on me, and I took his hand in mine, entwining our fingers and bringing them up to my lips, placing a light kiss to his knuckles. “I need you, Ro. I need you to look out for me and keep me safe while I break into this house. You’re the only person in the world I trust to do that.”
He heaved out a long sigh, lowering his forehead against mine. “Fuck, I never stood a chance with you, did I?”
I wasn’t sure what he meant, but it didn’t matter because seconds later, his lips were on mine, his kiss fierce and determined, as if he was pouring his promise to keep me safe into my soul, and despite how scared I was about trusting him and what would happen when he found out the truth, in this moment, I believed that between us, we could do just about anything.
47
ROMAN
“This would be so much easierif you let me go back to my office to get some more equipment. I’ve got so much stuff that would help.” I glanced left and right as Hana shielded the lock with her body, not showing me how she was getting inside.
I’d tried to talk her into letting me head to the office first. I also wanted to check my footage of her place and see if I could work out who’d shot at her, but she wouldn’t let me out of her sight, and I couldn't check without her finding out about the cameras I had watching every area of her life.
“I don’t need fancy equipment. I just need another set of hands,” she huffed.
I couldn’t believe I was doing any of this, and now we were here, my unease was growing. We were smack bang in the centre of the city, Hana breaking into the four-story building that looked like it was built in Victorian times, with its pitched slate roof and large bay windows.
“What even is this place?” I asked, looking around again, just as there was a click and the door opened, the alarm beeping to alert us that it was armed. She walked to the control panel on the wall and typed in a four-digit code, the noise silencing instantly.
I frowned. “You know the code? So, why do you need me?” I’d already hacked the camera feed on the front door, so no one would see us coming or be alerted that the alarm had been deactivated.
“Inside,” she whispered.
I took a couple of steps over the threshold and paused. Hana closed the door and let out an audible sigh before adjusting the gloves she had on again. I dragged my eyes from her to look around the place—high ceilings, hardwood floors, perfectly placed knick-knacks filled the side tables and mantlepiece I could see through the open door to the living room.
“Who lives here?” I also whispered. I presumed we were here alone, but if the last twenty-four hours had taught me anything, it was not to presume anything when it came to Hana.
“No one. It’s a safe house.”
“And you’re here for…”
She threw her finger over her shoulder at the stairs that led up to the top floors and down to what I presumed was a basement. “To get my life back.”
I shifted the heavy bag she’d asked me to bring on my shoulder, gripping my laptop firmer in my hand.
