“I already have security outside covered, and we’re checking the strength of your building security. I’ll have a better assessment for members of your team once we know the extent to which they’re being watched, but the focus is on you.”
Standing so close to her and not being able to take her in my arms is painful. Her hair is disheveled, likely from the gym, if her outfit is anything to go by. Loose strands cling to her temples, framing her face in a way that makes her look vulnerable. The flush hasn’t faded from her cheeks yet. Her skin is bare and clean and unfairly smooth and soft.
She’s in black leggings that hug every line of those never-ending legs, and a tank that hangs loose but still showsthe shape of her waist when she moves. There’s a faint sheen on her collarbone, and it takes everything in me not to put my mouth there, not to taste the salt and heat and her.
I drag my gaze back to her eyes before it becomes obvious.
After a moment, she says, “Fine. Is that all?”
“I want someone inside as well,” I say, voice still quiet.
“Inside my building?” she asks. “You said you were checking the security in here.”
“As a secondary measure,” I say. “But primary security will be inside your unit.”
“Inside my apartment?” she asks, her eyes widening. “You want to post menin my apartment?”
“Not men,” I say, keeping my tone even. “Me.”
For a beat, she just stares at me like I’ve lost my mind.
Maybe I have.
“No,” she says flatly and turns away.
“Elsa,” I say patiently. “We can put as much security as we want around you, but the bigger the fence, the bigger the chance something can slip through.”
She walks away from me and behind the giant island that separates her kitchen from the rest of the living area.
“No.” She yanks open the fridge and pulls out a bottle of something pink.
“Iknow you have your doubts,” I answer, following her but making sure to keep the island between us. “I know that I’ve brought problems to your life. But I didn’t bring this one. It would be here with or without me, but at least with me here, I can help.”
Her jaw tightens. “That’s not a convincing argument.”
“It’s the honest one,” I say. “I’ll stay out of your way. I’ll take the couch. I won’t touch anything. I won’t touch you.”
The words feel like metal scraping on the way out, but I keep going. “It won’t matter if I have someone posted outside your door if they manage to get in here undetected. I need someonebehindthe door with you.”
Her throat works as she swallows, the fear there even under the anger.
“And if I say no?” she asks, voice hard.
“Then I’ll just have to adjust my opinion of your intelligence,” I say.
She sets the glass bottle down on the counter with a sigh, and I know I have my yes.
ChapterTwenty Four
Elsa
The bathroom mirror is fogged at the edges from my shower, and my skin still feels warm and flushed in that clean, loosened way it only does when I let the water run too hot too long.
I did.
I took my sweet time.
I told myself it was because I needed to wash the gym off, because I needed to think, because I needed to calm down after Antonio dropped criminal syndicate into my living room like it was as ordinary as a weather report.
