This is the last job he’ll do for his father for at least a few months, because next week we’re off to California for college.
Just the thought of a life away from the mafia makes my chest tighten. Neither of us got to choose this life, as we were born into it, but for a few blissful years we’ll get to imagine a life without the guns and danger, without blood and sin.
We can pretend to be normal teenagers in love, finding our feet in a whole new world. Except while everyone else’s transition will be from high school to college, ours will be from armed guards to freedom.
“Just one more minute,” he says playfully, gazing down at me with pure adoration.
The way he looks at me still has butterflies erupting in my belly every single day, and I can’t see that ever changing, because despite only having loved one another, that same love grows every day.
I lean forward and take his lips, allowing myself to sink into his arms for the one more minute he demanded, because I can’t deny him anything.
Ronan pulls back just enough that he’s staring down at me again. “I’ll call you tonight and let you know when I get in safely.”
I nod, dragging my bottom lip between my teeth and biting down to warn away the tears that threaten to fall. It’s stupid. I know we’ll see each other again in a few days, that I’ll hear his voice in a few hours, but saying goodbye is hard when safety isn’t a part of your everyday life.
Every time one of us steps outside the walls of this compound, there’s a chance we won’t come back, and that’s the reality of mafia life I struggle the most with.
“Be safe,” I whisper.
“I always am.” He presses one last kiss to my lips and steps back, and I miss his warmth immediately.
It’s just a few days, I remind myself as I watch him head down the hallway, disappearing toward the front of the house once he reaches the end.
But there’s a pit of dread rolling in my belly that I haven’t been able to shake since I opened my eyes this morning.
Something’s not quite right, and no matter how hard I try to convince myself otherwise, it’s all I can think about as I head back to my own room, my favorite lip balm clutched in my palm.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
RONAN
NOW
Stalking Chloe through a hospital isn’t one of my proudest moments, but this is the only way I could get her alone without that hulking asshole getting between us.
I didn’t expect him to stay in the waiting room, but his carelessness is my gain.
There was very little information on the guy when I ran a quick background check, but I have my guy working on getting more. There’s no way Camilla De Marco has an untrained man guarding someone that means anything to her, which means Ryker has to have a past, and I’m determined to find everything I can on the motherfucker.
Partially because I need to know what I’m coming up against when we move to take Chloe back to Florida, and partially because the way he looks at my woman has my skin crawling.
No.
Not my woman.
Not anymore.
Now she’s just a loose end to be taken care of.
I wait a full minute before following her into the restroom, giving anyone else that may be inside a chance to leave before I step inside, flicking the lock to ensure we’re not interrupted.
Chloe stands at the sink, her eyes downcast on her hands in the water, and I don’t hesitate to step up behind her.
She won’t get the chance to run from me this time. I deserve an explanation. I deserve to know why she left without so much as a word.
Why she didn’t trust me enough to let me know she was okay but trusted Kingston fucking Beaumont to be her knight in shining armor.
And I deserve to know where my kid is.
