Page 36 of Hide Little Traitor

He sucks in a breath, his eyes pressing closed for a beat before returning to mine. “I did. I promised your father that if anything ever happened to him that I would make sure you were safe, and if you’d stayed with me back then, you wouldn’t have been. There would have been a target on your back, and that was unacceptable. So I called an old friend.”

“John De Marco,” I provide.

He nods. “John had provided support early on in Hawk Security, and we formed a friendship of sorts. We weren’t close, partially because he was juggling running one of the biggest crime families in New York, being a father, and looking after his sick wife, and partially because I refused to let anyone close after the accident. I called to offer my condolences when his wife passed while you were recovering from surgery, and I mentioned needing to find somewhere safe for you until I could make my life safe enough for you. You and Camilla were the perfect fit, and it gave me a few years to get things prepared.

“Unfortunately it took longer than I had hoped to get the business to a point where I wouldn’t need to travel as often and where you would be safe. Which brings us to now.”

Kingston brushes his fingers down my cheek, his touch soft and reverent as he stares down at me with emotions I must be imagining.

“Leaving you that morning was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, Chloe. Harder than when my parents abandoned me. Harder than saying goodbye to Caroline. Harder than anything I can imagine. But I would do anything to keep you safe, and that was what I’ve reminded myself of every single day of the last ten years.”

I swallow the lump in my throat. It’s on the tip of my tongue to give in, to allow myself to be someone’s whole world again. But I don’t know Kingston, not anymore at least, and I refuse to marry someone that would blackmail me into marriage.

“I’m not marrying you, King,” I murmur. “And you shouldn’t want me to say yes just because you’re not giving me a choice.”

I push against his hold, and he lets me go easily, my chest aching with every step I take away from him.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

RYKER

NOW

Another fucking Lombardi.

Perfect.

As if the last week hasn’t been bad enough with Ronan, now I have to save Damon’s ass?

I’m not even convinced Chloe likes this one. Every interaction I’ve seen between the two of them has been hostile at best.

But as much as I would love to have one fewer asshole to compete with for Chloe’s heart, I can’t risk her resenting me for letting him die.

When it comes to Chloe, I take no risks.

Ronan’s phone buzzes when we’re an hour from landing at the same airfield we used before, and he just about drops the thing in his haste to answer it.

I’ve heard stories about Ronan Lombardi. He’s ruthless. Unfeeling. Unhinged when the mood strikes. But so far I’ve seen none of those things.

At first I thought it was because those were just stories I heard, probably spread by his father to make the family seem more formidable. But then I realized what it was and why I couldn’t understand him.

The people he cares about make him reckless, something that has never been a problem for me.

At least not until Chloe walked into my life.

Objectively I care about my mom and sisters, and I’ve distanced myself from them over the years in order to keep them safe.

But Ronan would do anything to protect those close to him.

“Hello?” he rushes out, tapping the speaker button so I can hear the conversation from both sides.

“We might have a problem,” Damon says.

“We know. We’re on our way to Miami to get you now.”

There’s a pause. “How the hell do you know?”

“Kingston has a rat in the compound. Says some of the old-timers have been gathering evidence against you to present to Dad.”