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The relief in telling someone what the dead man had whispered in my ear as he’d held me at gunpoint was profound. But only for a moment.
Dominic’s head whipped toward me. “Mari? He said that?”
His usually calm demeanor vanished, and suddenly, I could see how he’d become underboss. He was dark and devilish. The type of foe to come at you from the front and take your head as a trophy. Outright sinister. He was fire and brimstone.
Everything about Greyson screamed the opposite. He seemed like the type to wait until he could dismantle you piece by piece, destroying everything you held dear, before coming for your life. He was nothing but ice and frost.
They suited each other, two sides of the same coin. Two guards for Mari’s back. I envied them a little.
“Yeah. He told me to call you. Said he wanted to see you in person, but the way he was asking…I knew it wasn’t going to end well.”
A hand settled on mine, and I tried to ignore how every part of me reacted to it. I looked up, getting caught in eyes I had no business looking at. Christ, she was beautiful. “Thank you.”
Her voice was back to that soft, breathy thing it had been when she’d walked in, and I shifted in the seat, trying to hide how much it affected me. I wasn’t going to send her mixed signals, so my dick needed to calm down.
“If Mari was their target, your killing their man is going to sting even more. You’ll need to be out of sight for a while.”
I took a breath, ready to defend myself, when Mari’s grip on me tightened. “Grey’s right. You’ll need to go underground for a while. We’ve got plenty of rooms at?—”
“Thanks, but no. I’ll be fine at my place.” I truly doubted it, but I had no other option.
She huffed. “Look, I know you aren’t interested in pursuing anything with me, but be smart. This is the safest thing for you, and I feel guilty. You wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for me.”
That wasn’t strictly true, but I couldn’t tell her that.
“You don’t have to come, but if you do, I’ll stay away. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable, but I’d rather have you under my roof where I can keep an eye on you.”
And protect me.
For a second, I didn’t know how to respond. She was inviting me into her home. Me, a relative stranger, because she wanted me to be safe. At a time when no shortage of people were aching to see her dead, it was a risky move. One I hadn’t earned.
“I know how much the offer means right now and I appreciate it, but I’ll be fine on my own.”
I could tell she wanted to disagree with my decision, but eventually, she nodded.
Turning back to Greyson, she tapped an unstable beat on her leg as she thought. “If he isn’t staying with us, he needs a guard on him at all times.”
Wait, what? “I don’t need?—”
“We can spare a few,” Greyson said, talking over me. His eyes slid between Mari and me pointedly, and I realized he was placating her. The stress was rolling off her now, and putting a guard on me, setting up a plan so I was safe despite not wanting it, grounded her. Kept her level.
Mari nodded over and over, her mind a million miles away. “If I could, I’d put you in a safe house, but we won’t do that until we have to. For now, you’ll take a week or two off. Fully paid, of course. Stay home and relax. When the threat’s clear again, we’ll let you come back.”
“And when people ask where I’ve been for weeks? I’ve got a life, you know.” I didn’t really, but I was curious about the answer.
Dominic shrugged. “Tell them you were sick or your goldfish died. Who cares?”
No one. The reminder that I was relatively alone sat uncomfortably in my chest. “Fine.”
Mari leaned forward, fierce gaze locked on mine. “Let me be clear. You stay at your place or at ours. There’s no other option. Refuse to listen, and lose the right to choose which. Understood?”
My mouth went dry. I liked it when she bossed me around. Not all the time, but something about that firm, take-no-shit voice got me going. “Understood.”
It was clear that Mari hated everything about the situation, but with nothing to do about it, she had to let it go. “Grab whatever you need from your locker. We’ll walk you to your car.”
I had nothing to grab, so we walked straight out once Mari’s guards confirmed it was safe to leave.
“Text Shara any updates. Suspicious people hanging around, any attempts on your life, et cetera. Don’t be stingy, tell us everything. We can’t keep you breathing if you don’t.”
