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“No,” I protested.
“Yes. I’ve done dark things. I’m not a nice person, and I never will be.”
“You’re going after human traffickers. That’s good.”
“The results are ultimately good, but the methods… I’ve come to terms with them, but I don’t expect anyone else to.”
“Leo, I think you’re good no matter what you think of yourself.”
“Thank you.” He brushed my hair from my face. “Let me get you some water. I know your throat must hurt.”
“It’s worth it.”
“I’m glad, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to make it better.” He scooped me up in his arms and carried me to the kitchen. I could really get used to being treated like a princess.
“Is there anything else you need,” he asked after handing me a glass of water and getting one for himself.
I bit my lip, not sure I could ask for what I actually wanted. “I know we need to go get me some clothes and decorate and all, but I was hoping you could hold me for a little while. I know you did that while we watched TV, but I fell asleep.”
Leo took my hand. “Come with me and bring your water.”
He held my hand as we walked back through the living room, past the door of his bedroom and toward the door at the end of the hall. I’d expected it to open into a guest room or an office. Instead, I saw a huge picture window and oodles of plants. It was a conservatory, and it made me feel like I was in a Jane Austen novel. This room didn’t have the cold perfection of the rest of the apartment. This was Leo. This was real.
“I like the view from here best,” Leo said as if he hadn’t just taken me to a magical place that shouldn’t exist in a city apartment. Fog obscured the view, but that simply added to the sensation that we were somewhere separate from the real world.
Leo sat in an oversize chair that faced the window and pulled me into his lap. I laid my head against his shoulder as he pressed a kiss to my hair. We stayed like that for a while, warm and snuggly. Then his phone rang.
He pulled it from his pocket and glanced at it. “Shit. It’s X. I’m going to have to take it.”
I knew he couldn’t ignore the call, but I hated for our special time together to end. After he answered, he was quiet for several moments, his concern growing more intense.
“Is he sure?” Leo asked. “Then we’ve got to move quickly. We already needed to and now… I know… Yes, I’ll be in early… He’s still with me. I’m going to keep him here… I know what I’m doing… Yes, sir.” Those last words were clipped. He ended the call and set his phone beside him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just more shit with Swain. We’ll take care of it.”
“X doesn’t think I should be here with you, does he?”
“He’s just concerned. This mission… It’s complicated.”
“I don’t want to be a distraction.”
Leo shook his head. “You’re not.”
“Are you sure? Shouldn’t you be out there tracking Swain down or something?”
“Not today. Today, I should be here with you.”
We finally left to get my clothes and a tree for Leo’s apartment. He decided we should go in early the next day to decorate the shop, so we focused on decorating his tree and putting up lights and other things from his many boxes of Christmas decor. The more decorations we used, the more his house started to look like a home.
“Why don’t you put more of your own things up? If not your art, then… something.”
Leo frowned. “This has really just been a place to sleep.
We spent the evening admiring the twinkling lights while we played chess—he won every time—watched more Law and Order, and ate delicious Thai food from a nearby restaurant.
Late that night, he laid me down in front of his fireplace, put me on my hands and knees, and took me more gently than he had before. The slower pace didn’t change anything. Having him inside me was still soul-shattering.
I’d been at the tattoo shop with Leo for several hours. I wanted to take my lunch break, but Leo had been closed in the back with the other men from Vigilance since just after we’d opened. I’d ended up rescheduling all his appointments for the day.
My phone rang, and I pulled it out to check the number. It was Agatha, the owner of my favorite bookshop. I nearly dropped the phone in my eagerness to answer. Agatha’s shop specialized in mysteries, and she’d been on the lookout for some hard-to-find classics for me. I was hoping something had come in.
“Agatha, how are you?”
“I’m doing just fine. It’s good to hear your voice. It feels like I haven’t seen you in ages.”
