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My burner phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out. No one should have been able to reach me, yet there was a message from X. It should disturb me that he’d gotten the number and I didn’t know how. Instead, it comforted me. I had it so bad for this man.
“I need to talk to you when you get to the Marchesis,” X said. “Have their housekeeper bring you to me.”
My mind immediately began running through all the horrible things he might want to say like, “Now that you’re no longer useful, I have to kill you,” or “I’m shipping you off somewhere, and I don’t want you to contact me again.” I pressed a hand to my mouth and swallowed back bile as my mind worked overtime.
Maybe he just wants to debrief.
Then why the ominous message?
Is it really?
I didn’t fucking know. I wasn’t any good at finding the meaning in what people said. That was why I preferred code. I could always figure out the secrets people tried to hide in their code, but understanding their thoughts and intentions was so much harder. Numbers didn’t lie. I was sure a man like X knew how to fool even the most savvy adversary. I was no match for him.
I’ll protect you. I promise.
His words echoed in my head. Maybe he’d really meant them. Maybe he wanted me to… No, I’d never be that lucky.
When we arrived at the Marchesis’ house, the housekeeper greeted us, but before she could say more than “Hello,” Ezra took off in search of Leo, and Niall followed him.
“Are you Emilio?” the woman asked.
There was no point in denying it. The Marchesis probably had security cameras that would show them what I looked like. I would just have to trust them not to reveal what they knew about me.
“Yes.”
“I’m Gemma. Mr. X asked me to bring you to him.”
I was thankful for her warm smile. It had to be obvious how nervous I was. Behind a computer screen I was dangerous, a force to be reckoned with. In person, I was all nerves and awkwardness. I wasn’t prepared to square off against X. If he decided…
“Would you like me to get you anything first? Coffee? Tea? Something to eat?”
The way my stomach was turning in on itself, there was no way I could eat. “No, thank you. I’m fine.”
She studied me for a moment, likely assessing how not fine I was. “If you change your mind, let me know.”
“I will. Thank you.”
She brought me into a room that looked like an old fashion study. I assumed it was the office Lucien Marchesi used when he was there. I was surprised he would allow X to be in his space like that.
When X turned around, I was glad I didn’t have to speak first. I wasn’t sure I could find my voice.
“Do you need anything else?” Gemma asked.
“No, thank you.”
She nodded. “I’ll leave you then, but don’t hesitate to ask if there’s something else I can do.”
“I won’t,” he assured her. Then he turned back to me. “Are you okay?”
The question wasn’t what I expected, and it took me a moment to manage an answer. “Y-yes.”
X narrowed his eyes. “Really?”
“No, I’m not, but I will be. You said you needed to talk to me?”
He nodded. “I wanted to say I’m sorry.”
Of all the things I’d imagined him saying, that wasn’t on the list. I didn’t think X apologized to anyone. “You are?”
His expression softened. “I can admit when I fucked up. Especially since it doesn’t happen often.”
I was certain it didn’t.
“I asked you to do something, and you told me it was dangerous. I pushed, and you listened. I like when the people who work for me do as I say, but not listening to you was a mistake.”
If I hadn’t already had a severe crush on him, that would’ve sealed it. A man with X’s money, political power, and ability to do almost fucking anything—he was basically a superhero as far as I was concerned—was apologizing to me instead of telling me how disappointed he was.
“I put you in danger, and it’s my job to get you out of it.”
“But I have to—”
X held up a hand. “I know that whatever needs to be done online is something you’ll have to do on your own, but there are people coming after you in person. They are the ones I plan to take care of.”
“I don’t think they know what I look like.”
“Isn’t it a matter of time before they do?”
“Maybe not. I might be able to avoid that.” If I was really, really fucking lucky.
“Then you need a place to hide out until you fix the problem.”
“If you’re offering me a safe house or—”
“I’m offering to protect you myself.”
My mouth fell open, and I simply stared at him.
