He brushes hair from my cheek, smiling sadly. “We had a good run. We had more than I expected I’d have. But it has to end.”
“Does it?” I ask, pressing my hand against his, adding pressure to the warmth against my face.
“It does,” he says firmly. “I’m going to help you.”
“You help too many people already,” I murmur.
He pulls back suddenly, curling his lip. “Is that a dig about Liam?”
“What? No!”
“My secret didn’t involve hurting you, Izzy.”
“It wasn’t a dig,” I snap.
“Hmm,” he grunts, rubbing his jaw.
“Are you trying to force yourself to be mad at me?” I demand. “Are you trying to make yourself hate me?”
His eyes widen with a moment of acknowledgement, then he turns away. “Have a good life.”
“Dom,” I yell when he’s at the door.
He turns, staring at me with wounded eyes. He doesn’t look angry anymore. He doesn’t look hateful. He looks like a lost little boy who’s discovered Santa isn’t real. It’s more devastating than if he threw something.
“I’m sorry,” I tell him wholeheartedly. “You deserved better.”
“Yeah,” he says. “I thought so too, for a little while.”
CHAPTER 20
DOMINIC
“All clear, sir,” Mikhail tells me down the phone. He’s the head of the security agency I hired to watch Izzy and her grandmother four days ago. It’s the first thing I did after leaving her apartment with a lump in my throat and a hole in my chest. “The grandmother is under constant care. Nothing has changed there. Miss Marlowe has remained in her apartment except when she visits her grandmother. A few times, she’s gone for a drive, but it looks as though it’s an end in and of itself. Her routes are random, and I can’t see any connection yet.”
“How does she look?” I ask, grinding my teeth as I stand at the window, overlooking the city.
You shouldn’t care anymore, my father warns.
“Sir?” Mikhail says.
“Didn’t you hear me?”
He clears his throat. “Apologies, sir, I’m just not sure what you mean.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing.”
What a lie that is.
“Just make sure they’re safe.”
I’m already paying for her grandmother’s care, so that’s one less thing to worry about. What’s not so easily fixed is this tugging in my chest. Every time I think of Izzy—which is far too often—my chest goes tight. I can’t shake this ache, this vicious certainty that I’ve done something wrong.
Butshe’sthe one who betrayedme, for fuck’s sake.
I return to my desk, staring down at my cell phone. It’s like my thumbs have a life of their own. Without even really deciding to, I’m typing a message.
Dominic:I hate how this started. I hate that you betrayed me. I hate the lies. I hate that we didn’t get to be together long enough to make a real go of it. I was furious the last time we saw each other. Cold. But the more time that passes, the harder it is to ignore, Songbird… YOU HAD NO CHOICE. What were you supposed to do with them threatening your grandmother? Your only family?
