Exhaling in relief, I feel my heart rate decreasing with his caring actions. “You did?”
“I’m sorry if I overstepped. Last night was very stressful for you, then selfishly, I kept you up even later. You needed your sleep, and I couldn’t bring myself to wake you.”
Crazily, I’m not upset that he overstepped this boundary. I mean, there are very few boundaries between us anyway. He saved me from being late for work. How could I fault him for that?
“Thank you,” I tell him softly. “Would you mind coming with me to get my clothes?”
“No need. I went over this morning and packed you a bag.”
I sag into him, relief overwhelming me. His arms immediately envelop me, pulling me into the safety and warmth of his chest.
“I will always take care of you. You don’t have to be scared or stressed. That’s my burden now.” He presses a kiss to thetop of my head, then rests his chin there. “And, for the record, those men don’t scare me. Nor does whoever sent them.”
“Okay,” I murmur into the crook of his arm, eased by his words. By his vow. Obviously, Bash will take care of me. Hasn’t he been watching over me for years? He’ll continue to do so. And he’s mafia, or whatever he is. He took out those men from last night and came back unscathed.
…
“She’s on break!” a gruff voice behind me commands, the only warning I get before I’m physically turned around.
Tom studies me, inspecting every inch for… I don’t know what for. “Umm, can I help you?”
“Ridiculous girl! Your house gets broken into, and you don’t call us to help you. I hear it from Janine of all people!” Tom’s grudge with the bubbly Janine has me biting back a smile. He’s clearly concerned, so now is not the time to be caught laughing.
“She shouldn’t have told you that.” I’m upset with her, but only because she worried Tom.
“I demanded to know why you weren’t here for lunch. She knows we’re close, plus I wouldn’t leave her alone, so she eventually told me. Are you okay?” His tone softens on the latter sentence, his concern evident.
“I’m fine,” I assure him. When he still doesn’t seem convinced, I double down. “Really, I am. Everything’s fine.” Bash made it fine.
“What happened?” he urges.
“Two men broke into my house in the middle of the night.” I purposely leave out that they were there to take me. I guess the less I know and the less he knows, the better.
“And then?”
“And then…” I blush when I recall the rest of the night. “I snuck out of my bedroom window, climbed my backyard fence, and ran to Bash’s house.”
His face sours. “Was this his fault?”
“What?” Why would he think Bash has anything to do with this? Has my track record really been that bad with men? “No, of course not. He scared the men away or something like that. I don’t know. But he kept me safe.”
“Hmmm,” he muses in a disbelieving tone. “How bad is the damage?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t been back.” It comes out slowly as it dawns on me. How could I not have checked out my house? Or at least on my sweet pets.
“Lizzy, you need to check it out. I can go with you after work today if you’re afraid. What did the cops say? Have they cleared the house?”
I open my mouth to respond, then close it. Because how do I tell Tom that calling the police isn’t an option, because I can’t have my identity inspected.
“We didn’t involve the cops.” The words taste sour in my mouth because of how ridiculous they sound.
“Of course, he wouldn’t want the cops involved,” I think he mutters, but I can’t be sure. Then he straightens and wraps me in a short hug. “The important thing is you’re okay. I’ll let Betty know that I’ll be late coming home because I’m checking out your house with you. If you don’t feel safe staying there, you’re welcome to stay with us as long as you need.”
His offer reminds me of the life I’ve built here. It solidifies that I won’t let my past ruin it.Even though my house scares me, I have no intention of taking him up on his offer. Because there’s a different guy whose house I intend to stay at. Whose bed I intend to sleep in.
Avoiding eye contact while reddening like a tomato, I try to find the right words to tell Tom. “I really appreciate it, but Bash is letting me stay at his place.” Or, at least, I think I can convince him to let me stay with him. “He’s probably going to check my house for me, and I’m going to go directly to his place after work.”
Tom’s eyes narrow skeptically. He clearly doesn’t trust Bash. But that’s only because he doesn’t know him like I do. He doesn’t realize there’s no safer place for me than Bash’s house. Because Bash will protect me with his life. But I can’t exactly tell Tom that he can trust Bash because Bash has been stalking me for years, protecting me from afar. He wouldn’t understand how sweet that is.
