“Nothing happened,” he insisted and took a step forward.
I took a healthy step back. “I haveworkto do. That’s what I am, an employee. You’re my employer’s heir. This—” I gestured between us “—is so unbelievably bad.”
“Quit running away from it,” he snapped. In three long steps, he was on me. “Quit fighting it.”
I tugged away from him. “We’ve had our fun, but it’s over.”
“Don’t say that.” His gaze burned into me. “I’ll be more careful next time.”
“There won’t be a next time,” I insisted. And then, I dropped the truth. If anything would make him stay away, it was that. “I’m not going to be here much longer, and I won’t complicate things for you.”
Nico cupped my jaw in a firm, unforgiving hold. “Don’t make me chase you, Rae. I’ll always catch what’s mine.”
Well, shit.
The truth became glaringly obvious. I needed to leave. Tonight. I didn’t want to take from my uncle, who’d taken me in, but what choice was there? I needed to grab as much cash as I could and flee.
“Let go,” I breathed. “Someone will see.”
“No one’s looking.”
My heart shuddered. He was fighting so hard. For me. For…us. What if I told him? Could he—
Would he—
Leave him.
I was nothing more than a good time. He might have claimed me for a fun little secret, but he didn’t know the cost of making me stay. The fear that he wouldn’t pay if push came to shove had me jerking out of his grasp.
“Goodbye, Nico,” I muttered, turning and ducking out of his reach. “Thanks for everything.”
Mercifully, he didn’t follow me. I dove into the drawing room, where my coworkers shot me looks, varying in degrees of suspicion to outright hatred.
“Food poisoning,” I said with a lame laugh.
The housekeeper’s face turned purple. But whatever she was going to say was cut off by my uncle’s clipped, “Hope it’s better. We have a lot of work to reset for tomorrow.”
I gave him a nod and fell to work. The mundane tasks grounded me, leaving my mind free to toss and turn. There was a lot to do if I left tonight. I just prayed quitting time came soon, before my dumb little heart had a chance to plead its case. With each rapid beat, it tried to change the course, but my mind was made up and held firm. That didn’t make the losing battle any less difficult to face.
Chapter 24 – Rae
The five hundred measly bucks burned a hole in my pocket. I’d stolen before, and I learned at a young age not to let it bother me. But this...this was different. Uncle Theo didn’t deserve it. He might not vocally defend me against the tyrannical housekeeper like he should, but he’d given me this job. He’d covered for my many disappearances. He saw how hard I worked.
And what did I do?
Throw it back in his face.
I’m such a bad person.
Like mother, like daughter. I swiped at my eyes, refusing to let the tears of frustration fall. I wasn’t weak. I wouldn’t let myself cry about shit that was out of my control.
Sneaking through the house, I made my way downstairs. Franky and Uncle Theo would be up in a little over an hour. I kept the garage open on purpose. But it had taken too long to pack. It was like my exhausted body protested the impending doom.
Dropping my letter to Theo on his kitchen table, I snuck into the garage, hefting my suitcase over the threshold. I tossed it in the trunk, dropped my purse on the passenger seat, then stood to look out at the yard. A sweltering breeze snuck into the shelter to caress my face.
“I’m going somewhere warm,” I muttered. Screw the fantasy about cold weather. Although I hadn’t tested the theory, I strongly doubted I was built for a northern winter. Vegas had a lot of classic cars. Maybe someone at one of those garages would hire me, and I could build a reputation for restoration and custom work.
Smiling sadly, I slid behind the wheel.
