“What will happen now? When will I go home? How will I ever be able to step into that house again?” I feel panicked at the idea of going back there, but I suppose I’ll have to at some point. It’s my home. All my belongings are there. I’ll have to deal with my father’s estate, and… I squeeze my eyes closed as I’m bombarded with the overwhelming task.
“Hey… Look at me, sweetheart.”
After inhaling deeply, I meet his gaze. My heart seizes. He’s being so damn kind to me. He doesn’t have to do this.
“One day at a time, Autumn, but let me answer some of your questions. Until the people who did this are found and eliminated, you’re not setting one foot outside this apartment unless it’s for a good reason and you’re glued to my side.”
My breath hitches. “That could take months or years or never happen.”
He shakes his head. “I will find who did this, and I will make them pay. It won’t take long, I promise. Black Blade Protection is the best in the country at locating people who’d like to remain hidden. Between my team and me, we will find out who did this and hunt them down.”
I swallow. He’s serious. He’s planning to kill someone or even a group of people. He said eliminated. That’s a polite way of saying dead. “What if you get caught?”
He smirks. “Autumn…” His tone is teasing. “I don’t get caught. I get even.”
I flip my hand over and squeeze his. “Surely whoever killed my father doesn’t care about me. If they had, they could have easily murdered both of us. Maybe it would be best to let this go and not take unnecessary risks.”
Mace lifts my fingers to his lips and kisses the tips. It’s so damn intimate. When he does things like that, it makes me feel like we’re in a relationship. I have to keep reminding myself we’re not.
He speaks to me while rubbing my knuckles against his lips. “Let me worry about tracking down the bad guys. You’ve been through hell. Don’t think about anything except resting, eating, and keeping your strength up. It’s what your father would want.”
I’m mesmerized by the tone of his voice and the way he’s holding my fingers. “I was at a job interview before I found him,” I say as the reminder pops into my head. My thoughts are all over the place.
He smiles. “Oh yeah? Where?”
I guess we’re making small talk now. “It was for a managerial position at a daycare chain.”
“Ah. How do you think you did?”
I shrug. He’s leading the conversation away from the topic of murder. I’m the one who started it by recalling something so mundane as a job interview. “Fine. I don’t know how many people they were interviewing. Probably ten people for one spot. The competition for that job is stiff. But I should check my phone in case they called or messaged me.”
“Is your cell still in your purse? It’s probably dead.”
I wince. He’s right. “Yes.”
“I’ll plug it in on my desk, but you can’t take that job even if they offer it to you. It wouldn’t be safe to go back to Indianapolis.”
I slowly nod. “I can’t stay here forever, disrupting your life.”
Mace stretches our combined hands beside my head on the pillow and presses my fingers into the soft surface. He leans over me until his face is inches from mine.
After searching my eyes for long seconds, he finally speaks. “You will never disrupt my life, Baby girl. And you can stay here forever. I hope you do.”
The room spins out of control. His words make no sense. I stop breathing. “Mace…”
“I mean it, Autumn. I know you’re mourning a terrible loss right now, and you will be unnerved and confused for a while, but in the meantime, this is your home, sweetheart. No matter what happens, this will always be your home. If you need to return to Indianapolis at some point for closure, I’ll take you myself. If not, I’ll have someone else retrieve what you need and manage the sale of the estate.”
His words sound like they’re coming from above water, but my head is under the water. I’m hooked on a few key words. Baby girl. He called me Baby girl. Not sweetheart this time. Another word that stuck out was forever. That’s too unimaginable to process.
I lick my lips. “Do you feel like you owe it to my father to take care of me?”
He flinches. “Autumn, I definitely owe it to James Burke to take care of his daughter. I would give my life for his, and I would do the same for you. But my obligation to him is irrelevant. Put it out of your mind. I would do anything for you, even if I’d never met your father, because there’s an undeniable connection between us that draws me to you like a magnet.”
I gasp. I think he’s caused that reaction from me a few times. Am I hearing him correctly?
“Do you remember what your last words were before you fell asleep, Autumn?”
My face flushes as I nod. I turn my head away again, just like I did then. I’m embarrassed.
