“Wait.” Aurelia pushes back. Her face is red and her eyes are wet with tears, but she brushes them away and crosses to stand in front of Kai.
Blood is trailing down the side of his face and he’s split his lip, presumably having banged his head on the floor when she hit him. He coughs, his throat obviously bruised where I crushed it. But he looks at her as she approaches, and his brows draw together.
“Why?” she whispers. “I don’t understand. Was it because I gave you the slip? Were you punishing me?”
He turns and spits a glob of blood on the floor. Then he looks back at her. “He doesn’t deserve you,” he says, his voice hoarse. He flicks a gaze at me, then looks back at her. “He couldn’t keep you safe.”
“And you could… by stalking me?” She’s furious.
“You didn’t have protection. Anything could have happened to you. Now you do, thanks to me.” His eyes shine. He means every word.
“You crazy fuck,” Ella says, and she manhandles him toward the door. “With any luck you’ll spend the next ten years behind bars.”
“I just wanted to keep you safe!” he yells, but Ella forces him along the corridor, and the door swings shut.
“Jesus Christ.” Marcus has gone white. “He really thinks he was doing you a favor.”
“He’s gone,” I say firmly, as Aurelia turns back to me. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
To my surprise, she slides her arms around me. Marcus’s eyebrows rise, and he looks from her to me and back again.
“He’s in love with her,” Caesar says. “If that’s any help.”
I lower my head and kiss her hair, holding Marcus’s gaze. Aurelia nestles into my embrace, burying her face in my neck.
“She means everything to me,” I say simply, to her father and her brothers.
Marcus purses his lips. “I guess I can think of worse boyfriends for her to have than a bodyguard.” He gives a small smile.
Aurelia gives a small sob. “You came,” she whispers.
I look down at her, feeling close to tears myself. I got there in time. I tighten my arms around her, while the knot that’s lived beneath my ribs for six weeks finally loosens. Around me, the ghosts of Afghanistan are watching, but for once, they’re not as ominous as they usually are. I’ve kept her safe. Everything’s going to be okay.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Aurelia
The next few hours are busy, as we greet the police and give statements, and I answer phone calls and emails once the news gets out about me having a stalker.
It’s closing in on six p.m. before I decide it’s time to pack up. I often work later, but it’s been an exhausting day, and I’m more than ready to head home.
As I pack my things away, I wonder what Luke’s up to. After he gave his statement to the police, he joined Ella in the security office, and I know they had a debrief, running through what happened with the rest of the team and discussing the outcome.
To my relief, Marcus wasn’t mad at us and has kind of given us his blessing. I know that was bothering Luke, and now, with the stalker in police custody, I feel as if we can think about the future.
I glance up then, and surprise and pleasure flow through me as I see him leaning against the door jamb, his hands in his pockets, watching me.
“Hey!” I walk around the desk and slide my arms around him, lifting my face for a kiss. For a second, I realize how impulsive that is and wonder whether he’ll scold me for showing affection in the office, but he lowers his head and touches his lips to mine, so I guess he doesn’t mind that much.
“How are you doing?” he murmurs, putting his arms around me.
“I’m okay. A bit tired,” I admit.
“Too tired to go out to dinner?”
I move back and look up at him with a happy smile. “Not at all! Oh, that would be lovely.”
“There’s a nice little Italian not far from where I live.”
