Page 106 of Watched

Blade slides his hand behind his back, and I roll my eyes when he cocks his gun, pointing it at Xander. “Say one more word about her, and I’ll draw a smiley face in your splattered blood.”

Xander relaxes back, taking a long drag. “I’ve had guns pulled on me since I was six, G. That shit doesn’t scare me.”

“Put it away,” I demand. “Fucking speak.”

Blade rests the gun on his thigh, keeping it pointed at Xander. “No one has seen Ezra in London, but Ryan was spotted two days ago. He’s shaved his head and wears shitty brown contacts. One of Dad’s men followed him from the airport to a hotel in the city. I took over and familiarised myself with his schedule. He’s only left the building twice, and while I wanted to shatter his fucking windshield with bullets, I didn’t. I hope you’ve been practising your card counting skills, because I got us an invitation to the poker game I followed him to. I think he’s trying to find underground sources to sniff out our location.”

“When?”

“Tomorrow night.”

My open mouth snaps back closed when I catch Rome through the window, moving toward the living room lounge with a pillow.

What the fuck does he think he’s doing?

Typing in the pin, I swing open the door and gently shut it behind me. “Baby, you aren’t sleeping on the lounge.”

He pulls his hood over his damp hair and throws the pillow down. Taking the black blanket laid over the end of the large ‘U’ shaped lounge, he unfolds it and lays down.

“Rome,” I grit, moving to stand over him. “Go upstairs to our room. You aren’t sleeping here.”

“Your room.” He rolls to face the cushion. “I’m not sleeping beside you.”

“Do you want a list of facts about the damage sleeping on a sofa can do to your body?”

Silence.

I snarl at the back of his head. “Either we both sleep here or in bed.”

Those three nights in jail were torture. I never want to spend a night without him, but how am I supposed to sleep beside him and not touch him? That’s impossible. I’ll subconsciously do it even if he’s asked me not to, because I love this man with every fibre of my being, and it’s a crime to force my hands to remain still while around him.

“Go upstairs. I’ll sleep here,” I sigh.

“I know you, Rain. In the middle of the night you’ll to sneak into that bed.”

“I didn’t think I was that transparent.”

“You are.”

I catch his right hand move to pull the blanket higher. “Where the fuck is your ring?”

“On your bed,” he whispers. “Once this is dealt with and I can leave, I don’t want to see you again.”

He stiffens, breathing heavier when I lean over to whisper near his ear. “We will be beside one another until the day I die, baby.”

Chapter forty-one

ROME

Rain had countless opportunities to tell me the truth; even if he’d confessed to the target on my back earlier, I know this house is where I’d be. The knowledge that he killed Connor is something I may have been able to work through with him, but endangering my family is unforgivable. I will not allow them to be hurt because I was selfish and fell for someone who I knew from the start would be a horrible mistake.

As much as I want to lie to myself and say I had restraint in allowing him into my life, I didn’t. I was too intrigued by the way he made me feel. Now, I’m pissed off and hurt. Those few moments when he made me feel like it was okay to be me weren’t worth this ache in my chest.

I’d called my mother once Rain forced me upstairs and into his bed. I didn’t want to inform her of the danger hanging over their heads, and that terror is now consuming me. Rain continued to ensure me they’re safe, that my being here is purely a precaution, but I can’t sleep. I’ve been laying here, watching the sheer curtain of the open door flail in the breeze, for hours.

My heart jackhammers, and I jump when a piercing alarm blares from Rain’s computer. Three screens light up, burning my tired eyes.

What the bloody hell is this?