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"No," I said and handed the box to James. "At one of Hunter's other properties."
"Where?" she asked, her expression hopeful. "I'll come and visit you."
I shrugged and made a face. "I can't tell you."
She frowned. "Why not?"
"Security reasons?" I said and cringed. "I can't tell you anything more than that."
"What?" she said and glanced between James and me again. "You are in danger, right? Something to do with Hunter's family business?"
"No, I'm not in any real danger. Hunter has a lot of security, for obvious reasons," I said, wishing she would stop questioning everything, but I knew it was because she was worried about me. "I'm fine," I said. "Really."
"This is about the bad guys who beat up Graham, right?"
"Yes," I said, exasperated, deciding to satisfy her. "This is about that. But you can't say anything about it to anyone, especially not Spencer if he comes by."
"Are they back from Europe? I thought they weren't back for a while."
"Not yet, but in case he comes by or anyone comes by asking about me. Tell them I moved out and you don't know where I am."
"All right, Ms. Mysterious. I won't tell anyone. But I don’t like this whole clandestine business. You should be telling me. I'm the best friend, remember?"
"You are," I said and went to her, hugging her.
She squeezed me and then pulled back. "Text me later tonight, okay? Promise?"
I nodded. "Promise."
Then, with clear reluctance, she left, closing the door to my apartment behind her.
"I'm sorry about that," I said to James. "She's my best friend and has been for years. She's just worried about me."
"Completely understandable." James picked up a box and went to the door. "I'll take these out to the vehicle."
"I'll help," I said and together, we packed the SUV with the few boxes of my things, clothes, computer, books. Lots of books. The apartment was now empty except for my furniture.
When we were done, I stood at the door and glanced around the apartment. Hunter would pay off my room and board, but I wasn't going to live there for my own safety. Finally, I closed the door, feeling sad that a part of my life was gone—the ‘independent me’ part of my life. The girl who had finally escaped Spencer's tyranny and was living free and on her own. Now, I'd be some gangster's fuck toy, living in his safe house for my own protection and for his ease of use.
I hated that the idea of being his to use excited me, but it was Hunter.
The man I'd been fantasizing about half my life.
After we unloaded the boxes back at the safe house, I went to class. James drove me to the building, waited for the class to finish, and then took me to the hospital so I could drop in and check on Graham, but he was gone to physio and wouldn’t be back for an hour. I decided to go see him later and left him a note on a sticky I had in my book bag. Then James drove me back to the warehouse.
I went inside to find that there were construction guys on site, busy installing drywall and another crew working on a bathroom. Now that I had the time, I could explore the loft a bit more.
A new kitchen sat at the far end of the space, with an island and a bank of cupboards facing the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the bay. It was high-end, the fixtures and cupboards top of the line. A huge marble-top island contained a sink and professional stove and the fridge was so big you could practically store a dead body in it.
George was there, working in a small office near the entry. He came over when he saw me.
"Hello, Miss Celia," he said with a smile. "Your classes finished for the day?"
I nodded. "This is all new," I said and glanced around.
"Yes," he said. "Boss wanted to make comfortable. Is going to be very secure when everything finished. Thick walls. Steel doors. Security cameras on perimeter. No one will be able to get near building without us knowing. You will be safe here."
Then he pointed to a small alcove where James was busy stacking the boxes from my dorm room.
