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CHAPTER TEN
“IWAS WONDERING IFI was going to see you today.” Norma smiles warmly at me as I enter the kitchen.
“Mateo wanted me to lay low while he’s gone. But I’m going stir crazy up there. I finally convinced that one to let me come down here with you.” I hitch my thumb in the direction of Dimitri who’s in the doorway, resting his shoulder on the frame.
When I reach the kitchen island, I pause, my eyes sliding across the shiny surface of the countertop. Visions of Niko lying on top of it flash through my mind. The blood. The color of his skin. A full body shiver runs through me.
“Everything okay?” I look up to find Norma watching me, a weird look on her face.
“Yeah.” I clear my throat. “I was just thinking about the other night.”
“I can imagine that was pretty overwhelming for you.”
“You could say that,” I grumble.
“Don’t worry, it gets easier.”
Easier?
“I don’t plan on sticking around long enough to ever witness it again.”
“Well, let’s hope you don’t have to.”
“Did you see Mateo before he left?” I ask, ignoring the pang I feel in the pit of my stomach. The same feeling I got when I woke up this morning to an empty bed.
“No.” She shakes her head. “They were gone before I woke up.” She gauges my reaction, clearly seeing something in my expression. “He’ll be fine. After what happened at the airstrip, he won’t take any chances. They caught him off guard once, I doubt it’ll happen again.”
“I’m not worried.”
Why would I be worried? He’s my kidnapper. I should be happy he’s gone. So why do I feel all twisted up inside? Why can’t I shake this bad feeling I woke up with that’s only grown stronger as the day has progressed?
“Uh huh.” She gives me a disbelieving look. “You know, admitting you care about him wouldn’t be the end of the world.”
Care about him?
Don’t get me wrong, I like the way he makes me feel.
More than anything, I like the way he makes my body feel.
But my mind... It’s not quite so willing to accept that I might actually be falling for a man who took me as his prisoner.
Stockholm Syndrome.
That must be it.
It’s not the first time I’ve considered this theory.
What else could explain it?
What else could explain the way my body craves a man that has literally dangled my life in the middle of a feud between two dangerous cartels? Who has all but assured I’ll never be the girl I was before that night in the bar ever again. He has changed me... Completely and without question.
And as much as I would like to believe that the way I feel about him is a product of the situation, that in a world full of danger he’s the only thing that makes me feel safe, but deep down I know that isn’t it.
I can feel it in my bones... It’s so much more than that.
Love?
It’s crazy to associate that word with Mateo. I’ve been in love before. Twice. Or at least Ithoughtit was love. But in two years with my ex, I never felt even a fraction of what I feel when Mateo looks at me, or when he touches me. It’s unsettling.
