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I turned to see Kaya, wide eyed with her hand on the door to the coffee shop. “Get in here!” she yelled as she motioned to me.
Inside, with my back against the solid door, I grab her tight in an embrace. “Why are you constantly trying to get me killed?”
“I’m not. I thought they were friends of yours.” Kaya said.
Was she serious? “I keep trying to tell you if you would just listen. I was minding my business and tried to get a date with a girl. She took off running, and I followed as we got chased. Why wouldIbe chased, twice now mind you, and shot at by my very own goon squad?”
She bit on her plump bottom lip. “Not your goon squad, then?”
I threw my hands up. “I don’t even have a goon squad. Just a few blokes who work security for my company and don’t even report directly to me.”
The strong defiant woman I'd seen just a second ago had disappeared. Fear had taken over and was coming off her in waves. Kaya wasn’t just afraid; it was something deeper. A hopelessness no one should ever have to face.
“Listen, what was it that you said about not being safe to go home?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. I don't need your help.”
“Well, being shot at says differently.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“Do you really have to fight me on everything?”
She tilted her chin up, and for a moment I thought she was going to say yes. Just to take the piss. But surprisingly, she didn't. Instead, she pressed her lips together firmly and glowered.
I pulled out my phone and she stiffened again. “Relax. I'm just going to make a call, okay?”
“Why should I trust you?”
My gaze slid over her face, and I knew she was ready to run like a scared rabbit all over again. I really didn’t have it in me to chase her again. “Of course, you can’t just trust me, but you don't really have a choice now, do you?”
“Just promise me you're not the bad guy in my story.”
“I can’t make too many promises, but what I can absolutely guarantee is I am not the person actively trying to hurt you. Now, before we both get too frazzled to make decisions, let's get you somewhere safer.”
“I don’t know you from Adam. How do I know you aren’t going to lock me up in your dungeon or whatever?”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, one billionaire in one movie happened to have a sex dungeon, and the world thinks weallhave them.”
Her lips twitched in utter amusement. “So you saw that movie, did you?”
I lifted my brow and couldn’t help a smirk. “I may have heard about it. The point is, for now, the safest place for you is with me.”
She continued to glower at me with suspicion. “I don't need a handout. I just need to get away from here for a little bit.”
“We need to get you a safe place to lay low.”
She shook her head vehemently. “But—"
I stared at her and she stopped her rambling. “Sprite, if you do not shut that gorgeous mouth of yours, I'm going to shut it for you.”
Her brows knitted together. “If you think I'm going to let you manhandle me—"
“Manhandle? And what, kiss you? Isn’t that how you shut me up last night?”
Her eyes widened in embarrassment as she stared back at me, her gaze drifting down to my lips as I said, “Oooooh, right. You kissed me because you were hiding. Very clever, Sprite.”
I watched the pink flush creep up her neck under her tawny skin, making her look more bronze. Like she'd been kissed by a little sunshine.
