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In light of what’s happened, that’s over. It’s time to tighten up safety measures. Which means there’s no safer place for her than with me.
“You can’t be serious,” she whispers after a moment goes by and I don’t budge.
“My place is on the outskirts of the city. Very discreet and heavily guarded. Nobody will know a thing about you staying there.”
She shakes her head, her brows knitted. “I can’t stay with you. That’s insane.”
“It’s the only option. Pack yourself or my men will pack for you.”
“You expect me to just, what, crash at your place? So you can try and control everything I do? So you can try and trick me into being with you again? What part of I don’t want anything to do with you don’t you understand?”
“This has nothing to do with you and I. This is about safety. For the time being, my place is the safest place for you. Once the threat is eliminated, we’ll talk about you finding a new apartment.”
“Salvatore…” she trails off.
When I remain silent, her eyes widen, and she accepts that I’m serious. This is happening regardless of how she feels about it. A wary sigh leaves her as she folds her arms and pinches the bridge of her nose.
“Youswearit’ll be discreet? No one in the city will find out?”
“Nobody.”
“My cats—”
“Can come with you. Bring anything of yours you want. My men can pack for you if you’d like. Just tell them what.”
“Salvatore,” she groans, “this… this can’t happen.Wecan’t happen.”
“I told you, this has nothing to do with us. This is about safety and nothing more. You can tell people you’re having your apartment renovated. We can hire a company to do so as a cover if you’d like. I won’t encroach on your space. I won’t try and trap you into being with me. I won’t do anything you don’t want except keep you safe. You can’t say it’s not a fair deal when it is.”
Her smoky gray cat—the one I’m guessing is named Pepa—chooses now to hop down from the cat post she’s been perched on and slinks over to Delphine. She wraps her lithe body around her ankle, nuzzling her as if letting her know her opinion on the matter.
Delphine kneels to scoop her up into her arms, scratching the back of her little fluffy head.
I hate cats. I’ve always been a dog person, from my childhood Boxer, Nacho, to my other Boxer, Chip.
But if Salt and Pepa are Delphine’s cats, then I’ll have to learn to make peace with them.
“How long?” she asks.
“However long it takes to find him and eliminate the threat.”
“My work. I have cases set to go to trial.”
“We’ll make it work, Phi. I’m taking care of this. Let me.”
My offer works. She pauses another second before giving a careful, hesitant nod. By the less-than-enthused expression on her face, I can tell she’s not fond of the idea. She doesn’t want to move into my place.
But I also know she’s been too terrified to leave her apartment for anything but work for weeks now. Deep down she knows this is for the best; deep down she knows I’ll handle the situation and make her feel safe again.
I’ve done it for fifteen years now. From the time she was nothing more than a freshman, dealing with an asshole oaf like Brett Gannon and his posse wanting to bully her to the many years I looked out for her without her even knowing it.
It’s what I do.
Deep down she senses this.
I help her pack. She doesn’t take much. She loads a couple suitcases with clothes and shoes from her closet and fills up a carry-on type bag with other personal items. I’m tasked with gathering Salt and Pepa’s stuff, which I do, to Salt’s begrudging glare. She joins me by the door rolling her last suitcase. I take over the handle once she’s close enough. My men will carry everything down.
“Ready?”
