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“The week after your father’s funeral.”
I stiffen. “Are you saying you’ve been following me for months?”
Hayden grabs my shoulders, careful to avoid my injury, and turns me to face him. “I needed to know what kind of woman you were. Now that I know, I’m never going back to life without you. I can’t.”
“I don’t know if I can, either.”
He tightens his hold on me. “I want to kiss you so badly.”
“Why don’t you?”
“Because if I do, I’ll fuck you, and I have to leave soon.”
“Let me guess, I have to stay here all day?” When he nods, I roll my eyes. “I know this may come as a shock to you, but I like working and staying busy.”
Instead of arguing with me, he presses a kiss to my forehead. The tender action leaves me staring up at him in shock. First Hayden’s laughing, and now he’s being sweet… How can I not forgive him? Maybe I already have, or I wouldn’t have given him every part of me last night.
“Callie, I know you don’t want to hear this, but someone sent you that package to frighten you. Until I know who they are and what they want from you, I’m going to do everything in my power to keep you safe.”
I place my hands on his chest. “Do you think I’m in danger?”
“I’m not willing to take a chance with your life.”
“That’s not an answer.”
He averts his gaze in a rare show of uncertainty. Or maybe it’s to hide his fear… “Someone killed your father and his lover and assaulted his daughter. I think this mysterious person has a vendetta against the senator. With him being deceased, you’re the only target left. Let’s not dismiss the fact that both you and his secretary had the same drug compound in your systems on the night the crimes took place. It’s all too connected to be coincidental.”
I slowly nod my head, absorbing this information. It’s nothing new, but hearing it all at once after everything that happened yesterday puts it into perspective. Someone has to solve this case and bring the person behind it to justice, or I’ll always have to look over my shoulder, waiting for someone to come after me.
“Why now?” I ask. “My father’s funeral was months ago. If this person thought to hurt me, then why didn’t they do it when I first moved out of my father’s estate?”
“Maybe because they saw someone stalking you and it kept them at a distance?”
When Hayden winks at me, I nearly melt into the floor. His expression turns serious, and he blows out a breath. “All jokes aside, I don’t have an answer for you. What I do know is that I’ll get to the bottom of this. Until I do, I’m going to need you to make good on the promise you made me.”
I scrunch my head in confusion. “Which one? You demand a lot of things.”
“You promised to let me protect you.”
“Oh, right. At least this prison is comfortable.”
“You’re not staying here.”
Chapter13
Calista
“What?”I squint up at him. “Where are you sending me?”
He slides his hands from my shoulders to encircle my neck and pulls me toward him. Despite the gentleness of his touch, his eyes are hard with determination. “Weare leaving. I don’t want you in the city while I work on this case. Pack your bags for somewhere warm.”
I hold his intense stare, refusing to back down. If I give in on this, who knows what other freedoms he’ll strip from me under the excuse of protecting me?
“I can’t just leave,” I say. “I have a job, and I’ll miss Harper. Besides, what about your promise to me? I want to enroll for classes in the spring, which is only a few weeks away. I understand you wanting to keep me safe, and I believe you’ll do that, but it’ll have to be here. If you trust me, then you have to back off and let me make my own choices.”
His expression remains stony despite my impassioned plea. I search his eyes for a sign he’ll bend on this, but there’s no softness to be found. If anything, he’s more rigid than before.
“I understand you wanting your independence,” he says between clenched teeth. “But I won’t risk your life just so you can enjoy the familiar comforts of home. I’ve made too many mistakes where you’re concerned, and I won’t add another to the list.”
