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He’d burn the world down to keep her safe.
And fuck whoever else got hurt in his path.
“I’ll stand,” Rafael said stiffly.
“You’ll sit,” Alejandro said in a quiet voice that was all the deadlier because he didn’t yell.
Rafael’s gaze hit his and he nodded, sitting. But he didn’t relax.
“I know it hasn’t been an easy adjustment.”
“It’s fine,” Rafael said quickly. “I messed up yesterday. That won’t happen again.”
“That wasn’t your fault. Well, not entirely.” He sighed. “Cat is Cat. She’s spontaneous and impulsive. She’s lived through hell, but she can still see the good in people. Even though the world is a shitty place, and people have constantly tried to harm her, she’d still stop to help someone carry their groceries or change a tire. Although don’t ever let her change a tire, she has no idea what she’s doing. And she’s forbidden from driving. Last time I let her drive, we nearly ran into the back of a concrete truck.”
“She needs to be more careful. To know when she’s putting herself in danger.”
“She does, but it’s also my job to keep her safe. To ensure the world doesn’t touch her so that she can be free to dance and skip and jump in muddy puddles without worrying that someone will try to kidnap her. The reason she has to be cautious is because of me, and that fucking kills me.”
“You take care of her, though. She has all this.” He waved his hand around.
“And she’d give it all up in a heartbeat, just to have me.” And that was a gift he knew he didn’t deserve. Because while she was his everything, he knew she felt the same about him.
She’d burn the world down for him.
Well, she’d keep her friends safe too. But he was willing to share a small sliver of her heart with them, knowing that he had the majority share.
“I’m the reason she has to be cautious, so I try to take as much of that burden off her. I don’t want her to become so worried about safety that she hides away.”
“You don’t want her hidden away?”
“Oh no, don’t get me wrong, I would do it in a heartbeat if I thought I could. But that isn’t fair to Cat. So I have to get the balance right. It’s a struggle not to put her in a safe room and keep her there. But she’d wither and die. So I protect her as well as I can while giving her some freedom. That means if she wants to find somewhere private to talk to her friend, she can.”
“I was worried that she was . . . that she was . . . hurting herself.”
Alejandro stiffened. “Has she given you any indication that she would?” Fuck. How had he missed that?
“No. No, she didn’t. I just . . . I was reminded of someone else.”
Shit.
“I didn’t know.”
Rafael shrugged. But Alejandro could tell this person had meant something to him.
“I’m going to reassign you,” he told the other man.
Rafael stiffened. “I’m being sent away? Because I was worried she was going to hurt herself?”
Fuck. Shit.
“This isn’t a punishment. I understand why you were concerned. But it’s clear that you and Cat aren’t getting along. I’ll find another area for you to work in.”
“Would you like me to apologize to her?”
“Only if you mean it. Cat won’t like a fake apology. I’ll figure something out tomorrow. All right?”
“You’re the boss.”
Alejandro sighed as the other man stood. He could tell Rafael still thought he was being punished, which made what had to be said harder. But it still needed to be said.
“Rafael?”
“Yeah?”
“Upset her like that again and you’re gone. There aren’t second chances when it comes to Cat. I will always choose her.”
He’d had the same talk with Bernard. The old man hadn’t treated Cat that well when they’d first met. Again, it’d been mostly Alejandro’s fault. But he’d had to warn him anyway.
Rafael nodded. “Wouldn’t expect anything less, Boss.” He left the room and Alejandro sighed.
Fuck. He needed to go find Cat.
He texted The Scot to find out where she was. A text came back quickly.
The gym?
Why would she be in the gym? He hadn’t even realized she knew where it was. He made his way down to the lower level.
He stepped into the gym just as he heard Nighthawk speak up.
“Cat! I have it! I have the poison we’ll use to kill him!”
“I wasn’t really going to do it, Papi,” she complained as he undressed her that night.
He shot her a knowing look. “You asked Nighthawk for help.”
“Well, I knew he’d know what kind of poison to use.”
“I knew introducing him to you was a terrible idea,” he said tiredly. “New rule. You are not to poison any of my men.”
She pouted. “That seems like a silly rule.”
“Not one I ever thought I’d make,” he confessed. “But here we are.”
