“I don’t want to leave,” I admit, my voice breaking. “I should. But I don’t. Not right now.”
“Good.”
“It terrifies me. All of it.”
“I know,” he says. “I know.”
He presses a kiss to my shoulder. “Ti prometto,” he says quietly. “I promise I’ll keep you safe. I’ll do anything for you.”
“Gabriel—”
“Sleep. We’ll figure out the rest tomorrow.”
I should argue and demand answers about Kolya and whatever else it is that he’s keeping hidden. I remember the look in his eyes, the one that let me know without words that there’s so much he’s not telling me.
But I’m exhausted. And warm. And I’m where I want to be—even if it’s in the arms of a man who terrifies and thrills me in equal measure.
I close my eyes and let myself fall.
CHAPTER 16
THEA
Iwake to voices.
They’re low and tense, coming from somewhere beyond the door to the bedroom.
For a moment, I’m totally disoriented. Then I remember I’m in Gabriel’s bedroom. Memories of last night come flooding back.
I’m yours.
My stomach twists.
The voices attract my attention again. It almost sounds like an argument. I slide out of bed, realizing I’m not wearing a single thing. There’s a dresser at the far end of the room. I hurry over, pulling open drawers until I find one filled with neatly folded t-shirts. I pluck one out and throw it on.
It’s clean, but it still smells like him. I close my eyes for a moment, let the scent wash over me. Then I walk over to the door and open it, just a crack. The voices become louder, but I still can’t make out what’s being said.
I push the door open just enough to slip out and pad into the hallway. The voices lead me to an adjacent bedroom, the door shut. I still can’t make out the words, but I recognize who’s speaking—Gabriel and Oscar.
I press my ear against the wood of the door and listen.
“You cannot keep her here indefinitely,” Oscar says. His voice is strained, worried. “Kolya has made his intentions clear. The moment she steps outside of these walls, the moment he can get to her?—”
“She won’t. And he won’t.”
“But if she does.”
“Shewon’t.”
“Gabriel,per favore. Be reasonable. Move her somewhere Kolya cannot reach. A safe house. Out of the city, the state. Perhaps even out of the country.”
“I don’t need to move her anywhere, Oscar. I have it covered.”
A pause.
“Covered how?”
“I have a plan. I’ve had a plan for months.”