Chapter 34
Lydia
By the time Becca got out of the shower, Daniel and I had picked up the broken plates he smashed when he threw the entire cart on the wall.
Someone from the hotel replaced the cart with a fresh batch of pancakes and blueberries for Becca, another pitcher of coffee, and another cappuccino for me.
I sweetened it this time and sat on the couch, watching Becca.
She sat on an armchair in front of me with her legs crossed and the plate on her knees, looking much calmer.
Daniel sat on a chair next to her, glancing from her to me every few seconds, like he was trying to ask me something about her.
She’ll be fine, Daniel.
She ignored him completely. When she finished eating, she put the empty plate on the table, and he gave her a cup of sweetened black coffee.
“Becca, are you okay to talk about this?” He pushed his chair closer to hers.
She smiled at him, nodding. “Yes. I’m guessing Lydia already told you what happened.” Her eyes moved to me and widened. “Wait, Vince. Lydia! Did he—”
“No. He tried to keep me from going back to our table. That’s why I thought something was wrong, and then Daniel showed up.”
She looked at her brother. “Were they arrested?”
Daniel shook his head. “Jake and Cole were with me.”
“Oh.”
Daniel leaned closer. “Listen, Becca, you were targeted. Those guys won’t hurt you anymore, but whoever hired them isn’t going to stop.”
She looked at me.
You got your power back. Protect it.
I squeezed her hand, knowing she understood because when she looked back at Daniel and spoke, her voice was steadier. “So what now?”
“I’ll tell Alec you were attacked, blame it on the family name, minimal details. But it’s back to the bodyguards, Becca.”
She groaned. “God, I hated that.”
“There’s something else.”
Daniel told her everything about his investigation. It was the first time I heard about his op as a ranger, his CIA friend, and Kernel.
“I wasn’t sure if this was connected, but you need to know.”
She nodded. “I thought Nat died in a car accident.”
“Yeah.”
“God Danny,” she punched him in the chest. “In your arms? How could you not fucking tell me? I loved her too, you know!”
He shrugged and held her hand before she could punch him again. “I was healing from getting shot, fucked up about the op, it was classified… I couldn’t tell you.”
We stayed there for a while, just sitting together quietly until Daniel got up and told Becca she should head home.
He made a few calls and dropped her off at her place.
There were already four guards waiting for her.
Two stayed outside the building, and two followed her in.
He drove me home and walked me up to my apartment, following me inside without a word.
After he closed the door, he walked up to me and touched my forehead softly. It hurt, and I must have winced, because he smiled.
“You’ve got a nasty bruise,” he said.
“So you’re touching it?”
He leaned in and kissed my forehead gently. “Sorry. Still impressed with that headbutt.”
I took a step back and leaned on the kitchen counter.
Why was I so tired? It was already late afternoon.
I lost count of how many cups of coffee I had.
I didn’t think I slept enough the night before, and a couple of hours passed out didn’t necessarily count as restful sleep. Daniel looked just as tired.
“You ok?” He took a step forward, his eyes moving to the kitchen counter behind me before stepping back again, giving me space. Did he notice that I wouldn’t have room to step back if I needed to?
“I’m tired,” I answered.
“Jake and Cole are crashing at my place. We’ll catch up tonight.”
“Okay.”
“Is it okay if I stay for a little while?”
“Yes, but I’m going to sleep.” I turned around and started walking toward my room.
“Can I join you?” His voice was close behind me.
“Yes.”
I didn’t want to think about it. I went into bed and hugged the covers, lying on my side.
I felt the bed dip behind me. One of his arms went over my stomach, and I could feel his breath on the top of my head.
I let the darkness take over, falling into my usual dreamless sleep, feeling safer in my own bed with Daniel holding me.