Chapter 12 Lexi
TWELVE
LEXI
Iheard him wrong…right?
Because there’s no way Colten just told me I’m moving in with him effective immediately.
Right?
He stepped out to make a phone call before I had a chance to ask any follow-up questions, and honestly, I don’t think I can process what he said enough to have any.
My mind is annoyingly blank, and I can’t tell if it’s because I spent an extended amount of time in Colten’s arms or if it’s because I could have been killed or taken tonight if he hadn’t gotten here fast enough.
Which reminds me…how did he get here so quickly?
I crawl under the bed to retrieve my phone, ignoring the spike of panic the position invokes. I’ve never had much of an issue with tight spaces, even after I was kidnapped in college and kept in the trunk of a car for hours, but for some reason this is triggering me.
Once I have the device in my hand, I shimmy my way out and check my call log for when I called Colten.
I stare at the time beside the call for a handful of seconds before checking the current time. Thirty-four minutes.
That’s barely enough time for him to have made it here from his apartment, let alone to have pulled me out of an almost panic attack, dealt with the team that has just arrived, and gotten us ready to leave.
Maybe he was in the area doing business, I rationalize with myself, because really, what other options are there?
“You ready?” Colten asks from the doorway, startling me. His face softens, and he steps toward me, brushing his fingers down my cheek in a gesture that is far too intimate. “Sorry, Wildcat. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’ll be more conscious.”
I shake my head. “It’s fine. I’m just a little jumpy right now.”
“Which no one can blame you for.” He looks over at the half-full suitcase on the bed. “How can I help?”
I sigh and look around the room. “Are you sure I should be leaving? Who is going to look after Mr. Whiskers?”
“A babysitter. That’s who I was on the phone to.”
“You mean a pet sitter?”
“No, a babysitter. She’ll be here in ten minutes. I paid extra for her to get here quickly.”
“You hired a babysitter for a cat?” I ask incredulously.
Is he fucking insane?
He nods, busying himself with packing up my laptop and chargers.
I open my mouth to confirm one more time, because I have to be misunderstanding, but I snap it shut again.
Colten looks over his shoulder and must notice the way my brows have gathered in confusion.
He sighs and drops my hair straightener into the suitcase.
“I’ve run a background check on her, she’s very qualified in looking after children, so I can’t see her having any issues looking after a cat, even one as nuanced as Mr. Whiskers. ”
Does he think I’m worried about leaving the cat with a stranger and not the fact he’s hired a human babysitter for an animal that spends twenty-two hours a day sleeping and the other two eating and terrorizing Cruz?
I manage a nod and move into the bathroom, quickly gathering my toiletries and dropping them into the suitcase. I take another look around the room to make sure I haven’t missed anything before reaching to close the case.
A large hand covers mine and gently pushes me to the side, quickly taking over for me and zipping it up before lifting it from the bed.
Colten wraps his free arm around my waist and ushers me toward the door. “Come on, Wildcat. Let’s get you home so you can get a few more hours of sleep.”
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to close my eyes,” I tell him honestly. Just the thought has a fresh wave of anxiety rocketing through my chest.
How am I supposed to sleep when not even an hour ago I had someone break into a house with more security than Fort Knox with the intention of hurting me?
He pulls me closer as we descend the stairs. “Once the adrenaline wears off, your body won’t give you a choice.”
Before I get a chance to respond, a little orange body rubs against my leg, followed closely by a loud meow.
“Hi, buddy,” I say, dropping to my knees beside him.
Mr. Whiskers flops onto his side, immediately presenting me with his belly, pulling a soft huff of laughter from my throat.
Colten squeezes my shoulder. “I’m going to brief the team. Take your time and meet me out front when you’re ready.”
He heads toward the front door, and I stare after him.
Colten has always been gentle with me, far gentler than most of the men in my life. But there’s something different about how he’s treating me right now, and I don’t think I like it.
I sigh and run my fingers through Mr. Whiskers’s fur, lapping up my final moments with him. As much as I was looking forward to Riley and Cruz coming home so I can go back to the estate with Mom, I was always dreading leaving my fluffy companion.
Maybe it’s time I get a pet of my own. I’ve always wanted one, but until Mr. Whiskers came into our lives, Mom wasn’t a fan of animals, so it was never an option.
Something to consider when Colten lets me move back to the estate once he’s deemed it’s safe.
He’s the security expert, so I’m going to do everything he says to ensure I can maintain the freedom I’ve become accustomed to since Cruz killed our father.
“I’ll see you soon, bud. And you’re going to have a new friend to give you all the belly rubs,” I coo. “Be nice to her. She’s coming over just to look after you. And maybe give your dad’s office a break. It’s already in a disarray for when he comes home.”
Another loud meow.
I carefully lift him into my arms and press my face into his fur. “It’s going to be okay, bud.”
But I’m not sure if I’m reassuring him or myself.
By the time I reach Colten’s SUV, he’s already in the driver’s seat with his phone in hand. He taps out a message before turning his attention to me, his eyes searching my face for something.
“All okay?” he asks as I climb into the passenger seat. I’m still wearing the pajamas I fell asleep in, with the addition of a cardigan he handed me as I was packing my clothes and a pair of slippers.
If Mom could see me right now, she’d have a heart attack. She may not have subscribed to a lot of Mafia woman teachings, but she’d definitely consider leaving the house like this a cardinal sin.
I shrug. “Realistically he isn’t going to care that it’s not me feeding him. He’ll only care when the love of his life and his favorite victim return.”
Colten chuckles. “You’re allowed to miss him, you know?”
I shrug and turn to look out the window. I don’t want to think too hard about why I’m so sad to leave, because then I might have to process the fact that once again I feel like a failure.
At some point Colten is going to put the pieces together of why that man broke in tonight, and my whole family is going to find out what I’ve been doing behind closed doors, and there’s not a single part of me that’s ready for their disappointment.