Chapter 11
Daniela collapsed on her couch without bothering to turn on any lights. She heard Cormac moving around in her kitchen, likely putting up their food.
After the run-in with Logan, she hadn’t had much of an appetite so she’d ended up asking for most of it to go. Cormac had done the same.
As she sat there, she picked up the nearby remote control and turned on her electric fireplace.
The faux crackling filled the quiet room, immediately calming her.
Not by much, but she felt like she could breathe now that she was home.
She’d always been prepared to run if she had to, but she’d still created a space that was hers and hers alone.
Something her father hadn’t touched—he’d never even been to her house.
She felt Cormac’s presence more than heard him as he slipped into her living room.
To her surprise he sat on the same couch with her, barely giving her any space. She loved his spicy, masculine scent, wanted to lean over and inhale him. Which would be beyond stupid. So she wasn’t going to do it. Probably.
She might not trust him, but she was still attracted to him.
That had never been an issue between them.
No, from the moment she’d met him, that spark had been incendiary.
She hadn’t even thought that kind of chemistry was real until a man with green eyes and a mischievous smile had stolen her heart and made her feel seen.
“Here,” he murmured, handing her a water bottle.
After that double martini and barely any food, water was definitely a good idea. “Thanks.”
She leaned back on the couch, closed her eyes. “I keep thinking that my plans to escape are just a pipe dream.” She hadn’t meant to say anything, but the confession slipped out.
“It’s not a pipe dream.” His deep voice settled her, and his calm made her want to believe she really could find a way out of her life.
She didn’t open her eyes, but could feel him shift on the couch, then felt his foot next to hers on the tufted ottoman. “Maybe not.”
“I know you don’t trust me. And you have no reason to. But if you don’t have enough information to bring down your family…I can help you escape. You’ll have to fake your death, but I know people who can make it happen.”
“Wouldn’t that cost a lot of money?” She had some investments, mostly in art. But starting over with new untraceable IDs and everything that went with that… She would have no idea where to start. The only thing she knew, it would absolutely cost money. Lots and lots of it.
“I can make it happen.”
Unable to hide her surprise, and maybe disbelief, she turned to look at him. “Just like that?”
“Well, no, it’s complicated. And it’s not legal, obviously. But you could start over somewhere fresh. If you do, you can never contact anyone from your current life. The cut has to be final.”
Her family made things unbearable, but the thought of giving up everything she’d built…
She swallowed hard, looked away from him and into the crackling bluish flames.
She hadn’t turned the heat function on, but she didn’t need to while sitting next to him.
“I’ll think about it,” she finally said.
She could start over again, maybe put real roots down.
Because most of the time she kept everyone at arm’s length, was too afraid to form true, deep friendships out of fear of her father and what he could do to people she loved.
Even so, there was a lot to think about and she wasn’t sure she was brave enough to make that choice. She loved her job as a gallerist, knew that she likely wouldn’t be able to do the same thing if she started over. It would be too easy to find her that way.
“Can I ask you something?” she asked after a few moments.
“Anything.”
“Was your mom really killed?”
“Yes,” he rasped out. “I didn’t lie about that.”
They’d bonded over their moms dying when they’d been young. Or it had been one of the many things they’d bonded over. She was glad he’d been honest about that at least.
“I wouldn’t lie about my mom,” he added.
They were both silent for a while but it wasn’t an awkward silence.
That surprised her a little. “I still wonder how different my life would have been if she’d lived.
” Her mom had died when she was eight, going to the grocery store to get something for her.
Her father had blamed her for it her entire life. Or at least it felt like it.
When her father wasn’t looking at her like she was a disappointment or as if she disgusted him, she was simply an afterthought to him.
“I do too.” There was a wealth of sadness in his words.
She wanted to reach out and hold his hand the way he’d held hers in the back of her brother’s SUV, but then another thought occurred to her. “Are you really an only child?”
“No.”
He didn’t offer more details after that, however. Which…she hadn’t really expected. But it still hurt. She cleared her throat. “The woman at the sheriff’s station. She looked like you.”
He was silent for a long moment. “She’s my sister,” he finally said, the words sounding as if they’d been torn from his throat. “And I’m trusting you not to tell anyone.”
She wanted to ask if he had more siblings, but decided to let him tell her if he wanted.
At this time she had his real first name, knew where his sister worked and what she looked like.
Something he had to realize. So she could look up more information and figure out who Cormac really was even without an investigator.
She nearly jumped when her phone buzzed on the couch next to her. When she saw her brother’s name, her muscles tightened. He didn’t call her often, but after she’d gone out tonight…she could only imagine what this call was about.
“Hey,” she said, trying to sound casual.
“Can you put me on speaker?” Julian’s tone was clipped.
“Ah, yeah. Okay, you’re on speaker.” She glanced at Cormac, shrugged.
“Connor, you hear me?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Taking my sister to the restaurant tonight was smart. No one followed her as far as we saw. I’ve been in contact with Kir Popov, who claims he has no idea why Dima was at that diner to threaten Daniela.”
It annoyed her that her brother was talking to Cormac as if she wasn’t there. So typical and the least of her issues. But still annoying.
“You believe him?” Cormac asked.
“I don’t believe anyone. I need proof. But the only reason he would have to lie is if they were making a move on our territory and hurting Daniela was part of a bigger plan.
And we haven’t heard, or more importantly, we haven’t seen anything to indicate that.
Kir was pissed about Dima approaching Daniela. He actually apologized,” Julian said.
Cormac raised his eyebrows, his surprise a mirror of her own. Kir Popov had a violent and ruthless reputation.
“Okay.” Cormac slightly stretched out the word, clearly wondering where this was going.
“She’s supposed to go to an engagement party tomorrow for one of our cousins. I’ll be there. Make sure you’re with her.”
Daniela could feel her ire rising from the tips of her toes to her face, but before she could say anything, Julian ended the call. “Are you kidding me?” she muttered. “Talking like I’m not even here.” Not a surprise, but it still annoyed her.
Cormac’s jaw tightened. “What an asshole.”
Somewhat mollified that he agreed with her, though not surprised, she nodded. “At least it sounds like there won’t be a war. Yay, I guess,” she said dryly.
He snorted. “Pretty sure that’s to be determined, but yeah. Good news. Do you want to go to the party tomorrow?”
“Not really, but…” She shrugged. “I’m expected to be there.
Fair warning, my father will likely be there too.
” She couldn’t stop her eye roll. Which was pretty much automatic when she talked about him.
The older she got, the angrier she was when she even thought about or interacted with him.
He treated her like some pariah, as if it was her fault her mother had died in a freak car accident.
“What time do we leave tomorrow?” he asked, his steady voice cutting through her thoughts.
“Around ten… Don’t you have, like, a job to get to? I mean, I know tomorrow is Saturday, but still. Or what about a significant other?” She really hoped not, considering some of the looks he’d given her, but she wanted full clarity if she decided to make a foolish decision later.
Her foolish choices would at least be thought out beforehand.
“Keeping you safe is my only job right now. And I’m not seeing anyone. If I was…I’d have to break up with them because of the thoughts I’ve been having about you,” he said bluntly.
His words sent a rush of heat to her core. They were both on the same page apparently. Which was…fortunate or unfortunate, she wasn’t sure.
She turned away from him, stared into the faux crackling fire because she had no idea how to respond.
She knew what she wanted—or more accurately, what her traitorous body wanted.
She remembered how incredible he’d been in bed, how giving…
But if she gave him the green light, she was destined to get her heart broken again.
Even if the sex would be amazing, she wasn’t sure it would be worth the heartbreak.
Getting over him had been hard enough the first time.
Clearing her throat, she stood. “I need to shower. And this,” she said, motioning between them, “is never happening again.” She wasn’t sure who she was trying to convince, but she was pretty sure she failed to convince either of them.
“Never say never,” he murmured, his green eyes a storm cloud.
She gritted her teeth and forced herself to calmly walk from the room. She couldn’t give him a reaction. And she definitely couldn’t give in to what they both wanted.