I stood there, not moving.
Leo glared at me, and I looked pointedly at his hand around my arm. “You have to let go of me first.”
He blew out a breath as his fingers slowly unclenched, freeing me.
He hadn’t held me hard enough to hurt, but my arm seemed to throb where his hand had been, and I still felt his heat. What would it be like to have his whole body pressed against mine?
I sank into a chair and closed my eyes for the space of a breath. Leo was angry, I was sure of that, but he’d never been easy to read. I wish I knew what was about to happen.
“You were listening in.”
“No, I…” I wanted to deny it, but he’d caught me standing there. “I needed to talk to you.”
“So you stood outside the door without knocking?”
“I had just—”
“You’d been standing there for at least five minutes.”
My mouth dropped open. “How do you know that? Do you have a camera in the hall?” If so, he would’ve seen me leaning in and pressing my ear against the door as I tried to hear every word they said. I should have been honest from the beginning.
“I heard you approaching. You hesitated instead of walking away.”
“You noticed that?”
Leo nodded. “I notice everything.”
“Why didn’t you say something, then?”
“Why did you stay?”
I’d noticed he rarely gave me a straight answer. “I was curious. You’ve been so mysterious about what happens back here, and I was worried.”
He smiled, but he didn’t look the least bit happy. “I can take care of myself.”
“Oh. I know. I meant… I was worried you were mixed up in something… I just don’t want to be…”
“You don’t need to worry about what goes on back here. Just focus on what happens up front.”
He was not just going to dismiss me like that. “Am I safe here?”
“As long as I’m around you are.”
His words sent heat rushing through me. I wanted to believe him, and I did to an extent. No matter what he was involved in, I felt confident Leo would do what was necessary to keep me physically safe.
Emotionally? That was more of a problem. If they weren’t doing anything illegal, he would have no need to protect me.
“You said you were going to kill someone.” I clapped a hand over my mouth. Why the hell had I admitted to hearing that?
Leo’s eyes widened for a second, then his grimace returned.
“Or… maybe I misunderstood.”
“You didn’t, but you’re better off not knowing any details. You would’ve been even safer staying up front and not listening in. The man we were talking about deserves what’s coming to him. The things he’s done would make you sick.”
“Why can’t the police… I mean… You’re not…”
“Surely you’re not naïve enough to think the police can solve everything or that they can always be trusted.”
“I know that, but people can’t just go around murdering people when—”
“I’m not just anyone.”
I huffed. “That’s for damn sure.”
His lips quirked up like he was fighting a smile. Once again, I’d spoken when I shouldn’t have.
“I have… training.”
“Are you like a spy or something?”
For just a second, Leo looked shocked. Had I actually broken through his usual relaxed control? He pressed his lips into a hard line and scowled at me.
Why hadn’t I just kept my mouth shut? Did I want to disappear or have my body parts found in the dumpster out back?
Cathy trusts him.
That didn’t mean she wasn’t wrong too.
Leo glared at me. “If you know something, if someone sent you to investigate me, tell me now, because if I find out later that you deceived me, you will be sorry.”
I shook my head. “What? No. I only talked to you because you came into the café, and I mean, yeah, I think you’re… I mean, who wouldn’t? But I only wanted you because… I only wanted to talk to you because…”
He was smiling now.
“I was kidding about the spy thing.” Sort of.
“Don’t. My past is classified.”
“Navy SEAL?” Fuck, I’d done it again.
“Stop guessing.”
I pressed my lips together and willed myself not to say another thing.
He stared at me, letting his gaze sweep down my body, which made me feel an interesting combination of hot and scared.
Finally, I couldn’t take the silence. “Are you going to fire me?”
“No, but you are going to promise me you won’t listen to any more of my conversations, and you won’t come back here if I’m meeting with someone.”
“I needed more business cards for the front. They’re in the storage closet. That’s really the only reason I came back here.”
Leo looked down at my hands as though just now realizing I was holding a stack of cards.
“Stay away from the meeting rooms, and ignore anything you hear. It’s safer that way.”
“You’re really not going to tell me what you’re involved in?”
He shook his head. “And you’re not going to ask again.”
I glared at him. “It’s not fair to expect me to—”
“It’s fair to do what’s necessary to protect you. There are people involved in this who would not hesitate to kill you.”
“To kill me?” The words came out as a squeak.
“Yes.”
“Then maybe I should go back to the café.”
“No!” I jumped when he yelled the word, and he ran a hand over his hair. “I’m sorry. Look, just stay out of this, okay? If no one thinks you know anything, no one will come after you.”
“Why would they come after me anyway?”
He raised his brows and stared at me like he expected me to already know the answer.
“Because they’re evil?”
“Partly, but more because they’ll do anything they can to get to me.”
“But if they go after me…” I looked up from where I was twining my hands together in my lap and stared at him. Was he implying…
“I don’t want you to get hurt. You—all my employees—are under my protection. Harming them will harm me.”
Why did that hurt when it shouldn’t? He felt responsible, and he didn’t want his business to suffer. There was no reason to think this was personal. “Okay.”
“I promised Cathy I wouldn’t let you get hurt.”
“I’m not a child. I know I wasn’t a very good waiter, but—”
“You’re an incredible office assistant. You’re good at organizing and streamlining things. It’s never been so easy to find stuff in the storage closet, and the calendar has never been laid out more clearly. I never doubted you were competent.”
His words took away the sting. He was pleased with the job I’d done. He’d seen me excel at something and recognized it. I craved his validation, but I didn’t think he’d ever tell me so forthrightly. “Thank you.”