“I’m sorry you went through that. It must have been really hard on you.” He places his hands on my shoulders, drawing me toward him. “But you are helping people. You have to realize how much you’re helping your sisters. They need you so much right now. Think about what they’ve lost. It’s not just about you.”
“I know.” My eyes fall back to the pages of the book. “And I want to be here for them. I need them, too. I just wish I could wave a magic wand and get everything I want, at least according to my own terms.” A rueful smile lifts my lips. “Is that ridiculous?”
“Nah. I think we all feel that way, pretty much all the time.” He chuckles. “You’re smart and you’re gonna have the world at your feet once you clear this detour. Because that’s all it is. It’s not forever. You’re gonna have the career and the life you want.” I see a twist of turbulence in his eyes. “You’ll make it happen because you know what you want and you know how to get it. Nobody will be able to stop you, ever. No matter what. Whatever crap you have to deal with along the way will only make you stronger and more determined.”
“Are we still talking about me right now?”
He blinks and the storm in his irises blows out to sea, returning to the normally calm waters. “I see you, Kristina. Not the way you see yourself, but the way you really are.”
A shiver scuttles down my spine, my skin sizzling under his demanding touch. He dips his head low, sweeping his tongue over my lips before delving between them. My head drops back and my knees quake as his mouth has a second helping of breakfast right in the middle of the kitchen where anyone can see…
But I don’t care.
He sees me like nobody else ever has.
A bodyguard.
A guy I’ve known for a week.
And yet, the connection between us is so far beyond mental. The way my insides crackle when he approaches, the delicious sting of his fingertips on my skin, the unsurpassed thrills of what’s to come that make me tremble any time he looks at me…
But really, I’m still living in a magic bubble if I think this whole thing is headed toward a happy and blissful destination.
I need to take responsibility for this empire.
And I need to figure out how to navigate this life for myself.
He can’t stay here forever playing the part of my security sex toy.
At some point when it’s safe, he’ll go back to Savio and I’ll be left to pick up the pieces.
And like he said, I’ll make the right choices and find success because it’s what I do.
A tiny pang assaults my heart because even though I know he’s right, part of me still wants to explore this thing between us.
Because he’s so much more than just a distraction.
And I don’t have a lot of experience with the love stuff…well, none really…but this thing between us?
It’s realer than anything I’ve ever felt.
And I like him.
Maybe more than like him.
When he pulls away, I feel the loss immediately…the cool rush of air that whistles through my clothes, replacing the heat of his body pressed against mine.
I long for that heat.
I didn’t realize how much until it was gone.
His cell phone buzzes and he stares at it, a frown twisting his lips. “I’ve gotta take this,” he mumbles. “I’ll let you know when Quinn is close.”
“Okay…” My words trail off and I watch him pull open the basement door, his heavy footsteps thumping down the stairs as he returns to our sweaty love cave.
At least, that’s what I’ll think of every time I go down there to work out…
Working out in an entirely different, albeit carnal, way.
I wander around the kitchen for a little while longer, loading the dishwasher and drinking another cup of coffee while staring out at the desolate backyard. My eyes trace over the spot where the shooter stood and took the lives of my parents, and a rush of unanswered questions crashes over me, questions that beg for answers, if only I could find them.
I take my mug and walk through the conservatory to my father’s office. The cleaners were able to fix the shattered window last night so we didn’t have to call in a repair person.
Their work was truly masterful.
Nobody would ever know what had transpired here after they finished their work.
I didn’t ask questions about the carnage because at least it gave me plausible deniability, not that it amounts to a whole hell of a lot.
In the court of law, a jury would hear that I bludgeoned a man to death.
The fact that I don’t know the whereabouts of his body doesn’t make me any less guilty of murder. Sure, I knew he’d have killed me first if given the chance, but I’d have to prove that.
I run a hand through my hair.
Jesus, is this what my life has become?
A sordid serial of criminal behavior?
I haven’t even officially taken my position as Dad’s successor yet. I mean, yes, everything is in my name but it’s not like have any clue what to do now that I own it all. Savio hasn’t given me a shred of insight about next steps and what I need to do going forward to act on my dad’s behalf.
But before I even think about that, it’s time I knew the parameters of the empire I’m defending to the death.
I run my hand over the office chair before sinking into it, the supple leather so soft against my skin. There is a pile of folders laying on the desk and I sift through them, but the one for Fire and Ice is definitely gone.
I hadn’t seen it, but Uncle Frank evidently did the day of the murders.
A deep sigh shudders my shoulders and I go through each of the drawers one by one, fumbling through the contents for anything useful. After rummaging through the first two and a host of binder clips, pens, pencils, paper clips and the like, I switch on the computer.
The login and password boxes blink on with the screen and I take a wild guess, wondering if he’d ever changed them from the originals I remember from years ago.
Bingo.
He hadn’t.
His login is still ‘my3girls’ and the password is still kr1st1na!.
A smile lifts my lips and I look up, waving my hand into the air. It sounds weird, but I feel him here with me right now, as if he wanted me to know I was still his password.
Still close to his heart.
He’d always remember me when logging into this computer.
Okay, Dad, if you really are here, then guide me so I know what I’m looking for.
I open his file directory, searching for a folder called Fire and Ice. I can’t imagine he’d just leave important documentation sitting on his desk. He’d have been smarter than that.
Maybe the file folder my uncle saw was planted there on purpose?
Maybe Dad suspected Uncle Frank would come looking for it so he planted some bullshit papers there for him to throw him off? Maybe receipts or bills of some sort?
I skim through documents — scanned bills and statements, mainly. Clicking through all of the financial records to find zip about the business, a huff finally pushes through my gritted teeth. I slam my fists on the desk.
“What were you trying to tell me, Dad?” I mutter. “What did it have to do with Uncle Frank?” I rub my eyes. “When the heck am I going to solve the damn mystery?”
I sit back, adding to my mental checklist.