Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 38942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Gabriele only smiles, and Mrs. Lee nods understandingly. "Then I shan't be on your way."
"Oh, that's not—-"
"It's fine, Kleah. It's not like I haven't been saying for years that more people need to know of your work." The older woman hands me her credit card, tells me not to bother wrapping up her purchase, and gives me a wink as I hand her the seals. He's hot, Mrs. Lee mouths before leaving.
I quickly turn around, hoping that he hasn't caught that—-
"It's true," he acknowledges with a shrug. "I am hot."
But no such luck.
"DON'T...DON'T LET THAT get into your head," I say lamely. "Mrs. Lee is very easy to please."
But Gabriele acts as if he doesn't hear this. "Do you expect more customers to come by?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Are you good with them being collateral damage if the people who want you dead trace you here?"
Ten minutes later, and we're in a cafe a good distance away, and one that I've never been to. This, he tells me while driving, is how to survive when someone is hunting you.
Keep moving and never revisit old haunts.
The cafe we choose is small. And although all of its tables are still occupied, we still choose one near the back exit, and Gabriele positioning himself with clear sightlines to both the door and the kitchen. I order a vanilla latte with cinnamon; he gets a black coffee.
"So what happens now?" I ask once our drinks arrive. "Do I just... wait for someone to try to kill me?"
"No." His voice is firm, absolute. "I'll be with you. Watching. Protecting."
"For how long?"
"As long as necessary."
I wrap my hands around my mug, absorbing its warmth. "I can't just put my life on hold indefinitely. I have a business, clients, responsibilities—"
"You can't fulfill any responsibilities if you're dead." His bluntness is jarring but not unkind. "Biancardi kept you hidden your entire life for a reason, Kleah. Now that protection is gone."
I stare into my latte, watching the cinnamon swirl across the foam. The reality of my situation settles over me like a heavy cloak. My life—my small, ordinary, carefully built life—suddenly feels like sand slipping between my fingers.
"Can we just take things one day at a time?" she asks awkwardly. "I know I'm not making things easy for you, but I'm just...this is all new to me. And I don't know how to think like someone who's in danger. Or someone with a target on her back."
Something shifts in his expression—a softening almost too subtle to catch. "You don't have to know. That's why I'm here."
A man brushes past our table, his shoulder accidentally bumping mine. I flinch instinctively, recoiling from the contact as if burned. The stranger mutters an apology and continues to the counter.
Gabriele notices my reaction, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Are you alright?"
"Fine," I say quickly, but my heart is racing from the unexpected touch.
We sit in silence for a few moments, the weight of my new reality settling between us. Gabriele's presence is solid, reassuring despite the dangers he represents. When his hand brushes against mine as he reaches for his coffee, I don't flinch.
The realization hits me with startling clarity: I recoil from strangers' touch, but not his. This dangerous man with his dark eyes and lethal grace doesn't trigger my instinct to flee. I don't know why that is. And honestly? I don't think I'm ready to know the reason.
"You have a fear of men."
He noticed how I reacted, I realize uneasily.
"Fear is not always bad. It can be even useful, keep you from making foolish mistakes in the right circumstances. But between the two of us..." His jaw clenches. "This may be asking for much—but I need you to trust me."
What he's asking for is exactly what he says. It is a lot. For someone like me. But because it is him...
"I do," I whisper. "I trust you, Gabriele."
GABRIELE
She says the words so softly I almost miss them.
I trust you, Gabriele.
And it's not just the words that makes my chest tighten. But it's the fact that it's the first time I've heard her say my name.
I've been called many things in my life. Dangerous, certainly. Ruthless. Efficient. Cold. But never this. Someone who, just by saying my name, already feels like she's cleansed my soul.
Her eyes shine with trust that I don't deserve even though I have no choice but to demand it. I'm danger personified—have been since I was fourteen and held my first gun. But in this moment, with sunlight catching in her hair and her hazel eyes holding mine without flinching, I find myself wanting to be what she sees.
But since such things are impossible for someone like me...
I rise to my feet, the abrupt motion startling her. "We should get back to your shop. The sooner you finish whatever you have to do, the better."