My phone rang as I was pacing Leo’s bedroom, anxious to know what he and the others were planning.
It was Cathy. “Hey, what’s up?”
“I saw the tattoo shop closed early and there seemed to be some commotion over there. I wanted to make sure you were all right.”
“Oh. Um… I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound like yourself. What happened today?”
I sighed. I was going to have to tell her something. “You know how I was sure Leo was involved in something shady?”
“Yes… Ezra, are you sure you’re all right?”
“I’m sure.” I stopped pacing and looked out the window at the foggy city. “I wasn’t exactly right about what was going on, but I accidentally got myself in the middle of it. I’m at Leo’s apartment now, and I’m not supposed to leave here without him.”
“That doesn’t sound good at all. He’s keeping you prisoner?”
“No, it’s not like that.” I ran a hand through my damp hair. “He’s protecting me. I… There was an incident today. It could have gone a lot worse. It’s not safe for me to be out on my own.”
“I want details, or I’m going to find you and bring you home with me.”
“No, you can’t. If you come after me, you’ll be in danger too.”
Cathy huffed. “Ezra, I don’t like this. I thought you working for Leo would be great, and I warned him not to—”
A knot formed in my stomach. “Cathy, what did you warn him about?”
“Um… nothing… Never mind.”
She was not getting away with that. “Tell me now.”
“I told him there’d be hell to pay if he hurt you.”
I thought about the ropes gripping my wrists and crisscrossing my body, about his huge cock thrusting deep inside. All of that had been pain I’d welcomed, and the ropes truly hadn’t hurt, except when I’d pulled too hard, trying to get free. I looked at the marks on my wrists. They made me want him more, not less.
“He hasn’t hurt me. He… We’re…”
I heard my aunt’s intake of breath. “Oh no. You didn’t?”
Whatever she was thinking, I’d done much worse. “I’m not giving you details.”
“Ugh. I don’t want details about that.”
I shuddered. I loved Cathy, and we were close, but I wasn’t about to start giving her details about my sex life. “I meant about what Leo is involved in.”
“How do I know you’re okay if you can’t leave his place? How do I know he’s not going to, like, carve you up and make trophies from your body parts?”
“Oh my God. What the hell? I’m not in danger from Leo.”
“But you are in danger?”
“From someone Leo is… investigating.”
“Wait. Is he undercover or something? He’s been running that shop for almost two years. Was he investigating a mob operation?”
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing.
“No, but I really can’t tell you more. Leo is a good guy, though. You have to believe me on that.”
“You’re in too deep with him.” I heard the exasperation in her voice.
Again, it was hard not to laugh even though there wasn’t anything funny about the fact that even if Leo and I were both fine physically, when his mission ended, he was going to break my fucking heart. “You warned me. You did all you could.”
She sighed. “You’ve had a thing for him since the first time you saw him, and I can’t blame you.
“Cathy, he’s even more amazing than I’d dreamed.”
“Oh shit. It’s worse than I thought. You’re in love with him.”
“Maybe. I…” It would be better to try to convince myself I wasn’t.
“So this is just a temporary thing for him?”
I thought about what he’d said to me about wanting to take care of me always. He claimed I was his, but that was all just a game, right? Sexual role play? “I think so.”
“But that’s not what you want.”
There was no point in denying it. She already knew. “No.”
“Have you told him?”
I made a strangled noise. “What?”
“Have you told him how you feel?”
“No. I mean, I think he suspects. I almost said something when—”
“Nope. I don’t need those details.”
Heat rose in my cheeks. “I wasn’t going to say anything TMI.”
She sighed. “I suppose that means you’re no longer worried if you’ll ever find the right man.
“No. I found him.”
“Then tell him.”
“He doesn’t want to hear it. He thinks… he thinks he’s not right for me, that he’s not caring enough, too old, too dangerous. He’s wrong.”
“You’re sure about that?”
I considered the question as I heard Leo’s raised voice. I couldn’t make out his words, but I knew he was angry. I wanted to go to him and soothe him. “I’m more sure than I’ve been about anything in a long time.” My chest felt tight as I said the words. I was in love with him. I couldn’t deny it, at least not to myself.
“Then go after what you want.”