“For Ted or of me?” he asked coldly. Sergio couldn’t help himself. Jessie knew what she signed up for when she started this path with him.
“For us,” she whispered. “You wanted to kill him. I could see it in your eyes. We were in public. If Ted died, you’d get arrested. You told me the Rossi Family has connections with the police. It won’t take long for them to find us, right?”
Her words summoned an emotion Sergio hadn’t experienced in a very long time. Fear. Jessie was right. He had let rage and jealousy blind him. If Jessie hadn’t stopped him, he’d have a dead body on his hands. Going to jail would make it easier for their pursuers to find her.
“I don’t want to lose you, you understand? Not after we found each other,” she whispered. She rested her hand against the skin over his heart and began drawing circles over that spot.
Guilt washed over him. He’d fucked up, misread the situation completely. He assumed Jessie was mad at him for attacking a coworker. All this while, she’d been thinking of them.
He truly didn’t deserve an angel like Jessie, but he was all she had. Jessie understood the stakes. He should’ve never lost his temper like that. She would never cheat on him. He immediately regretted his earlier actions.
Sergio couldn’t alter the past. He could only go with the flow.
“I’m sorry for worrying you.” He kissed her forehead. “I’ll never lose my temper in public like that again.”
“It’s okay. I believe you. I think Ted will finally take the hint this time. I want you to know I feel nothing for him. Why would I want anyone else when I have you?”
Jessie posed a very good question.
“From now on, we’ll be more careful.”
“Okay.” Jessie’s eyelids fluttered closed. Sergio wondered if she’d a tiring day at work. No doubt the incident with Ted only stressed her out further. “Sergio, I like the life we managed to carve out for ourselves.”
He found he did, too. After escaping this town, he thought he’d never come back here. Sergio had been a city boy through and through, but he’d changed his mind. The city was chaotic and crowded. People stepped on each other all the time. Here in Hillcrest Pine, he enjoyed the slow mornings with Jessie, the quiet. He didn’t think he’d ever get used to living in the city again.
“Where do we go from here?” she murmured, sounding half-asleep. “What happens if Mr. Rossi finds us? Will we need to run and start fresh somewhere else?”
He had no answers for her, not yet. It would be a pain to move, he knew, especially when this town had started to grow on both of them.
“I’ll figure something out,” he assured her.
“I know you will.”
Sergio waited to see if she had any more questions. She didn’t. Her soft snores filled the room. He had lied. He didn’t know what he’d do next. Sergio certainly hadn’t planned on staying in Hillcrest Pine this long. He’d planned on staying here two, three weeks at the most before moving onto his next safe house.
This was their second month here. Sergio had accumulated plenty of savings during his time as Victor’s hitman. He’d used some of his funds to purchase properties all over the country. He even had a few houses overseas, in Europe and in Asia. He planned to take Jessie to those places, to keep moving.
However, Jessie looked so happy here. Some of the locals had even started to warm up to her. No surprise there. Jessie claimed she was a loner like him but she didn’t realize she could be charming and sweet if she wanted.
Despite Giovanni telling him he was done, they still kept in touch. Giovanni had contacted him just that morning. His friend had good news. Victor had called off some men from their search to focus on the Rossi Family’s problems with the Bratva. Good. That would keep the mob boss occupied. Still, Sergio hadn’t found a permanent solution. Jessie and he still lived on borrowed time. Sooner or later, their pasts would catch up to them. Victor Rossi didn’t have a forgiving bone in his body.
He tucked a stray strand of dark hair that had fallen across Jessie’s face behind one ear. Jessie really seemed to enjoy working at the bookstore. Maybe they could stay here a little longer.
Sergio was confident he could keep her safe. He’d done a stellar job of it so far. He made contingency plans in case Victor’s hounds did manage to track them here. Sergio was ready to face any fate Victor threw at him and Jessie. He’d protect his woman, even at the cost of his own life.