“There’s something wrong with you. I really think you need help,” I warned him. He needed someone to tell him.
“Maybe. But there’s something wrong with everybody.” His hands went from the counter to my hips. “If you want me to, I can find the problem in anyone for you. Nobody’s perfect.”
“Don’t come here and call me those names, like we have something, like you think the last month didn’t happen.”
“Oh, it happened,” he ground out. “I had to live through it without the person I love in my life. The person who makes my heart beat.”
“How can you say that after you told me you would let me go and let me be with someone else?”
“I still counted the days, the hours, the minutes, the seconds without you.” He admitted it as if that made everything better.
The tears that streamed down my face were ugly reminders that I couldn’t bottle up my feelings with him. “How could you leave me after that night? We... I thought you loved me, or at least liked me enough to stay. I fell in love with you, Cade. I fucking bled for you, showed you the inside of me and didn’t shine it up at all. I gave you every raw part of me, only for you to leave the very next day.”
“Izzy, I’m trying to protect you.” He shook his head, his own dark eyes glistening. “I thought it was right.”
“And now?”
“Well, now I’m sure.”
“Sure of what?” I asked even though it didn’t matter.
“Sure that I’ve changed the world enough. I’m sure that every family knows who you are.” He dragged a finger over the bracelet and I looked down to seeUNTOUCHABLEetched on the gold now. “You’re safe, that you’re an Untouchable, and that you’re getting the best life you can.”
“What does that even mean?” I threw up my hands in frustration. “I was safe with you here!”
“No.” He shook his head. “How can you think that? You know my family. You know people will always be out to get me. They kidnapped you, Izzy. They—” He took a shaky breath and then paced away from me, only to pace back again. “You could have died there. That would have been on me.”
“No, it wouldn’t have! I hacked their files. Me. Not you.” I hit my chest in frustration, trying to make him understand.
“I should have been watching you! I should have protected you. Don’t you see?” He dragged one of his tattooed hands down his face, and I saw the pain there, the fear. “I could have lost you.”
“That wouldn’t have been your fault, Cade.” I didn’t know why I was consoling him, but I had to. He looked broken, tired, and just as depressed as me.
He pulled at his thick dark hair. “It would have been my fault, dollface. I was so consumed with you that I let my guard down. I let shit slip through the cracks. I wasn’t going to let that happen again. This country has made changes since then.”
I glanced at the television. We all saw the news. “You created a lot of havoc.”
“They should be happy I didn’t create more. And I had to leave you for a while to make sure that in that time, you were safe. I visited every family in the world that’s important. I’ve had conversations with them all. I’ve hacked every one of their bank accounts just to show them exactly what I’m capable of, to show them your value to me. They all know now.”
“Know what?” I asked with a hand on my hip.
“You’re mine. And if they even breathe an ounce of foul air in your direction, I will burn their country to the ground.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me you were doing that, Cade? Why make me believe you’d left? Why cut me off?” He needed a better excuse than wanting to protect me.
“Tell you?” He shrugged. “Until I was sure I could solidify your safety, Izzy, I couldn’t have you clouding my judgment. I love you too much. You were better off without me around and I needed my full attention on the priority, keeping you safe.”
I was furious he couldn’t have just shared his plan with me, so I shrugged and went for the jugular. “Maybe I stillambetter off. I don’t want a man who’s in and out of my life. It’s not like we ever established you would be. We were just having fun—”
“Is ‘fun’ me claiming you around the world?”
I poked his shoulder. “You can un-claim me.”
“Is itfunthat you have half my savings in your bank account?”
My stomach dropped. I wasn’t sure if he’d been moving numbers around on accounts because he could or what. I didn’t think that washalfof anything. “Half?” I squeaked. There were more than eight zeros behind my normal balance.
“Sure, baby. I’ll make more if you want, though.” He leaned in to lick my neck, and I shivered. I couldn’t deny him. My heart was beating too fast, my world suddenly stood still with him at the center of it, and the inkling of hope was bleeding out to become a huge puddle I couldn’t overlook.