Page 64 of City of Wind and Lies

"I know."

Fuck, I'm blowing this.

"It doesn't change who I am, or how I feel about you. If anything, you've changed me. Every moment between us has been real."

"But it does, Bowie. It changes who you are to me," she says in a clipped tone as she pulls her hand from mine. "This is part of you, a big part, and you hid it from me." She pushes her chair back, dropping her napkin on the table and grabbing her clutch as she stands. "Excuse me."

Adrenaline courses through my veins and I shoot to my feet, moving to block her path. "Where are you going?"

Propping a hand on her hip, she shoots me a vexed look. "To the restroom, is that okay?"

My heart thunders in my chest as I nod sheepishly and step aside. I watch after her carefully- not knowing where Belluci slithered off to- as she disappears down the hall. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I sink back into my seat. This is not going well. I don't know how I expected her to react, but I curse that fucker for making the conversation start the way it did.

I feel my phone vibrate against my thigh and I shift, pulling it from my pocket and tilting the screen.

O'Ryan

Update- Silos soon?

Of fucking course, he'd get information at the most inconvenient time. There's no way in hell I can leave Wren's side tonight, I've got to keep pleading my case to her.

Releasing a frustrated sigh, I type out my response.

I'll let you know.

Slipping my phone back in my pocket, I clock Wren returning from the restroom. My shoulders relax, relief washing over me at the fact she didn't run.

Wren sits down and folds her hands in her lap, her eyes brimming with emotion as her bottom lip trembles. "I'm going to stay with Drea tonight."

My knuckles whiten as I grip the table, holding myself back from snapping and saying something I’ll regret. Instead, I clench my jaw so tightly that it's a miracle I don't shatter a molar. I know I said I'd let her go, but that was before I was actually faced with it happening.

I release a ragged breath. "It's not safe for you. Gabriel's seen you, and he knows you're important to me. That makes you a target, now."

"So what, you're just going to lock me away now?" she fires back.

"If it meant keeping you safe, I would."

"Bowie," she admonishes. "I need some time to think, okay? When I thought we were going to be getting to know each other better over dinner, I didn't know that included learning my boyfriend was the leader of a crime gang."

"Outfit," I correct.

"What?"

"We're an outfit, not a crime gang."

She purses her lips and gives me a pointed look. "Still." Her face softens. "I just need some time to wrap my mind around this and what it means for me and the baby."

"Will you be back in the morning?"

"I don't know," she sighs, reaching across the table to grab my hand. "Can you do this for me, please?"

"Dallas goes with you."

She rolls her eyes. "I don't need a babysitter."

"I don't want to clip your wings, Passerotta, but you're mine and so's that baby, and I'll be damned if you go anywhere without some sort of protection."

She narrows her eyes at me. "Fine. Dallas can stand guard."

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